Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa is a 2019 animated film about a young inventor and a mysterious storyteller who comes to town and speaks of a hidden treasure.
To call director Sergio Manfio‘s newest animated film Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa a wee bit anachronistic would be a stretch to say the least, the children’s tale about the famous inventor not for a moment based on reality, simply playing upon a few historical names to tell a familiar story. It’s meant for kids so that’s probably not much of a problem, and at least introduces to them a couple of figures in time that they’ll get better acquainted with a little later in their lives. It’s a well animated effort with plenty of easy to follow adventures for young eyes to stay interested in with colorful characters, action set pieces, and simple dialogue.
Leonardo Da Vinci is a young lad, a rebellious teen with a reputation for wacky inventions, living in a town that sort of tolerates his efforts. His best friend is Lorenzo, a wide-eyed sidekick who revels in the dangers some of Leo’s creations offer, including a vehicle that can drive like car, fly like a plane (sort of), and features add-ons like a pump to let Leo walk under water. It’s world-changing stuff but goes unnoticed by the pesky adults who don’t give much of a thought to the boys. Meanwhile, Leo has a thing for Lisa, a pretty and adventurous girl, who finds her family in trouble when a fire burns their barn and crops. Wanting to help, Leo hears (nefariously of course by a scheming pirate) of a treasure under the sea and with Lisa and a few new friends, including Niccoló (who has brought along his new-fangled telescope) and Agnus, a precocious younger girl, they set out to save the day.
Leo Da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa isn’t trying at all to make much sense, at least historically, the story centered on a treasure hunt more than the impact of some profound inventions. Truthfully, it doesn’t much matter that the main character is in fact Leonardo Da Vinci, the story a simple one of early romance and playful adventures. The animation style is very recognizable, sticking to the traditional visuals better known in recent Disney releases, and admittedly, it all looks good, the details impressive enough to make it a step above many lower budget movies of the like riding on the big studio’s coattails. Leo and Lisa look like extras in Frozen or Tangled.
Either way, if you can get past the lapses in history, something children’s movies in this genre tend to take great dramatic license with, there’s enough here to distract the kids for a time. With a scene where a speaker breaks into rap and a song with lyrics wishing for a mobile phone, you get where this is going. It’s really not all that inventive considering the sensational source material. An Italian-made film dubbed into English, there’s some fun for the little ones and is elevated greatly by a rousing score from Marco Fedalto, helping a lot in giving the whole thing a lot more weight. A slight step above the usual flood of half-hearted cheaply-made children’s movies.