Leo Interview: Co-Directors Robert Marianetti & David Wachtenheim On Journey From SNL To Movie Making

Adam Sandler makes his triumphant return to animation in Leo. The iconic comedian stars in the Netflix comedy as the eponymous tuatara as he learns he’s nearing the end of his life cycle and attempts to break free from his classroom home, only to find himself kept around to help with the students’ personal problems.

Alongside Sandler, who also co-wrote the movie, the ensemble Leo cast includes Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Allison Strong, Jo Koy, Sadie and Sunny Sandler, Coulter Ibanez, Bryant Tardy, Corey J., Ethan Smigel, Tienya Safko and Roey Smigel. Blending heartfelt comedy with gorgeous animation and intelligent songs, the movie proves a welcome return for Sandler to the animated genre.

Ahead of the movie’s release, Screen Rant interviewed co-directors Robert Marianetti and David Wachtenheim to discuss Leo, making the leap from Saturday Night Live animation to feature-length directing and finding their diverse cast.

Robert Marianetti & David Wachtenheim Talk Leo

Screen Rant: I am very excited to get to chat with you both for Leo, I watched it last night, and it was just so heartwarming, so funny. You two obviously share similar roots with Adam through your SNL days, but how did it come about for you to help bring this story to life on screen?

David Wachtenheim: Yeah, from our SNL days, we worked with Robert Smigel, primarily, on the TV Funhouse cartoons, so that was our main in. Smigel was a writer on SNL, and he and Adam were very close.

Robert Marianetti: And he’s our co-director, by the way.

David Wachtenheim: Yeah, Robert’s our third director and co-writer. When they were working on Hotel Transylvania 2, we were helping, we were giving notes to Robert Smigel on the script and ideas and things, and he showed them to Adam, and Adam really liked what we were contributing, and wanted us to be on the movie. So, we ended up working on the movie as Heads of Story, and developed a relationship with Adam. Adam just liked our sensibility like working with us and wanted to do something more, and a few years later, Leo came about, and that’s how we got involved.

I love that, so with you guys giving your notes and your ideas for the script. What would you say was different from when you first were approached for it to what we see in the film?

Robert Marianetti: One of the things is we we don’t try and throw out other people’s jokes and are trying [to be] like, “Oh, we’re funnier this way.” What we try and do is we try and elevate people’s jokes, and working with literally comedic geniuses like Sandler and Smigel, it’s like an honor to be in the room with them, and in the mix. Man, when they laugh at your ideas, you know something great has happened, so it was really, really encouraging and a joy to be part of the process. They made us feel like equals, which we’re a bit older and long in the tooth to be directing our first feature film. Adam would refer to us as the boys, the fellas, “Hey, the fellas are gonna be great”. Telling the executives, “Don’t worry about the fellas.” The first time when they see these two white-haired, white-bearded guys coming in with our potbellies, the look on their faces were priceless. [Chuckles] But, we’re young at heart, so it all evens out.

David Wachtenheim: Robert Smigel had the idea of the lizard in the classroom, and his observation of the classroom, and offering advice, and him wanting to live out his life and make something of his life. I think some of the emotion of him wanting to escape, and the desire of getting out, and get pulled in with the kids is also something that we were trying to bring in a lot of the heart and emotion. The jokes, we can’t top Smigel and Sandler on doing the jokes, but we try to bring in a lot more of the emotion and the groundedness into the story, and make the emotions feel real and warranted.

I love that, and it balances very well throughout this film. One thing I really feel helps with that foil is Bill Burr’s role as Squirtle in this movie. I’m curious to hear about how that casting came about, because obviously, everybody else has had ties to Adam at some point in the past, but how did Bill come about to be Squirtle for this movie?

Robert Marianetti: I think Smigel just had him in his mind the whole time. I think from the beginning, he thought, “This would be great for Bill.” You know, Bill’s crass Boston, no nonsense kind of attitude. I think it was just a perfect foil, and we look at them, Leo and Squirtle, as the odd couple, you know, the Statler and Waldorf of the classroom, and the dynamic between the two of them is so fantastic. I would have loved to just see the two of them the whole movie, just the two of them interacting is so funny, but I think Smigel had him in mind from the beginning.

David Wachtenheim: And the voice cast alone, I mean, it’s not the price of admission, it’s on Netflix, but the voice cast alone is amazing. Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander. Rob Schneider, Adam makes a phone call and next thing you know, six comedians are ready to do this film. Jo Koy is in it, but Cecily Strong was the big turning point for us, because she plays the substitute teacher, Mrs. Malkin. They were talking about other people originally, like bigger stars, and this and that, and through her SNL connection friends with Robert and Adam, they called her in for the table read, which is what we do to help inspire the storyboard artists and the creative designers. She came in and did the table read and there was no question that Cecily essentially got the part right then and there. She got the script only a few days previous to the read, and she had her notes in the margins. The minute we heard that voice — and she’s a great singer too — it was like, “That’s our Mrs. Malkin.”

About Leo

Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, The Wedding Singer) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school – as seen through the eyes of a class pet. Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo (Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr). When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students — including an impossibly mean substitute teacher. It ends up being the strangest but most rewarding bucket list ever…

Check out our red carpet interviews for Leo here!

Leo is now streaming on Netflix!