Turbo 3D Review

Rated PG (Some Mild Action and Thematic Elements)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 36 Minutes

Cast (voice)-

Ryan Reynolds-Theo/Turbo

Paul Giamatti-Chet

Michael Peña-Tito

Luis Guzmán-Angelo

Samuel L. Jackson-Whiplash

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr./Snoop Dog-Smoove Move

Maya Rudolph-Burn

Ben Schwartz-Skidmark

Mike Bell-White Shadow

Michelle Rodriguez-Paz

Richard Jenkins-Bobby

Ken Jeong-Kim Ly

Bill Hader-Guy Gagné

Kurtwood Smith-Indy CEO

Directed by David Soren

Theo races to the finish line in DreamWorks Animation's latest film, "Turbo."

Note: At AMC Empire 25.

We're taught at an early age that hard work is the path to making our dreams come true but what happens when you find yourself coming up short every time? Exploring this very question is Pixar's recently released prequel "Monsters University," which left viewers with the valuable message that life doesn't always turn out the way you wanted it to be but that doesn't mean you're a failure, it just means that your path lies elsewhere. Going in the complete opposite direction is DreamWorks Animation's latest film "Turbo," which suggests that all dreams can come true as long as you wish for it hard enough. Compared to the more consistent offerings of Pixar, DreamWorks' body of work has been rather hit-or-miss and you never know if you're going to get something amazing like 2010's "How to Train Your Dragon" or something terrible like 2004's "Shark Tale." Unfortunately, "Turbo" leans toward the latter category on the quality scale. Although the film has its charms thanks to some lively voice work, "Turbo" is ultimately let down by a bland, generic underdog story and misguided themes.

Much to the annoyance of his older brother Chet (Paul Giamatti), ordinary garden snail Theo (Ryan Reynolds) dreams of one day becoming a famous racer just like his idol, five-time Indianapolis 500 champion, Guy Gagné (Bill Hader). Chet tries to convince Theo to accept the life that they already have at 'the Plant,' where they harvest tomatoes with other garden snails, but Theo refuses to listen, making him the laughing stock of the entire community. When an attempt to outrace a lawnmower to retrieve a ripe tomato ends in failure, a depressed Theo wanders off one night to the local highway. Knocked from his perch from a passing airplane, the little snail finds himself sucked into the engine of a street racing car and doused with nitrous oxide, which mutates his DNA. Now gifted with the power of lightning-fast speed, Theo—now going by the nickname Turbo—catches the attention of taco hut worker Tito (Michael Peña) and his fellow strip mall employees, which includes nail salon lady Kim-Ly (Ken Jeong), auto-body mechanic Paz (Michelle Rodriguez), and hobby shop owner Bobby (Richard Jenkins). Theo also meets a group of thrill-seeking snails at the strip mall: Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson), Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg), Burn (Maya Rudolph), Skidmark (Ben Schwartz), and White Shadow (Michael Bell). Hoping to restore the strip mall to its former glory, Tito enters Theo into the Indy 500, much to the disapproval of his brother Angelo (Luis Guzmán). Now given the chance to prove himself to the world, Theo faces off against his idol Gagné in a race to the finish line.

I can already imagine how the pitch went down at DreamWorks: 'For our next film, why don't we do a story about a snail who wants to go fast? It'll be funny because they're so slow!' Then all the studio executives laugh while patting themselves on the back for being so clever. That being said, "Turbo" isn't as bad as the aforementioned "Shark Tale" but it is terribly derivative. Written by Darren Lemke, Robert D. Siegel, and David Soren (who's also making his directorial debut), the film follows the general plotline of every underdog picture to have come out in the last twenty years and the only difference is that it features a snail standing in as an obvious metaphor for human aspirations. As such, you'll know how it all ends right from the very first scene given the recycled nature of its story. In fact, large sections of the film feels like it was pillaged straight from Pixar's vault. The thrill-seeking snails recall the fish-tank misfits from 2003's "Finding Nemo" and the idea of an animal longing to move beyond the limits imposed by Mother Nature is ripped straight out of 2007's "Ratatouille." Partially saving the film is the gallows humor during the first half, with the snails resigned to their eventual fate of being suddenly eaten by crows but for the most part, its attempts at comedy fall flat.

The biggest issue I have with "Turbo" is the mixed messages it sends to the audience. Theo's dreams only come true because of a freak accident; he didn't earn his abilities. Likewise, it is only Tito's chance encounter with Theo that allows his dreams to become a reality. So these two pretty much have everything they want handed to them on a silver platter without actually doing the work. If the real world behaved like this, I would be married to Emma Watson already. Since Theo is basically cheating his way through the race due to his small size, it robs the finale of much of its drama. Also problematic is the logic of the film's world. In addition to his speed, Theo's exposure to nitrous oxide also allows his eyes to behave like headlights and even endows him with an internal radio in his shell. How is this even possible? Even more questionable is the Indy CEO (Kurtwood Smith) letting Theo compete. If they're letting in snails, what's to stop people from entering other animals since it's supposedly not forbidden in the rule book as stated by the CEO. At least the CG animation is good, although that's par for the course these days. The character designs aren't the most imaginative (there's a certain sameness to all the snails) but it works within the context of the film. There are also some nifty sequences, largely pertaining to how Theo perceives the world while racing, and the 3D is utilized well, although it's not an absolute must that you see it in this format.

DreamWorks Animation has always had a penchant for using marquee names to voice their films and "Turbo" is no different. As Theo, Ryan Reynolds manages to bring a sincere earnestness to the little mollusk despite his voice being a little too recognizable. Paul Giamatti also does a great job in bringing Chet's eternal pessimism to life while Bill Hader completely disappears behind Guy Gagné, Theo's idol-turned-bitter rival. The rest of the voice cast is fine in their individual roles but the large number of characters leaves many of them with only a handful of lines. It seems like a waste to hire all these talented people for what amounts to a few days of work in a sound booth.

Released on July 17, 2013, "Turbo" has received mildly positive reviews with 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that 'it's nowhere near as inventive as its off-the-wall premise might suggest, but [the film] boasts just enough colorful visual thrills and sharp voice acting to recommend as undemanding family-friendly fare.' DreamWorks couldn't have picked a worse release date as this past weekend it competed with three other films (one of them also starring Ryan Reynolds) as well as animated holdovers "Monsters University" and "Despicable Me 2." With only $31.2 million in the bank and "The Smurfs 2" arriving in less than two weeks, $100 million might be a stretch but not totally undoable. While "Turbo" has its heart in the right place, the film just feels too derivative to make much of an impression, not to mention its themes create a conflict of interest in regards to dreams and one's own reality. This is definitely more for the kids but parents should just hold out and wait for it on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

"No dream is too big and no dreamer too small."