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."
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