Turbo

Cast of Characters:

Theo/Turbo - voiced by Ryan Reynolds

Chet - voiced by Paul Giamatti

Tito - voiced by Michael Pena

Smoove Move - voiced by Snoop Dogg

Burn - voiced by Maya Rudolph

Paz - voiced by Michelle Rodriguez

Guy Gagne - voiced by Bill Hader

Whiplash - voiced by Samuel L. Jackson

Director - David Soren

Screenplay - David Soren, Darren Lemke & Robert Siegel

Rated PG for some mild action and thematic elements

      Ryan Reynolds, Michael Pena, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Michelle Rodriguez, Bill Hader, and Academy Award nominees Paul Giamatti and Samuel L. Jackson lend their voice talents to the second DreamWorks Animation picture of 2013, Turbo.

      Theo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is your everyday average garden snail who dreams of being the greatest racer in the world, just like his hero, Indy 500 champion Guy Gagne (voiced by Bill Hader). His brother Chet (voiced by Paul Giamatti) constantly reminds him that he's just a snail, and that he should concern his life with things that concern snails, not things that are meant for humans and cars.

      Following an event that crushes his spirit, Theo wanders over to a freeway to watch the traffic. By accident, he's blown on top of a drag racer and sucked into its supercharger. When the driver activates the Nitrous Oxide it fuses with Theo's DNA, giving Theo the power of incredible speed and accuracy. Despite his new powers, Theo's brother Chet keeps telling him that he could never race in the Indy 500 'cause he's still a snail. Things change, though when they both are captured by Tito (voiced by Michael Pena), a taco truck driver for his brother's restaurant. They are then introduced to a group of other snails used in races by Tito and his friends. They're led by Whiplash (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) and also include Smoove Move (voiced by Snoop Dogg) and Burn (voiced by Maya Rudolph). At first, they view Theo as nothing special, just an average garden snail. When they, including Tito, witnesses what he's capable of though, they realize Theo - now named "Turbo" - clearly has "the skills to pay the bills".

        I was looking forward to this film. When I first saw the trailer, I at least found it intriguing. Plus, after The Croods, a film I wasn't expecting to like but was pleasantly surprised, I thought maybe DreamWorks could deliver again. The problem's that the story is fairly generic. Yeah, it's about a snail given the gift of speed which is kinda clever. Overall, though, it boils down to a main character having to overcome his obstacles against all odds. Been there, done that. That said, the voice talents are all uniformly well cast. I certainly got a kick out of Whiplash and his racing crew. Bill Hader certainly has a voice perfect for animated films, but here he seems a little bit too textbook villain. The animation is not quite as colorful as The Croods, but it's still well done, and to the credit of the filmmakers, the film moves along at a nice, brisk pace. I also liked the parallel storylines between Theo/Chet and Tito and his brother, which was a nice mirror image touch. I was just hoping for something more unique instead of the old "prove them all wrong with grit and determination" storyline.

      All things considered, while not the surprise that The Croods was for me, this is still a perfectly harmless film. It's not bad by any stretch, but it's not great either. It just lies there in the middle at good. It is a cute little film, and kids will certainly get a kick out of it. Unlike Pixar, and even other DreamWorks Animation pictures, the jokes and references for adults are MIA. This is mostly a movie for children, so if you have them and wanna do something with the family, I can justify a matinee showing. Particularly since there isn't much out there specifically for kids right now. I give Turbo a B- (★★★).