TURBO

2013, Dreamworks

Animated

Rating: PG

Approx. 96 mins.

THE STORY:

Theo/ Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) is a snail with big, fast dreams: he wants to be a racer like his hero, Guy Gagne (Bill Hader). Faced with the discouragement of his brother, Chet (Paul Giamatti), and his snail community, and the knowledge of his physical limitations, Turbo is about to give up on his dream. And that's when he becomes infused with nitrous oxide and capable of reaching speeds of close to 200 miles per hour. 

Serendipity brings Turbo together with taco vendor Tito (Michael Pena), who shares Turbo's dream and beats the odds to take the snail to the Indy 500. Turbo qualifies and finds himself racing against his hero. Unfortunately, Guy turns out to be less heroic than Turbo had hoped and becomes the biggest obstacle to Turbo's success. In the end, however, Turbo is a winner on and off the track, as he develops stronger relationships with those around him.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• Stupid

VIOLENCE:

• nothing notable

TEACHING POINTS:

• There are no small dreams, only small dreamers.
• Perseverance pays off. 

THE UPSHOT
In a word; disappointing. The trailer looked so promising, but the movie itself was thin on story and seemed far too long. I like the premise, but the execution is predictable and overwrought. The voice talent is strong (Samuel L. Jackson, Snoop Dog, Maya Rudolph; NOT Bill Hader, whose French Canadian accent is a travesty), the music is catchy and the animation is impressive, but other than that... Turbo has not much to say for itself. It's OK, but just OK.

3/5