'Turbo' Idles in Pursuit of Predictable Underdog Roads

Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) convinces his brother (Paul Giamatti) that his new powers are for the better.

Back in 2010, DreamWorks Animation was undeniably at the top of their game with acclaimed Viking adventure, How to Train Your Dragon. Flash forward three years later and while fairy-tale Avengers and caveman road trips haven't been complete busts, Rise of the Guardians and The Croods haven't sealed the deal in becoming long-term franchises. And don't think for one second a super-fast snail racing in the Indianapolis 500 is the solution either.

That's right, one of the slowest creatures imaginable right in the middle of the most famous race in NASCAR. Is Turbo an example of "Bizarro world" at its finest or is DreamWorks Animation randomly choosing plot points out of a hat? In actuality, Turbo's quite derivative in the way the underdog story unfolds.

Turbo's (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) a garden snail in love with racing, despite struggling for 17 minutes to cross an entire table in one of the film's very first scenes. However, a freak accident with nitrous oxide and an unexpected friendship with a taco truck driver also with big dreams literally sends Turbo on the ride of his life.

For a film that prides itself on speed and larger-than-life dreams, Turbo starts off to a glaring snail's pace with its titular character living the monotonous life of a working garden snail. Until Turbo experiences his freak accident after another ordinary day tending the tomatoes, all that's driving the film is Turbo imitating his racing idol Guy Gagne (voiced by Bill Hader) and standing up to his brother who tells him his dreams are too outlandish.

Once Turbo crosses paths with taco driver Tito (voiced by Michael Pena) who has the upmost faith in this snail winning the Indianapolis 500, it becomes evident that the two stories work together to parallel each other. And while Turbo winning the Indianapolis 500 is the film's ultimate goal, there's an equal amount of investment in Tito and his crew transforming their forgotten rundown plaza into a must-see attraction.

The voice cast lends plenty of personality to its main snail ensemble. Ryan Reynolds is doable as main character Turbo, but Samuel L. Jackson is a blast as Whiplash, a member of Turbo's pit crew, dishing out that same Pulp Fiction or Snakes on a Plane attitude only acceptable for family audiences. Ken Jeong distinctly channels his Hangover's Mr. Chow as Starlight Plaza's petite nail salon owner. 

Turbo has its charming moments spread throughout, particularly when the underdog story's in full gear. However, like Rise of the Guardians and The Croods from the past year, DreamWorks Animation still hasn't found that one film to get the studio back on track. First-time theatrical director David Soren doesn't provide Turbo the mileage to go beyond a stand-alone film that's surely to get lost in the shuffle of a long list of animated films to emerge from DreamWorks Animation. Turbo does what it ultimately required of it as family entertainment before bolting off into the sunset.

Turbo is a visually acceptable action piece, though not breaking any fresh ground in terms of animation. The cinematography throughout the racing scenes invite audiences deep into the thrilling turns around the track and sometimes remains a head scratcher watching a snail fueled with nitrous oxide going head-to-head with racecars. Ridiculous as the concept may seem, disguising the cliché underdog story as this unrealistic package still has enough in the tank to keep an entertaining pace towards the finish.

As the last major animated film to emerge out of the summer gate, Turbo trails many more memorable films that have come before in the past few months, but still something to be said about the two concepts so opposite of one another.    

GRADE: B- (7/10)