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  • I was lucky to see Turbo at a preview today, and had a great time. I don't want to give anything away, but suffice to say that I greatly enjoyed the movie. The plot's cute, the characters amusing, and there are some hilarious one liners. (As well as a few somewhat more risqué jokes for the adults, although they'll fly over most kids' heads.)

    It's not going to rival Pixar at their best, but it's a lot of fun. I will say, though, that this isn't a film I'd bother with 3D for. It takes a back seat, and is little more than a gimmick. You won't be missing anything at all to watch in 2D.

    But other than that, heartily recommended!
  • "Turbo" may not be the most original or inventive animated film ever but it's a good time and pretty fun. The story is pretty simple and one that a little child can imagine. But the way it delivers the story is gorgeous. It has lovable characters and sense of humor.

    Theo (who prefers to be called Turbo) is a garden snail who lives as an outsider among his snail community. His dream of becoming the Indianapolis 500 champion makes him an outcast and his obsession with speed brings embarrassment to his brother, Chet. However, after an unexpected accident, Theo is granted incredible speed and also inherits some characteristics of an actual car (headlights, radio).

    He is then taken by a chubby guy named Tito. Tito and his brother Angelo own a taco shop that is struggling. The other tenants in the area are also facing the same problem. Tito has this idea of registering Turbo into the Indy 500 in order to help his business prosper. And there are also other snails who become Turbo's buddies.

    "Turbo" may not have as much depth as some of the animated masterpieces. But "Turbo" doesn't aim in being that. It wants to become a fun-filled adventure about a freaking-fast snail racing in the midst of an array of monstrous cars. And it doesn't disappoint. It's enjoyable, slick and plenty of fun.

    The characters are likable too. Turbo is ambitious, funny, and adventurous. All the qualities of a fun character are embodied in him. Chet, his brother, is caring and more cautious but is also adorable in some moments. The other snails are also plenty of fun due to their ridiculous antics. Besides the mollusks, we also have the human characters. Tito, with his large build, is extremely chubby and funny. Tito's other friends are also a joy to watch.

    "Turbo" also has a great sense of humor. I had a blast watching this film. Not all the jokes work, but most of them do. But I do want to mention that there's a joke concerning crows snatching one snail at a time, and to me it seems a bit extreme because the idea of a snail being eaten by a crow is kinda creepy, don't you think? Or maybe it's just me. But the bottom line is "Turbo" is plenty of fun to watch.

    The animation is not the best I've seen but it's pretty good. It possesses beautiful sets and the colors are fluorescent. The voice cast was excellent too and Ryan Reynolds did a great job lending his voice to Turbo.

    "Turbo" is a fun and rollicking adventure and it is plenty of joy to watch these lovable characters see what they're up to. Just don't expect too much from it and don't expect it to be a masterpiece.

    Rating: 7/10

    Final Verdict: It may not be original but "Turbo" is a hell of a roller-coaster ride that will provide plenty of joy and laughs with its lovable characters.
  • There was no intention to watch this movie. Trailer and story didn't click to me. However, I accidentally watch this movie.

    This movie is about a snail dreams about being Indy 500 race champion. How he get powers, how he enters into the race and finally what happens is a nice journey to watch.

    Movie is short and sticks to the story. Animation is really good. I thought as Snail is the hero the movie from their perspective will be very slow but this is never the case.

    Story is somewhat acceptable for children but watchable for elders as well. This is a nice movie to watch for 90 mins.

    There is nothing best about the movie. So it is just a watchable. It won't bore you.

    Overall Ratings: 6/10
  • Warning: Spoilers
    In the traditional plot device for the kiddos, this is about the little snail that could. You don't get too many surprises.

    The treat though is the clever parallel between the two sets of brothers. Tito, not Turbo, is probably the better champion of the film because his character has no superpowers. Rather, it's his naïve yet genuine idealism that's the driving engine behind the movie. In fact, the human characters capture my sympathies more than the quirky mollusks.

    The film should be noted for its effort to present multiculturalism, especially with shout outs about the scene in Southern California.
  • phubbs1 October 2013
    7/10
    Turbo
    Warning: Spoilers
    Dreamworks are on a roll here people, 'The Croods' 'Rise of the Guardians' and now this slick little number. Yet another insect tale and another creature checked off the to do list (will there be an animated flick about every creature?), this little story is so obvious and easy I'm amazed it hasn't been done already.

    A simple snail is turned into a super fast snail when he accidentally gets sucked up into a modded cars turbo engine and he somehow mutates into this supersnail (yeah you missed this idea Marvel). So this story is gonna be even more outlandish than the regular insect animations.

    At first the angle of the film is much like any other creepy crawly kids flick, its silly but its still based around how that creature actually exists in reality. In a garden munching on leaves, lettuce, tomatoes, getting eaten by birds and avoiding dangerous situations like evil kids. But as the film progresses it slowly morphs into a clear 'Fast n Furious' rip off for kids. At first I wasn't too sure if I was gonna like it but luckily the plot takes us into the realms of F1/Indycar racing...I feared an all out cheesy chav filled bling fest.

    The visuals are filled with neon which tends to be a cheap way to try and make things look cool but admittedly it does look quite good here. I do like the neon snail trail Turbo leaves and how it follows the coils in his shell. Although the fact his little body made all sorts of car noises and his eyes lit up as headlights was a bit too far for me. I did also find myself liking his fellow snail friends with their ridiculous shells, it was totally daft but kinda cute at the same time. The snail crew were actually really amusing I must admit, S.L. Jackson really makes the most of his well known loud aggressive persona which was funny coming from a little snail. The rest were kinda clichéd with the obligatory hip hop snail in a small crew that were clearly a parody of the characters in '2 Fast 2 Furious', White Shadow was easily the best snail for me.

    The story is insane though, this fat guy (Mexican?) finds Turbo and decides the best thing to do is enter him in the Indianapolis 500...yes the real Indianapolis 500. Now I have to say this concept is beyond surreal frankly but there we go. I can't really moan about it as this is in no way suppose to be taken seriously. I mean the snails supposedly only know of their little garden world, so how would they know what Mexican food is or anything in the outside world? oh right Turbo watches TV...I'll stop right here. Anyway if it were me I'd just get the snail on the news and travel the world showing him off, why risk getting the little fella crushed straight away?!

    Its definitely more of a kids film but I'm sure adults will enjoy some of it, the whole thing is so cosy and cheerful how can you not like it?. The quick little quips from various snail characters kept me amused, Giamatti as Chet was good for that. The classic underdog (undersnail) tale, there aren't any surprises here lets put it this way. What happens in the race (the whole plot) is basic 101 story telling and you know what will happen a mile off. This isn't a problem though as the film is all heart, full of bright colourful visuals and some great little characters (crank up the merchandise machine).

    7/10
  • As good as Pixar is making animated movies, the best counterpart is ,without no doubt, Dreamworks. And this guys bring this time a nice movie where they show how much are improving their works and how close they are getting their stuff to Pixar quality. Said that, this movie is a solid piece of work. Is entertained, heart warming but most important is very exciting. The pace of the movie is fast in a very good way. This are not the kind of movie to see looking for logic or anything like that. This is just about fun, about a product that give a moment of truly entertainment. As limited as the space in this plot idea could be, is remarkable how much emotion they can put in the movie. Very few times you see the crowd giving so much support to a screen character and this is what this little Turbo get, the whole audience loving him. I see Monster U and Despicable Me too but i believe that Turbo has more emotion than the other two and considering how good that ones are you will get a lovely speedy fun in your eyes.
  • The trailer of this new Dreamworks animated film did not really make me interested to watch because I thought the whole racing snail story would be corny. However, my kids insisted and there were some favorable initial reviews, so I reluctantly gave it a go and hoped to be pleasantly surprised.

    "Turbo" is about Theo, a garden snail obsessed about car racing and being fast. He accidentally ingests nitrous oxide and develops amazing race car powers. A luckless taco shop owner Tito picks Theo up for his hobby of racing snails, and discovers Theo's incredible speedy abilities. Eventually, Theo (now re-named Turbo) actually qualifies to race against his racing idol, the five-time champion Guy Gagne, in the Indianapolis 500. Can this phenomenal little snail now finally fulfill his dream of winning a big league car race?

    The topic of car racing had already been tackled very well in Pixar's "Cars". If "Cars" was for kids, "Turbo" is targeted for even younger kids. More than just the car racing, the side story about the deserted mini-mall in Van Nuys, California where Tito's taco shop is located, was also obviously inspired by the town of Radiator Springs in "Cars."

    The scene showing how Theo got his powers, with the nerve axons and red blood cells being revitalized with nitrous oxide, was straight out of "Spider- Man".

    I did not really get the whole snails working together to gather tomatoes thing. It might have worked in "Bug's Life", but I did not know snails ever worked like ants. I could imagine how encountering a huge army of snails in a small tomato patch like that would probably look pretty scary in real life.

    On the positive side, "Turbo" manages to tell a good story about brotherly support in the parallel stories of Theo and his brother Chet, and Tito and his brother Anton. One brother is the whimsical dreamer, while the other is the more grounded practical one. They may see things differently, but in the end, brotherly love would prevail.

    Of course, the showcase of the whole film is still the big race. The execution of the race sequence was thrilling and exciting, especially the final laps. While the climactic moment in "Cars" is still better, but this one in "Turbo" still manages to hold its own with its unique charm.

    As a whole though, I found the film's pace leading to the climactic race quite slow for a movie about speed. I was disappointed about how the Guy Gagne character was developed as a stereotype, when it could have been more original. The voice work was by big stars like Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti and Samuel L. Jackson. They were all okay, but nothing really distinct and memorable stood out.

    Kids will surely enjoy this cute little film delightful. Parents will just have to summon their inner child out in order to enjoy it with them.
  • In Los Angeles, the garden snail Theo dreams on being the fastest racer in car races and worships his idol, the champion Guy Gagné, who has won the Indianapolis 500 several times. His brother Chet protects him most of the time from daring situations caused by Theo. When Chet rescues Theo from a failed attempt of recovering a prize tomato, Theo leaves the garden feeling humiliated. Soon he is accidentally sucked by the supercharger of a racing car and he drowns in the nitrous oxide injected to speed up the car. On the next morning, Theo finds that he has achieved speed power. When a crow picks Chet from the garden, Theo pursues them and rescues his brother. However they are captured the taco truck driver Tito and brought to a snail race. When Tito sees the performance of Theo, a.k.a. Turbo, in a race with the other snails, he decides to enter Turbo in Indianapolis, despite the disagreement of his brother Angelo. But his neighbors share the entrance expenses and they head to Indianapolis. Who will win the Indy 500?

    "Turbo" is a silly and funny animation, with a snail that competes the Indianapolis 500 promoted by a Mexican young man. The plot is refreshing and creative and makes laugh in many situations. Guess who wins the Indy 500? My vote is seven.

    Title (Brazil): "Turbo"
  • tr9117 October 2013
    'Turbo' is a snail that has a dream. He wants to race with the fastest cars in the world, but of course he is just a slow snail. After an accident where he falls onto the road, Turbo starts to turn into something fast; he has lights and nitrous speed. He is then found by a guy called Tito who has a lot of snails that he races. When he sees just how fast Turbo is he wants to enter him into the Indy 500 race (which is what Turbo wants too). He believes in him so raises the money to do so.

    This film sounds like a pretty stupid idea but I thought it worked rather well. It's a whole load of fresh new characters and designs, excellent animation and lovely colours as usual with an animated film.

    The story is a bit predictable of course but it was still an enjoyable film all round. Turbo and Tito are very likable characters. The supporting characters are also good too. I didn't know when I started watching it but you can tell straight away that Snoop Dogg and Samuel L Jackson voiced two of the snails; I liked them two in particular.

    The race at the end is quite fast paced as well which was good and of course he couldn't do it without a little help from his friends.

    It was quite funny overall. It had a really good soundtrack. Also some good quotes which you may remember for a while; 'Snailed it' 'That snail is fast'. It was a joyful way to spend 90 minutes and I think it's one that the youngsters will love, as well as the adults who like animated films in general.

    One of the better animated films released this year (UK). Wreck it Ralph is my favourite but I enjoyed this as much as Monsters University.

    8/10.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Keeping in mind that it's an animated movie targeting children I'd say this is a decent movie. It's cute, the snail idea itself is original, and I'd say there's probably several parts that would make a child laugh.

    I wasn't laughing at any point in the movie, but i did smile a few times at some cute little things they did. I appreciate the clean movie that i could easily suggest to any family with young children.

    Though I didn't mind watching this, I'd say for adults it's a bit of seen it before and not humorous enough to engage. There where several bits that were extremely hard to swallow. Such as a snail surviving getting bathed by some sort of engine fluid. A very neat garden where the owners just ignored the very large and obvious snail infestation. An adult running over a very large, ripe tomato with a lawnmower instead of picking it up.

    I liked how they showed that though turbo's brother seemed unsupportive, he was actually just being protective. He wanted him to be safe and alive. And was there at the end to support turbo to finish. In contrast the 2 human brothers had a lot of issues. The one steals money from the other and that's never really dealt with. Leaving the impression that it's OK to steal if you're following your dreams and succeed. And the other brother doesn't support him until he actually wins the race. Making it feel that it was about success for him instead of his brother.
  • This film is based on a very simple idea - here's a snail, but he's fast. Really fast. There are some decent scenes around this but ultimately the film doesn't do much other than the usual cliches of this genre.
  • Here it is, a snail receives super speed, hence the name of the film being "Turbo." What the film makes me think of when I see it is a combination of Disney's "A Bug's Life" and "Cars". It is a great movie to take the 4-9 year old kids to see.

    As an adult, it is great to see Ryan Reynolds taking a voice-over part in a family friendly film. However, I could have lived to watch it without many of the other actors. Paul Giamatti and Samuel L. Jackson are in so many different films these days, their voices are tiring.

    A nice change of pace for Dream Works after seeing three "Madagascar" films and four "Shrek" movies. I was Shrekked out! That's why I gave this fresh film from DW Pictures a 9/10.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I'm might not be the target demographic, but regardless of that, I don't think a 'kids' movie should necessarily mean, it should be dumbed down. Kids deserve more constructive adept story-telling. Some of the best films out there are kids' films because they aren't treating kids like they're stupid. They're simply dealing with themes, children deal with or are interested in but in a sophisticated manner. Yeah this film is for kids…definitely… if they were drop on their head. It's not one bit challenging to watch. It often follow a really clichés and predictable formula that other films done better. In this example, 2007 Pixar's Ratatouille. The movie was almost exactly the same as Ratatouille. Animal, who idolizes a human on TV, who has a disapproving brother, then teams up with another human. It really just felt a cheap and Lazy phone in, movie. Directed by David Soren, and product by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The movie is about an ordinary garden snail, Theo AKA Turbo (Voiced by Ryan Reynolds) whose dream to become a racecar driver. Set in Los Angeles, his obsession with speed and all things fast has made him an outcast in the slow and cautious snail community, and a constant embarrassment to his older brother, Chet (Voiced by Paul Giamatti). Demoralized, Theo wanders onto a freeway to admire the traffic only to suddenly, get a freak accident when he gets sucked into the supercharger of a drag racer, fusing his DNA with nitrous oxide. The next day, when Theo wakes up, finding himself with superhero speed and accuracy. With this great power, Turbo set off on adventure to become the fastest snail in the world. I find it ironic that the movie is called Turbo, but it's rather slow paced. The whole message kinda get lost in the slow speed of this film as good things that relate to his dream just tend to happen to fall into his lap. It's kinda saying to children, don't go out and seek your dream. Your dream will come to you. I can sympathetic say that this movie present the insanity, dreaming the impossible as a joke. It doesn't tell you how to achieve greatness. This movie is full of false answers. That isn't a great message. The movie doesn't really follow Turbo that much. This movie should be called The Dude in the Taco truck instead of Turbo. It seemed like it was more focus the direction of Tito (Voiced by Michael Pena) and his brother, Angelo (Voiced by Luis Guzman) whom dreams to revive the strip mall in which his brother and him work at. It could have made the movie a lot funnier from their perspective. The interactions between human and snail was a little desperate, silly and uninspiring for me. The movie humor is a bit odd, as most of the jokes come off as very offending racial insensitive stereotypes. The worst had to be the Kim Ly (Voiced by Ken Jeong) whom come across, as the most annoying character in the film. It's not the best voice acting, I have saw in a film. For me, the jokes were mostly misses than hits in the funny bone. The movie felt more like a Verizon plugs than an actual Verizon commercial with the repeatable dialogue. The whole concept seem a bit too unrealistic in tone, even for a kid movie, like how Turbo was even allow to race in the Indianapolis 500 since first off, he is a car, and second off, he is a snail. I haven't saw a really bad animal sport movie since the days of 1997's Air Bud. The movie is an insult to anything smart. It took artistic license in everything. Biology. Chemistry. Physics. The animation was alright for the most part. The 3D is watchable and enjoyable. The film did had some success, as the film has been followed by a television series, titled Turbo FAST (Fast Action Stunt Team) which first aired on Netflix on December 24, 2013. Overall: For a kid movie, this movie is very forgettable. There are better animation movies out there than this. I wouldn't be racing to get this movie.
  • Ok, Turbo is not good, but hear me out. I enjoyed it more than I ever expected to and that's mostly due to the weird twists and turns it takes once Turbo meets the two brothers running the taco truck. I mean, the line "you're supposed to be out there selling tacos! Not racing snails!" is just pure gold. There are multiple lines between these two bros that read like dialogue from Black Dynamite. Whether it was intentional or not, I have no idea. But it made me laugh.

    Bill Hader's accent is extremely inconsistent and sounds like 6 different dialects rolled into one. The side characters are like cardboard cutouts of people just brought along for the ride. The emotional moments are dull and unearned. They really should have leaned more into the absurdism of the plot like Bee Movie did.

    From the get go it's the most cliched and tired idea for a childrens story you can think of; the poor man's Ratatouille if you will. But the journey to each predictable beat was bizarre and entertaining enough to keep my attention. It's just dumb fun.
  • btnthx18 July 2013
    Everyone loves an underdog story. They are done so much in film, and it's such a common notion that the line is even spoken in the new Dreamworks film "Turbo". The best part in this instance though is, unlike other movies, it's genuine. You feel for this animated snail and his new friend a part owner of a taco shop. Both have dreams and do all they can to make them come true, even when their own family doesn't believe in them. The second best part is that it's fun for the entire family and could very well be the best animated film of the year.

    Theo is a snail who wants to be fast, much like Tom Hanks wanted to be Big and Rocky wanted to be champion. After a freak accident of Spider- Man proportions, he gets his chance to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Along the way he finds a friend and fellow dreamer he never actually speaks with in Tito (Michael Peña). Together they both reach for the impossible dreams that live in us all. The filmmakers of "Turbo" use both wish fulfillment and the belief on oneself to tell a familiar story with most of the troupes we've seen before. What sells it here is voice actors ranging from the comedic Ryan Reynolds as Turbo, to the dramatic Paul Giamatti as his brother Chet. In between you have actors that have a foot in both dramatic works as well as comedy, like Luis Guzmàn, Maya Rudolph, Michelle Rodriguez, Richard Jenkins, and Samuel L. Jackson. It also tells its story with a singular goal in mind and still manages to have fun with sight gags, great one-liners, and involvement of the supporting cast.

    My kids loved this film as did I, every year we get so many sequels there's quite a few this summer alone, and it's always refreshing to see a movie with the originality and the bravery to take a chance on a story that could have been a bad rip-off of Rocky, but instead reminded me of it in that good way. So go see "Turbo" this weekend, Adam Sandler and his pals have enough of our money, give it to real grown-ups who know how to make really enjoyable films like "Turbo".

    --Robert L. Castillo

    http://the2cinemen.blogspot.com/
  • "Turbo" is a high-octane animated adventure that takes audiences on a wild ride. The film's central character, Turbo, is an ordinary snail with big dreams of becoming a race car champion. The animation is colorful and vibrant, and the action sequences are well-crafted and thrilling. The voice acting is also strong, with Ryan Reynolds perfectly capturing the determination and spirit of Turbo.

    However, "Turbo" does have its weaknesses. The story is somewhat predictable, and some of the humor falls flat. Additionally, the film's message about following your dreams is a bit heavy-handed. Despite these shortcomings, "Turbo" is still an enjoyable and entertaining movie that will appeal to both children and adults. Overall, it's a decent animated movie, but not a masterpiece.
  • Well the story is very ridiculous BUT it is also fun if you don't take it seriously.

    Turbo is a likable speed junkie BUT he is a SNAIL. Nature has played a cruel trick on him. But thanks to some NO2, he becomes fast and furious. And I gotta say, that whole speed thing was pretty cool whenever he does it, the movie captured the thrill of speed pretty well.

    There are lots of side characters, some humans, some snails. Some good, some lame. Hell, there is a Samul L Jackson snail too, who obviously has the guy's enthusiasm. And then there is the snail, WHITE SHADOW. Honestly, he always cracked me up whenever he said that and dramatically backed into the shadows.

    The CGI quality was great. Everything from the environment to the characters was detailed.

    From the reviews, I would say, this movie is a little bit underrated. I had the impression that it will be mediocre but was pleasantly surprised that I liked and enjoyed it.

    7.2/10
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Turbo is a semi-decent original non-sequel animation that draws from various inspirations. The main antagonist and the final showdown on the last lap reminiscent Talladega Nights. As silly as its premise may sound, it is still nevertheless refreshing to a certain extent. It is unfortunate that Turbo is also running on the same treadmill of weak writing, lack of heartfelt moments with its less than inspiring story. With the lack of effective chuckles, I realize that the story is not only cliché and formulaic, but also depressing at times. While the whole plot deals much on the commonly issue of achieving dreams, it spends most of the time debating and arguing the virtue and goal, a clash between the optimism with pessimism.

    It is now clear that Turbo will not be able to bring anything refreshing on the table, what's more a clear and strong message that could touches the heart due to the lack of emotional investment. Saved probably for one particular scene when Chet approaches Theo on a crow to give advice – but that comes way too late in the running time. Even when Turbo decides to focus all of their attention on the cliché and less inspiring plot, Turbo is still a technical achievement on its own merit. This animation is visually stunning and beautifully lit, emerging better than some of the animations this year. Great musical scores and music pieces accompany the movie but it would not go much further since much of itself is already underwhelming. Turbo is partially saved by some interesting characters of varying backgrounds that transcends across ethnicity and ages.

    In the end, first time director David Soren's Turbo is a mediocre animation that has some great concepts and talented voice castings to boost the varying and interesting characters but only to be underwhelmed by its own weak script, repetitive and cliché plot elements as well as lack of emotional invested to deliver a strong message in the end.
  • A snail with a turbocharger is contending at the Indianapolis 500. Will he win or not ? Based on the original idea by David Soren, DreamWorks produces "Turbo" a 3D animated sports comedy film. Mostly known for his T.V animations "Turbo" is Soren's debut film. He has developed his concept with the writer of "The Wrestler", Robert D.Siegel and a couple of writers.

    Theo(Ryan Renolds) is born to be a dreamer and he believes that his dream will become true some day. Being a T.V zombie Theo is obsessed about the Indy 500 race and aspires to become a racer just like his hero Guy Gagne(Bill Hader). Split into three parts the story begins at a garden, then it moves on to a strip mall(A deserted place like Radiator Springs) and finally to Indianapolis. Every act of the story has a glut of supporting characters, voiced by Paul Giamatti(Chet), Michael Peña(Tito), Snoop Dogg(Smoove Move), Maya Rudolph(Burn), Michelle Rodriguez(Paz) and Samuel L. Jackson(Whiplash).

    Chet a usually paranoid snail and Tito who's also as crazy as Theo(Names himself 'Turbo'), they are the close aides of Turbo and contribute to the fun element. Sadly Turbo doesn't have a love interest and maybe that's why he was able to dream big(I'm just trying to interpret). Some of the scenes will leave you in splits, specially when Turbo becomes an internet sensation. Though the film has a linear sequence of predictable scenes, the supporting character and certain comical portion of the story keeps one entertained.

    How does this precociously written script amuse us ? The story has a heart which willfully tries to portray the life of an underdog. A snail who dreams the impossible. We always prefer to hear about the unusual, don't we ? So, Soren's basic idea is the USP for Turbo and how 3D animation is used to deliver the impossible is interesting. Turbo is a 'Tron' visuals meet 'Cars' story. Mostly meant for the kids but it will equally entertain the adults as well, provided that they just watch and don't analyze. Henry Jackman who is a regular for animated films, his music increases the radiance of the picture. Dario Franchitti's as a consultant for "Turbo" adds more detail to the racing portion of the movie. On the whole Turbo is an honest attempt and it does entertain.

    A garden snail ! Eew. Have a garden at home ? Beware, your kids are going to bring home Turbos. Turbo is a 96 minute fun filled movie but logically inept(Guys gotta learn from Pixar). Now zip...zap...zoom and book your tickets.

    Moral of the story: No dream is too big; no dreamer is too small. Tuck 'n' Roll.
  • A snail named Theo(voiced by Ryan Reynolds)loves to watch racing, and wishes he could race on the tracks, but his brother(voiced by Paul Giamatti) tells him that he is a snail, he was not meant to be fast, cause he is a snail. But one night Theo accidentally lands in a fast car, and gains the power of being as fast as the car. Now Theo has fun with this new found power, but how far will it take him?

    a well made animated film, I mean it is no Wreck it Ralph, but still a fun movie. But it's not just a snail with super speed, but it's more of a ensemble, providing the voices Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, and Michael Pena to name a few. They all really make this story quite a joy, and seem to be having a blast working on this film.
  • Cute enough little movie about a snail who ingests the fuel of some souped-up cars and then realizes his ultimate dream -- racing in the Indy 500.

    This is by-the-numbers animation, with the usual canned lessons about being OK with who you are and following your dreams. These aren't bad lessons for kids to hear, but they're also not especially sincere. The animation itself is nothing special and the voice work is solid if unmemorable -- Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giammati and Samuel L. Jackson do the bulk of the work. But I was sitting next to my four year old son in the movie theatre (this was only the second movie he'd seen in a theatre) watching his face, and the look on it was enough to convince me that this was the best movie ever.

    Grade: B
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Ryan Reynolds is an actor I think can be both charming and clever if he is given the right material. The good stuff he is in can be sometimes be both funny and clever, but the bad stuff he's in can not be very pleasant. I bring this up because I think something similar happened with him in animated movies. In the same year, Reynolds appeared in both of DreamWorks' two animated movies and where I found "The Croods" pretty good, the same could not be said for "Turbo". In short, this film is kind of stupid. It has some cleverness too it with the idea of a snail getting super speed, but the film is mostly bogged down by a ridiculous premise, some weird animation choices, unmemorable characters and lots and lots of stupid moments. Here's why this movie doesn't exactly work.

    A garden snail named Theo, who goes under the nickname Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) loves the world of sports racing and dreams of becoming a very fast racer. Though his older brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) feels that he has his head in the clouds too often and tells him to stop with his ridiculous daydreaming especially after he causes an accident involving a tomato. After leaving the garden in embarrassment, Turbo accidentally falls into a sports car and gets covered in nitrous oxide which effects his DNA and gives him super speed. Afterwards, he and Chet are then captured by a taco truck driver named Tito (Micheal Peña) and ends up impressing everyone at a run down strip mall where he works. With some motivation and confidence, Tito convinces the others to try to enter Turbo into the Indy 500 in hopes to bring back customers if they win. So, can Turbo get into the Indy 500 and win the race? Is this movie way too predictable and stupid? Well, yeah.

    The major problem I had with "Turbo" were the many stupid moments that occurred throughout the movie. For instance, after Turbo gets his DNA infected, he doesn't just get the ability of super speed. No, he actually gets features of a car. Yeah, he can have headlights come out of his eye, his shell can set off a car alarm and at times he can blast music from his mouth like a radio. It honestly makes no sense. And yeah, I know it's an animated movie and I'm not supposed to take things to seriously, but the fact is that he should have only gotten super speed after being infected. How he got those random car features makes no sense whatsoever. There's also lots of product placement shoved into this film as well notably from companies like AAA, HP and particularly Verizon. Seeing their logos placed all over the film was so distracting that it really caught me off guard at times. As for the story itself, it's kind of ridiculous. I mean, the idea of a snail getting faster is not a bad premise, but the idea of him entering a race like the Indy 500 is just too silly. Not only that, the film reminded me way too much of other movies. An example would be the scenes where Turbo is seen glancing at his hero racer on the TV similar to how Remy looked up to Gusteau in "Ratatouille". The animation, I like for the most part. The environments of the film is fantastic. It really looks real and the attention to detail in the backgrounds in pristine. Even the human designs aren't that bad, but the snails designs didn't work for me. They looked way too much like a cartoon and stood out too much due to their bright colors. As for the characters, it's kind of the same as the animation. I like the humans particularly the ones at the strip mall. The snails on the other hand, are mostly run of the mill. Turbo is a typically hero who has a dream, there's this group of snails he gets with that are just cool all the time and that's pretty much it, and his brother is just the typical stick in the mud. There's nothing special about it.

    And honestly, there's not much special about "Turbo" anyway. It just feels run of the mill. It has some ideas going for it, but it's execution at times is pretty questionable and honestly really stupid. It's definitely DreamWorks' weakest entry in 2013 animated movies. I don't know if I can bring much else to the table. It's just kind of stupid. As for the grade it gets, I think Turbo's number might be the best score for it.
  • Today it is my birthday and so I figured I'd bring my little brother to the movies, and I did. Turbo was on the top of my list and by God I'd go watch it again because this movie was funny, crazy, amazing, and had emotion in it. I am 19 and I enjoyed this movie as if I was a kid again, it was that good. If your having second thoughts about this movie, don't, go watch it, you will no feel let down. This is easily one of the best 2013 summer flicks to date. BELIEVE THIS HYPE!! I'm already waiting for it to release on blu-ray, I recommend this to this everybody. There is no age group for this movie and you won't get bored with it at all, it is for all age groups.
  • abcvision28 August 2013
    This movie should be "I like to go fast!" that is what the little snail that could kept saying. He called himself "Turbo" and no matter how small you are, you can dream big. Turbo is a bit of an odd ball in his world of snails who work on gathering juicy tomatoes. He wants to hit the big time and compete for speed at the raceway. Turbo is cute, funny, and has a cast of well known personalities doing the voices, from Snoop Dogg, Samuel Jackson, and Ryan Reynolds as Turbo. Perfect sane fun for kids of all ages, especially those who have a love of speed. The movie is short an sweet and keeps the attention of anyone who wants to zip through a movie.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Since Disney, many years ago, provided a human-like Volkswagen Bug racing in Monte Carlo, perhaps the competing DreamWorks could have a Snail competing in the Indy 500 make sense. Even for a cartoon this premise is far-fetched and downright preposterous, but the worst scenes are those leading up to the big race.

    Actually, the first twenty minutes aren't too bad: getting to know TURBO, a snail who dreams of being a race car driver… or rather, being the car and driver both… while working with his snail buddies in a community that lives a suburban home's vegetable garden.

    While the movie works for kids during the initial setup in the colorful garden world, there are scenes where crows swoop down and quickly kill several snails. Of course we never get to know those particular characters to make those deaths sad, but they are shocking.

    Although when Turbo's best buddy Chet (voiced with melancholy sarcasm by Paul Giamatti) gets snagged by one of the killer crows, Turbo, who gained the power of becoming a jet- powered hot rod after being sucked inside an engine during a local race, goes to the rescue and both snails wind up saved, or captured, or both, by one of the most annoying cartoon and/or computer-animated characters in history: a fat twenty-something Latino named Tito whose uncle owns a taco stand, one of several stores in a forsaken outdoor mall with shops run by other completely uninteresting characters. For some reason, Tito and his friends race snails in a mechanic's garage, and here they discover a lucrative potential for advertisement.

    The commercials and trailers set up the other hot rodding snails, voiced by Sam Jackson and Snoop Dogg to name a few, as if they were actually part of the storyline, and yet they have hardly anything to do with Turbo's goal, instigated by Tito to save his uncle's store: competing in the Indy 500 against a conceited human superstar. All scenes leading up are tortuous and lame, and you'll be glad once the revving competition is underway since it means the end is near.
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