Review of 'Turbo'

turbo.jpg Theo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is a snail who dreams of racing while watching his hero (human) Indianapolis Champion Guy Gagné (voiced by Bill Hader) on television. In a freak accident Turbo, as Theo calls himself, is doused with nitrous oxide and finds himself now able to achieve incredible speeds. When he and his brother, Chet (voiced by) are discovered by ambitious taco truck driver Tito (voiced by Michael Peña) along with his collection of not-so-fast but insane (!) snails headed by Whiplash (voiced by Samuel Jackson) his racing dreams become reality…

This is a funny, light family film from Dreamworks that has the hackneyed cliché of the “underdog makes good” at it's heart. But, it is a heck of a lot of fun with some fairly dark elements that slightly jar such as the TV report simulation of what might happen if a race car ran over Turbo, the crow being hit by a car, or the, admittedly funny, ongoing gag where members of the snail community are picked off every so often by a crow. It is this somewhat dark content though that means the film not only appeals to the young but also the not-so-young. I suppose the ending (which REALLY gets drawn out) is never really in doubt but it is quite a ride getting there.

Funny, light animation from Dreamworks that will entertain both young and old.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2021-07-26


Directed by: David Soren

Studio: DreamWorks Animation

Year: 2013

Length: 96 minutes

Genre: Animation

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1860353/