 ***PLEASE NOTE: A Blu-ray 3D disc is only compatible with 3D Blu-ray players.*** Tagline: Wired for speed From the creators of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda comes the biggest - and funniest - animated adventure of the year! Along with his streetwise snail crew and new human friends, Turbo, an underdog snail, takes on the biggest challenge ever to make their dreams come true.
Storyline: From the makers of MADAGASCAR and KUNG FU PANDA, TURBO is a high-velocity 3D comedy about a snail who dares to dream big - and fast. After a freak accident infuses him with the power of super-speed, Turbo kicks into overdrive and embarks on an extraordinary journey to achieve the seemingly impossible: competing in the world's fastest race, the Indianapolis 500. With the help of his tricked-out streetwise snail crew, this ultimate underdog puts his heart and shell on the line to prove that no dream is too big, and no dreamer too small. Written by DreamWorks Animation Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on November 12, 2013 -- No dream is too big and no dreamer too small. --- It would be easy to simply stamp Turbo as DreamWorks' Cars rip-off. Certainly the similarities are striking, from high speed animated racing and a spot on the map on the verge of extinction right down to the chrome font featured on the poster art. That doesn't mean Turbo can't hold its own in a race against Pixar's speed-centric digitally animated powerhouse franchise. The gap between the contenders isn't very wide, not from an animation perspective, not in terms of voice acting, nor story, nor heart. Turbo crosses the finish line with flair, crafting a touching, exciting, enveloping experience that's less about the race and more about the inner strength, the courage, and the support it takes to live a dream and see it through to the end, no matter the circumstances. The picture, then, is certainly awash in dramatic cliché, nearly as much as it is in Cars-like plot points and style. Yet for a movie that's not all that original, it manages to work incredibly well across the board. It's a classic stand-up-and-cheer sort, a movie that will leave the entire family satisfied with the experience. Theo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), a small snail amongst many, dreams big of life in the fast lane. He idolizes race car driver Guy Gagné (voiced by Bill Hader) and is always striving to improve his speed, much to the amusement of his fellow snails and much to the chagrin of his older brother Chet (voiced by Paul Giamatti). When Theo's television set breaks -- just as Guy is about to share his secret of success with the world, no less -- the suddenly dejected and defeated snail leaves home to sulk and watch the speeding Los Angeles traffic flow on past him. His fortunes take a turn for the better when he finds himself on top of a car involved in a high-speed race. He's pulled into the engine but instead of meeting a terrible death, he's infused with nitrous oxide and discovers that he's now fast. Very fast. Not fast for a snail, but fast enough to hang with Guy and other racers. Another stroke of luck has him and his brother captured by Tito (voiced by Michael Peña), one-half of a brother team working at an out-of-the-way taco stand that, along with a few other nearby businesses, is on the verge of disappearing forever. Tito quickly learns Theo's secret and wishes to exploit it for the restaurant's business fortunes by collecting enough money to enter Theo into the Indianapolis 500. His brother Angelo (voiced by Luis Guzmán) outright rejects the proposition, but Tito convinces his fellow nearby business owners that their scheme just might work. They head to Indy to enter Theo, now going by the name Turbo, into the race, but the question remains whether the snail can hang with the speeding cars and not end up the world's most famous case of roadkill. Turbo in many ways embodies the modern digital children's movie. It's abundantly colorful and amazingly detailed to the cutting edge of modern technology. The story blends action, humor, and well-developed and hugely likable characters with an evident tenderness and an agreeably simplistic message made even more meaningful thanks to an abundance of heart and a readily evident soul. It's a quality movie all the way around, even considering the rather large bit of thematic, structural, and plot unoriginality present throughout. Yet the picture races past its similarities to other films, manages to create a unique identity, and settles into the upper-tier of animated pictures, playing well enough for repeat viewings and zooming on by much of the competition by holding firm to the winning formula of a complex and colorful exterior combined with a basic yet touching and ever-relevant inside lane message. That message may be over-simplified throughout the film, but it's evenly integrated into the entire experience. Instead of wearing thin, it only grows more relevant as the story progresses, culminating in a terrific finish that embodies its very spirit. The film centers its values on the power and importance of belief. Turbo believes that, one day, he will be fast, faster than he already is. He works hard and certainly befalls a good bit of luck to get him to Indianapolis, but at the core is that constant push to be better and the unflappable determination to be the snail he believes he's destined to become. However, his brother Chet tries to push him down, to keep his dreams in check, discouraging him from hoping for something greater than what nature has given him, to push away thoughts of beating his lot in life to become a snail separate from the others. Then, there's Tito, a man who dreams big and wildly -- sometimes a bit too big and too wildly -- of finding greater success with his taco shop. His brother, Angelo, is content to settle for mediocrity, celebrating a good day of a few extra sales but failing to find the determination to seize the opportunity and shoot for the stars. The film fully explores its core values in Turbo and Tito's team-up, playing them as something akin to interspecies brothers who demonstrate what can happen when two dreamers come together to accomplish the impossible, whether with a bit of help or completely on their own. Much of Turbo's success may be traced to its construction. The characters are rather stock but nevertheless very well shaped by the writers and animators both, the former providing them a soul and the latter a fun, memorable embodiment to carry the film's message and add some attractive visual spice to the experience. Though the characters are rather smooth and plastic-like, they show a very real, very perceptible energy and believability, which is as much a result of terrific voice acting as it is quality animation. Ryan Reynolds is quite good as Turbo. He brings the character's innermost being to the surface, finding a stabilizing force that helps keep the audience with the character even in the midst of serious cliché. Bill Hader impresses as the egotistical, modern-day aristocratic racer Guy Gagné, while Samuel L. Jackson and Snoop Dogg are terrific as a couple of snails that help Turbo along in his quest. The real voice stars, however, are Michael Peña and Luis Guzmán, whose voices shape the film's two most memorable characters. There's an unmistakably excellent rapport between them that's shaped not only by the voices but through an animation that creates a very real brotherly harmony about them, a visually perceptible chemistry in the way they interact and even look at one another in moments of contentment and frustration both. A scene in which they share a taco lunch is made all the more special by a subtle glance and a sincere smile that open up the characters and give them a lifeblood most other animated figures lack at their very cores. Turbo is a fun, action-packed, heartfelt, and sincere journey of a small creature destined for big things. Sure that's a recycled plot, but it works surprisingly well thanks to terrific animation, better voice performances, and a focus on message that never wavers and culminates in the perfect ending for the story. It's suitable for all ages and will please children and adults alike with its energy and sincerity both. This DreamWorks/Fox Blu-ray 2D release of Turbo features reference video and audio. A decent assortment of extras are included. Very highly recommended. [CSW] -3.1- . [V5.0-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10. Cast Notes: Ryan Reynolds (Turbo [voice]), Paul Giamatti (Chet [voice]), Michael Peña (Tito [voice]), Samuel L. Jackson (Whiplash [voice]), Luis Guzmán (Angelo [voice]), Bill Hader (Guy Gagné [voice]), Snoop Dogg (Smoove Move [voice]), Maya Rudolph (Burn [voice]), Ben Schwartz (Skidmark [voice]), Richard Jenkins (Bobby [voice]), Ken Jeong (Kim Ly [voice]), Michelle Rodriguez (Paz [voice Woman Auto Mechanic), Mario Andretti (Dos Bros Customer / Race Official [voice]), Mike Bell (White Shadow [voice] [as Michael Patrick Bell]), Aidan Andrews (Bike Boy [voice]). IMDb Rating (11/13/13): 6.3/10 from 16,937 users
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