Turbo (Film Review)

Turbo is a garden snail (played by Ryan Reynolds) who has an obsession with going fast, even being a huge fan of the Indy-500.  Yet (as you’d expect) he lives a slow and dull life, working with his brother (Paul Giamatti) and a community of other garden snails on gathering Tomatoes.  One night he makes a wish to go fast and ends up being sucked into a supercharger of a race car; absorbing the nitrous oxide which (through the miracle of movie magic) turns him into a car like snail with headlights, a radio, and super speed.  Soon Turbo gets caught up in a series of events that ends with him getting signed up to race in the Indy-500 against his favorite idol.  So if you thought that the plot to Turbo sounds completely ridiculous…you’d be right.  But what allows Turbo to work as a film are the comedy, characters, and visuals.

When it comes to the characters it’s clear that they’re created for the voice actors and not vice versa.  I’d say 85-90% of the character’s voices I could put to real life face (The leader snail is clearly Samuel L. Jackson, the brother snail is Paul Giamatti, the Indy CEO is Kurtwood Smith, etc…).  This can either become a hit or miss depending on the situation, as sometimes this can distract the viewer from becoming engrossed into the film.  However I’d say it works here as the movie uses its voice actors to the advantage; playing on their strengths then adding them to the characters motions and animations. 

Take for example Samuel L. Jackson and his character Whiplash.  Jackson plays the character as an insane, daredevil, speed crazed, motivational leader to Turbo and the other snails.  He provides the energy and passion to this role you’d see in Jackson’s better films (Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Black Snake Moan); at times sounding serious and deadly while other times laughing insanely.  As such the animators (from what I can pick up) have designed the motions of Whiplash around the voice acting; providing him with erratic movement and a crazed/dangerous look in his eyes.  The combination provides a highly effective version of Samuel L. Jackson as a snail (essentially); creating a very fun to watch, entertaining character.

It’s with these actor/characters combinations that the real comedy of the film is formed.  For the most part the set ups and punch lines to the jokes aren’t nearly as effective as just the voices and animation.  The jokes I laughed at weren’t the “real” jokes (they provided slight chuckles at best) but instead just the exaggerated motions of the characters combined with the actors’ dialogue.  Both parts were energized and over blown in a positive way; never getting dull to watch (which is impressive to do for snail characters).

However the true treat of Turbo is the animated visuals themselves; using bright, vibrant colors to light up the film.  Each snail, human, and car has its own unique color design.  Night scenes where Turbo watches cars drive on the highway possess after-trails that leave streaks of red, yellow, and white.  Turbo himself possesses his own unique after-stream of blue; used in unique ways to communicate with others (such as quickly forming arrows or circles).  Imaginative designs are used for scenes to give them a distinctive style of their own.  Take this scene for example: Turbo tries to save a ripe tomato for the snails to eat before a lawn mower destroys it.  A simple scene that could have remained simple, but instead takes a colorful approach by having an over-imaginative Turbo picture himself racing the mower (who is now being used by Turbo’s race-car idol) to the Tomato.  The scene becomes flushed with stunning colors in the sky and a chart label at the bottom showing both “opponents” speed and velocity; changing a simple scene in an artistic treat.

The animators also do a terrific job with the shading of Turbo.  Shadows, grays, and lighting are used to their best potential; adding to the scenes of gloom and triumph.  There’s this beautiful use of storm clouds when Turbo’s brother is taken by crows; giving the scene a less light-hearted look, and more of one where there’s something at stake (which I’m assuming was the creators intention). 

With likable characters, amazing visuals, and bound with energy, Turbo ends up overcoming the fault of having a ridiculous plot and becoming a fun eye candy treat for the family.  Kids will definitely enjoy Turbo (believe me, I heard them laughing throughout the entire film) and adults, while they might not be engrossed, will definitely find some enjoyment in the comedy and animation.