Theo, a garden snail, always dreamed of living the fast life and racing in the Indy 500. However, his brother, friends, and Mother Nature herself seems to disagree. After one freak accident, he finds himself living the fast paced life he always dreamed of. After leaving the garden he never considered his home, he and his brother find themselves under the care of the socially-awkward fast-food worker, Tito. Just like Theo, Tito dreams of something bigger than being a simple Mexican selling Tacos to tourists. Risking all the money Tito and his friends have, they decide to go to Indianapolis and enter Turbo in the Indy 500 in hopes for achieving their dreams.
After Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University, Dreamworks enters the competition with Turbo. It did not disappoint but it did have some troubles in terms of keeping the creativity alive until the end. Needless to say, it still possesses what an underdog story requires and good enough to keep little children entertained.
The premise of the film is quite interesting and it brings something new to that small dreamer with big dreams concept. It reminds me of Pixar's Ratatouille but does not come close though. There are lots of similarities such as the tiny dreamer being an animal, the big dream of being a racer and being a chef, the challenges the main characters had to face such as the unbelieving and not supportive family, the company and love they receive from a human and finally, just like any animated film, the happy ever after they get when they reach their dreams. What lacked in Turbo that Ratatouille had was the craziness. Turbo started off great and was on the run but soon finds itself slowing down and ventured into familiar and predictable territory.
Another aspect wherein it might have failed is the lack of conflict. When Turbo was still Theo, in other words: slow, he had so much conflict in his life that you would sympathize and feel sorry for him. You would want to help this little guy achieve his dreams of racing in the Indy 500. However, the moment his life is sped up, most if not all seems to fall into their rightful places. There are problems he would encounter but they would all be given a solution easily. Just like the name, there is a feeling of hastiness leading towards the climax. It somehow feels rushed that you would be surprised that you are already in the climax of the film without having felt the build-up before it. In relation to the climax and build-up, I had some concerns with regards to the establishment of the characters' plan of action in order to achieve their dreams. Theo dreams of racing while Tito dreams of making his brother's restaurant known. Each of them has a clear goal in mind but the problem they face is how will they achieve their individual dreams by working together. I'm more than confident that the answer is clear even to the youngest viewer in the audience. Question is, why did it take so long for the movie to give us the obvious answer? This is for Theo to race in order to bring fame to Tito's brother's restaurant.
In another aspect of the film, I really like the different characters in the movie. They were very entertaining especially the racing snails. The voice cast were perfect and they managed to bring lots of laughter and variety to the movie. Each were memorable in their own distinct way. Turbo also manages to set the bar high for animated films in terms of animation and editing. The environment was great and it was visually stunning. I personally like the part where Theo was looking at the passing cars on the highway, the use of time lapse was very pleasing to the eyes and also a great juxtaposition to the slow moving snail that's observing them.
Overall, Turbo is a fun film filled with hope and dreams that encourages children to never give up their dreams no matter how small they are and how big their dream is. It manages to entertain and gives a few good laughs from the audience without the need of innuendos for the adults. I just have to say that this film is really more focused for the children's entertainment. The faults and shortcomings noticed by the adults would most definitely not interest the children.
Rating: 3/5
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