Well, Dreamworks Animation has a habit of coming up with the
strangest concepts for movies. Fish who talk like stereotypical black people, a
bee who sues the entire human race for selling honey, and now, a snail who
gains the speed of a race car, and races in the Indy 500. That’s the plot
synopsis for their latest film, Turbo. This film (unsurprisingly)
underperformed in the box office, coming in at number 3, right behind
Despicable Me 2, which was already in its 4th week. Not counting
inflation and additional charge for 3D showings, it’s the third worst opening
weekend for Dreamworks Animation. So I went to see this movie, hoping to be
surprised by it like I was with Kung Fu Panda, and…I wasn’t surprised….at all.
I could tell what would happen next while watching the film. In fact, I can
tell you the plot through clichés.
The underdog dreams a big dream to be in his favorite sport,
which makes him look like an oddball to the others. His conformist brother,
father and/or wife tells him it’s impossible and be normal like the rest of
them. But he still dreams his big dream and looks up to the best competitor in
the sport, listening to his every word in his interviews on TV. Soon he gains
powers that help him realize his dream, but his conformist family still tries
to talk him out of it. He tries out in the sport, qualifies and wins the hearts
of millions of Americans. But it turns out his idol is a huge jerk who wants to
crush him with the competition. His conformist family still tells him he can’t
do this and won’t be watching him compete, but they come in at the last minute
and tell him he CAN do this. And he does do it! The underdog wins! The end! NOW
GO BUY THE TOYS!
The film tells the same story we’ve seen a million times
with characters we’ve seen a million times. Except with snails….that can
race…and voiced by celebrities desperate for a pay check. Granted, it’s not
teaching bad morals and it doesn’t have anything that would scar children, the
film feels like it’s trying to make their own franchise similar to Pixar’s Cars
then telling a story. In fact, Dreamworks counted their chickens before they
hatched by announcing they were making a Turbo TV series following this movie.
But surprise, no one wants to see Ryan Reynolds voice a racing snail.
2 out of 4 stars. While some of the visual humor made me
smile, it didn’t make me laugh.
