Turbo (11/12/2013)

Rated PG for some mild action and thematic elements.

Starring The voices of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Maya Rudolph, Snoop Dogg, Ken Jeong and Paul Giamatti

Directed by David Soren

Not the best animated film of the year, but fun enough to enjoy with the family.

From the makers of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, Turbo is a high-velocity comedy about an underdog snail who kicks into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. But after making fast friends with a crew of streetwise, tricked-out es-car-goes, Turbo learns that no one succeeds on their own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

I’ll admit when I first saw the trailer for this new Dreamworks animated film I had little to no interest in seeing it. I mean the whole racing snail story looked pretty corny. However, my kids insisted, so I gave in and hoped to be pleasantly surprised.

The topic of car racing has already been covered extensively in Pixar’s Cars. If Cars is for kids, Turbo is targeted for even younger kids. More than just the car racing, the side story about the deserted mini-mall in Van Nuys, California where Tito’s taco shop is located, was also obviously inspired by the town of Radiator Springs in Cars. And the scene showing how Theo got his powers, with the nerve axons and red blood cells being revitalized with nitrous oxide, is straight out of Spider- Man.

I also didn’t really understand the whole snails working together thing. That worked in films like Bug’s Life, but I’m pretty sure snails don’t work like ants. Can you imagine encountering an army of snails in your garden…yuck.

On the positive side, Turbo manages to tell a good story about brotherly support in the parallel stories of Theo and his brother Chet, and Tito and his brother Anton. One brother is the whimsical dreamer, while the other is the more grounded practical one. They may see things differently, but in the end, brotherly love prevails.

Of course, the showcase of the whole film is the big race. The execution of the race sequence is fun and exciting, especially the final laps.

The voice work by big stars like Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti and Samuel L. Jackson was okay, but nothing really memorable.

Kids will definitely enjoy this film (mine sure did) and parents will think it’s worth the “Rental.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Yeah this one is fine for the whole family.

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. What does Theo say when Chet asks him, “What if you wake up tomorrow and your powers are gone?” (He says, “Then I’d better make the most of today.”)


2. If you knew tomorrow wouldn’t come, what would you want to accomplish today?


3. Read Luke 9:62
   
   Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”


4. You have no guarantee that you will live tomorrow. Whatever you’re going to do, you better do it now.


5. In what area or situation in your life do you need to stop procrastinating?