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6

ThegodfathersonJul 17, 2013

There's nothing overtly wrong with Dreamworks Animation's slick (from snail slime) new summer kid-pleaser, but for a movie about a speed-obsessed snail who just go with it enters the Indy 500, it sure does sit there. It's easy, formulaicThere's nothing overtly wrong with Dreamworks Animation's slick (from snail slime) new summer kid-pleaser, but for a movie about a speed-obsessed snail who just go with it enters the Indy 500, it sure does sit there. It's easy, formulaic and light on laughs. But, for those dragged to see it by children, it won't make you want to rub salt in your eyes. So it's a faint fail or a faint pass, depending on your resilience. Ryan Reynolds voices Theo aka "Turbo" a snail inexplicably determined to be as fast as a Nascar racer. As if you could hear it coming straight out of a pitch meeting. "Wouldn't it be funny if a snail wanted to be fast? Because they're so slow!" Paul Giamatti plays Turbo's "isn't the life we have just fine?" brother, Chet, who mostly shouts things like "It's not natural!" and "That's not what Mother Nature had in mind!" at Turbo so much that you come to realize, after 10 minutes, that the villain in this film is reality. And after endless bickering between a sourpuss and an contrived dreamer, you begin to resent both sides of the argument. In fact, and this is where I'll lose some of you (but it's where my mind goes when I'm bored during a kids' movie), there's a struggling LGBT undercurrent to whole story. Especially when it comes to how much Turbo wants to desperately change who he is as a creature entirely. And, subsequently, how much he's told that he's wrong for wanting to be something different. You get relentlessly beaten about the head by both sides of the fence so much that after a while you have to clear the cobwebs and remember that you're watching a stunt-casted cartoon flick.
From there the story plays out as predictably as possible, leaving little room for surprise or inspiration. Samuel L. Jackson, Snoop Dogg (Lion?) and Maya Rudolph play members of Turbo's rag-tag daredevil snail crew as the movie tries its hardest to convince you that a super-powered snail is somehow the underdog in a racing sport, despite the fact that he's already vastly superior simply by being a supernatural "thing that should not be." A chemical has, in fact, enhanced his performance.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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9

dpcJul 29, 2013

Saw it with my 7 year old son we both had a great time. Yes, the story is hardly innovative, but the animation is great, the humor is great, the voice acting is great and it's overall just a lot of fun. Turbo is getting a bit beat up for theSaw it with my 7 year old son we both had a great time. Yes, the story is hardly innovative, but the animation is great, the humor is great, the voice acting is great and it's overall just a lot of fun. Turbo is getting a bit beat up for the wrong reasons. Critics should take in account the target audience, like my son, who loved it. And as an adult, believe me, you could do far worse. So, if you are 2 dudes in your 20s, you probably won't be blown away (as you might with Pixar) but for families with easy-going kids, you won't be sorry you dropped some cash on a Saturday afternoon.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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4

jeff_reviewsJul 22, 2013

"Dreamwork's Turbo" suffers greatly from its already weak premise, unoriginal tale, and unsatisfying group of characters, and still struggles greatly to convey a message. The film greatly struggles with making likable characters from the"Dreamwork's Turbo" suffers greatly from its already weak premise, unoriginal tale, and unsatisfying group of characters, and still struggles greatly to convey a message. The film greatly struggles with making likable characters from the start, as the protagonist Turbo is hard to like due to his whiny and weakly developed personality. Turbo's growth through the film is a basic one that doesn't develop as well as it should have, with moments of humor interacting into awkward moments of slight emotional edges. While the humor derives mostly on characters, it isn't that laugh out loud hilarious that you could have gotten from films like "Despicable Me 2" or "Monsters University", and that the fact that this movies tries to be hilarious but evidently fails to show extremely funny humor (example as only a few chuckles were found in my theater in Turbo, as opposed to bawling laughter while in MU and DM2) Along with the humor from the characters, a lot of the supporting characters are not even developed well, aside from Turbo and maybe his human counter part Tito. The themes are very (seriously) close to those from Pixar films "Ratatouille" and "Cars", and while compared to those, it is fallen back way behind. While the themes from "Ratatouille" and "Cars" are put into emotional depth with characters, you aren't as emotionally attached or even care for the ones in "Turbo". Starlight Plaza isn't as deeply inspired as Radiator Springs, and Turbo isn't as strong as a character as Remy, which leaves this film nearly impossible to be matched with movies similar to it. The main idea to "Turbo" is that "dreams can come true to everyone", which to the opposite of "Monsters University", but in this case, the message isn't able to influence the audience due to the case of Turbo's situation. Turbo's ability to get a radio attached inside of him and his physical speed is obviously aimed to reach the younger audience and to get a couple of laughs, but interacts negatively to the message because of the fact that it tells us that the impossible can happen, even though impossible. The message in "Monsters University" counteracts the one in "Turbo" much better, because it tells us the truth, even though the truth hurts. Turbo's positives are that its wonderfully animated (except the strange looking snails that are obviously prone for kids to like) and that its got some humor in it. While "Turbo" has its downsides, you may want to watch it on DVD instead of theaters, as "Monsters University" and even "Despicable Me 2" are much better than this film. While "Turbo" may be not as tight and well executed as it could have been, it is most likely that it will be the third best animated film of the summer (not that optimistic on Planes and Smurfs 2).… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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1

marzapowerDec 2, 2013

This movie is boring, poorly original, with a terrible plot and terrible characters. The "bad guy" is really the worst example for an antagonist in such a movie. I've seen tons of child-related movies and this one is surely the most boring.This movie is boring, poorly original, with a terrible plot and terrible characters. The "bad guy" is really the worst example for an antagonist in such a movie. I've seen tons of child-related movies and this one is surely the most boring.
Unconsistent and awful. Nothing more.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

PStakhivAug 1, 2013

This just an average animation movie, has absolutely nothing original, not a good main plot, no great characters. Not even a great looking animation, I can't give it more than 5/10.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

RyattaNov 24, 2013

A light hearted hybrid of Pixar's Cars and Ratatouille; Turbo never quiet manages to hit the high notes from either its plot or action but its entertaining enough for a watch. The comedy is sharp which helps the film but for a film calledA light hearted hybrid of Pixar's Cars and Ratatouille; Turbo never quiet manages to hit the high notes from either its plot or action but its entertaining enough for a watch. The comedy is sharp which helps the film but for a film called Turbo I expected it to get to it's main plot faster.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

lukechristianscMar 17, 2014

this is okay animation film . Starring Ryan Reynolds as a s snail who develops powers then he enters a race . i find that hard to believe a snail could enter a race . David Soren did a terrible job at this film and as a director he hasthis is okay animation film . Starring Ryan Reynolds as a s snail who develops powers then he enters a race . i find that hard to believe a snail could enter a race . David Soren did a terrible job at this film and as a director he has poor creativity and imagation .… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

JacobMay 21, 2014

This film is a mixed bag providing some decent humor and entertaining characters but a bland and uninspired story. In all honesty there is no need for you to see this movie as it has little to offer. That being said though I have to give theThis film is a mixed bag providing some decent humor and entertaining characters but a bland and uninspired story. In all honesty there is no need for you to see this movie as it has little to offer. That being said though I have to give the film points for making me laugh a bit whereas The Croods didn’t. Now for granted this isn’t that much better than The Croods it’s only slightly better and one of the weaker films to come out Dreamworks. You are going to be fine if you don’t see this film but if you get stuck watching it its not that bad and you might laugh a bit. Look at this way you could be watching Planes which is far worse. However, Dreamworks has but together some good films over the years and it’s a shame that with Pixar falling behind in the race Dreamworks didn’t turn on their nitro shell and speed past them. If you saw the film in theaters though you saw a teaser for How To Train Your Dragon 2, which was better than the movie and has a lot of promise. Again not a bad film just forgettable. I saw it once and I’ll probably never see it again.… Expand