The hero’s species may have switched from Rattus norvegicus to Helix aspersa, but DreamWorks Animation’s latest venture Turbo borrows more than a few tricks from Pixar’s Ratatouille, with Ryan Reynolds’ determined garden snail Theo following nearly the same vermin-to-victory path as Remy the rodent chef.
Like Remy, Theo has an absurd dream of one day being a pint-sized race-snail and leaving behind his tomato-gathering job in the yard. After a freak accident involving nitrous oxide, Theo gains racecar-like speed, attracting the attention of Tito (Michael Peña), a chipper food-truck driver who has the bright idea of entering the snail (now called Turbo) in the Indy 500 to compete against the best — including Theo’s idol, Bill Hader’s suave Guy Gagne.
Turbo shares a lot in common with the Pixar movie, but it isn’t a soulless carbon copy. Director David Soren’s jovial saga delivers a hearty helping of underdog sentiment with a side of giggly sight gags and some beautifully detailed animation (the racing scenes look stellar in 3D). But the emotional sophistication and depth of storytelling that made Ratatouille a classic just isn’t here. Closer in tone, spirit and achievement to Pixar’s Cars, the earnest Turbo is content just to provide a lot of fun.
I’d be lying, though, if I said that Theo’s awestruck gaze over a busy highway didn’t carry the same emotional heft as Remy’s perusing of the Paris skyline. After June’s Monsters University bravely told kids that their career path might work out as they’d hope, a good-hearted movie like Turbo may be needed to remind the little ones that it’s still okay to dream.
Review also at nashvillescene.com