Movie Review - Turbo

Turbo *** (PG) If there’s any medium that’s suited for suspending disbelief for an outrageous premise, it’s animation. That’s what allows us to enjoy talking animals, cars, etc.; that’s why after more than 20 years, it’s OK that Bart Simpson is still in grade school, and Maggie still can’t walk or talk. In that spirit, once you decide to swallow the idea of a speed-obsessed garden snail racing in the Indy 500, you can enjoy the way DreamWorks pulls out all the stops, milking considerable advantage from 3-D technology and a fine voice cast, to make the proceedings fun for all ages.

Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Luis Guzman, Snoop Dogg, Richard Jenkins and Samuel L. Jackson contribute some of the easily-recognizable star power. "Turbo’s" dream of leaving the tomato patch for bigger things is made possible by a freak occurrence much like Peter Parker’s acquisition of the Spidey powers that fed a multi-medium franchise . The script is laced with enough visual and verbal comedy to make the sentimental underdog theme work nicely. Turbo offers a better bang for your buck than most got from Cars 2, though the EPA requires me to warn readers that your mileage may vary. (7/17/13)