He’s moving so fast the whole is going in slow motion, baby
This is a story which had a lot of repetitions, options and prototypes. A story, which happened countless times, and will be happening more and more. Do not expect from Turbo to be a revolution in the field of the script, it does not break any cartoon patterns. Turbo is a revolution is many other senses.
So here is Theo, a snail, the biggest and the most miserable loser in his large family. No one takes Theo seriously, he is ridiculed, and every one refuses to call him Turbo, as he wishes to. He lives a boring and gray life of a garden snail. And the only thing which changes from day to day – another of his relatives was eaten by a crow. The image could have been quite grim, if not for a one tiny detail, which gave birth to the whole movie. Theo has a dream. He is a hopeless dreamer, who craves to become the most rapid snail in the world, who wishes to participate a real race. He has an actual “need for speed”. The impossibility and madness of his dream makes him a king of fools among his relatives. But Theo has a dream, and nothing else bothers him. He made a wish on a searchlight of an airplane, thinking it to be a star, and his desire was so big, so much bigger than himself, than the cars he dreamed of, even than the airplane, that his dream came true. And since that very moment the life of this sweet dreamer has never been the same. Throughout the movie we can become witnesses of how a dreamy loser becomes a conquering hero, whose dream came to life.
The story of a snail, who dreams to conquer the racing cars in speed, could have become a brilliant storyline for a five-page illustrated children’s book. Turning this story into a fascinating cartoon was only possible for genuine dreamers. Those, who are working in the DreamWorks studio. It is astounding how in a few sketches of a story they were able to create something so profound, beautiful and cheerful, as Turbo. Turbo is far more than a simple cartoon. Turbo is a message about a dreamer from one dreamer to another. After all, anyone, who will sit in the auditorium beside you and even you yourself are a dreamer. Otherwise, you would have never found yourself waiting for Turbo or reading this article.
No one, literally no one can remain indifferent with a brave, joyful Turbo – an extremely dear and charming character. Who said that snails are boring and disgusting? Snails could be funny, snails could be caring and attentive, snails could be sarcastic, snails could be desperate and snails could be dreamers.
One in a million, a racing snail, an eighth color of the rainbow. Turbo is genuinely a message, which makes us wonder whether we have our own “racing snail” in our soul, whether we are aspired to reach our dreams. After all, someday someone had a dream to go to the moon.
Kira Browdy
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