RYAN REYNOLDS: FASTEST SNAIL IN “TURBO”
In the delightful 3D animated film,
“Turbo,” Ryan Reynolds stars as a snail with an extraordinary dream: he wants
to be fast. Very fast. It’s a contradiction in terms but that
doesn’t stop this tenacious creature from pursuing his ambition. Despite a
series of obstacles along the way, (including opposition from his own brother,
played by Paul Giamatti) the turbo-charged mollusk enlists the help of an
unusual crew of supporters who cheer him on.
Photo courtesy of Columbia Animation |
“Turbo” is the story of an unusual hero, an ordinary garden snail with big
dreams. He may be one of the slowest creatures on the planet but he longs to be
fast, speedy enough to win a legendary car race. With heart-stopping action and
lively characters, the family film from DreamWorks Animation and Twentieth
Century Fox centers on the engaging Theo (he changes his name to Turbo) ,voiced
by the talented Ryan Reynolds, who lives in the yard of a house in Southern
California. He sneaks into the garage at night to watch racing on an old TV set
and is obsessed with French-Canadian world champion,Guy Gagné, (Bill Hader) the
five-times winner of the historic Indy 500: [The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race] one
of the world’s most prestigious car races that is held at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
The fact that the race is for cars not mollusks is irrelevant to the tiny
creature. Turbo has a clear vision, although like every underdog (or under
snail) he faces a series of formidable obstacles along the way. It seems like a
ludicrously impossible goal, but Turbo’s adventure kicks into high gear on the
freeway in Los Angeles when a freak accident gives him the power of
super-speed: he can travel at 230 miles per hour! The turbo-charged snail
embarks on a thrilling adventure, assisted by a crew of racing snails anda few
human characters too. His cautious brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) believes Turbo
should stay at home with his family and forget the whole idea. The intrepid
snail remains undeterred.
“Ryan just seemed like the perfect fit to play Turbo,” says director David
Soren. The ironic thing was that he had just been chosen as (America’s) People
Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive before we met him to pitch the role. I was
nervously waiting for him to arrive at our lunch. Then he showed up and the
first words out of his mouth were: ‘I can't wait to be a snail. ’So you've got
to hand it to the guy, he is willing to try anything. He has no ego, he is so
talented and he was a joy to work with and incredibly committed to the part.”
“Turbo is a guy who sees himself on the wrong side of destiny. Unfortunately
he's a garden snail. And garden snails usually fail to register even the
tiniest blip on the spectrum of greatness. Turbo is completely disillusioned
with his lot in life and with the perception of his life as ‘ordinary’. He sees
himself as a guy who is on the very cusp of true greatness. He views himself
not just as the fastest snail on earth, but the fastest anything on earth,”
explains Reynolds of his character.
Further, Reynolds notes, “I think kids see the world as a vast expanse in which
ANYTHING is possible. I think they typically relate to larger than life
characters like Turbo because they themselves are larger than life. Kids
haven't internalized the false message that they're limited in some way. The
idea that a garden snail might beat an Indy car in a race isn't altogether
farfetched to kids. It's possible. It's exciting. And it means they too are
capable of shattering moulds in their lives, achieving their goals and
realizing dreams.”
“Turbo” is now playing in theaters nationwide from DreamWorks Animation and
20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros. in the Philippines.
For more cast profiles, follow the Mark_Templar on Twitter.
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