NEW DELHI: Turbo, a high-velocity 3D animation comedy about an underdog snail from the makers of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and The Croods, is being released on 19 July.
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It is about an underdog snail whose dreams kick into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. Turbo‘s single-minded goal is to compete in the greatest race in the world: the Indy 500. He even manages to get power to move at super-speed. But he soon learns that no one succeeds on his own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.
The film is helmed by Paul Soren and stars a strong ensemble cast of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Paul Giamatti and others.
The requisite comedic and dramatic acting chops, and bigger-than-life persona, are embodied by Hollywood Hottie Ryan Reynolds, whom Director Paul Soren describes as "the perfect match" for Turbo.
"I was pitched the idea about this character who has an impossible dream of winning the Indy 500," Ryan Reynolds remembers. "I asked, ‘What‘s impossible about that?‘ And he said, ‘Turbo‘s a snail.‘ And I said, ‘That‘s impossible!‘"
"But it all really sounded amazing, and I fell in love with its classic underdog story, which Turbo takes to a new level," Reynolds continues. "It takes a unique if not insane perspective to bring a snail to life in this way. What I love most about Turbo is his tenacity and refusal to give up on his dream. In fact, it doesn‘t even occur to him to give up. Talent is a collision between hard work and luck, and that‘s what Turbo is."
Turbo‘s other key relationship is with the collective known as the Racing Snails, who ultimately serve as his pit crew at the Indy 500.
Before Turbo arrived on the scene, the leader and reigning champ of the Racing Snails was Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson). To be a member of Whiplash‘s crew, you must earn his respect, and until you do, you‘ll never experience the real Whiplash - a warm, jovial guy who treats his crew like family.
One of the final stages of the race to finish Turbo was the intricate sound design created by three-time Academy Award-winner Richard King (The Dark Knight, Inception, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World). King worked closely with Soren to further define the film‘s vibrant characters and environments through their sounds. Among their principal challenges was creating Turbo‘s signature powering-up racing sounds, and differentiating them from the terrifying and deafening engines of the thirty-two Indy 500 cars pitted against him.
Soren also employed cutting-edge techniques to create the Indy 500 crowd scenes - 300,000 people strong. (It‘s the biggest sporting event in the world.) "There are more crowds in Turbo than any in animated film history," says the director. To accomplish that, "we devised a system that allowed us to cover huge crowds with relatively low amounts of rendering time, in a way never before possible."
This kind of technical wizardry was always in service of Turbo‘s colourful characters and classic-with-a-twist underdog tale. "I think audiences will really get behind Turbo‘s determination and dreams," says Soren. "There‘s a quality about underdog stories where you just can‘t help but start rooting for the character, get swept up by them, and start rooting for them".
