When A Snail Dreamed to Big
In December 2013, DreamWorks Animation released Turbo, an amusing simple, yet charming one of a kind idea about a garden snail for the first time in Indy 500 history. One would think one of hollywood’s good niche off-beat ballads of a snail would be buried. But kids seemed to love it. By the time the company was releasing the first trailer for the actual movie, there was a bizarre fanbase that had grown in to a wholesome enough theory that the movie released by DreamWorks had gone to popular social media sites like Reddit.
Before we explore the other theories, let’s first explore the first one of Turbo, the story that inspired it all.
A Snail’s Story Too Big For Snail’s
At the core, Turbo was about the first snail ever to tub, a snail with dreams larger than the compost pile. His day was spent mooching off the tomato vines and gobbling leaves, in tub life snail’s broth, his heart had to beat for an Indy 500. Racing was Theo’s passion, the ace snail tubber. Most of his compost crunching snail friends would leave Theo to race in peace. His only brother. Chet, Theo’s Helpmate and a snail of bleak practicality was at the pit with Theo.The story’s pivotal moment occurs when Turbo gets sucked into a souped-up racer’s engine during a nitrous oxide boost and gains abilities no biological organism should. Sudden. Turbo’s fast. Not metaphor-fast, but speedometer-fast.
Next, Turbo, along with Tito, a taco-truck owner with big dreams and a dismissive family, form the underdog crew. The story reveals Turbo’s and Tito’s aspirations of excelling along with the inner struggles of being overlooked. The heart of the tale centers around the emotional response from the audiences. Younger viewers especially connected to Turbo’s journey, inspiring them to rewrite the limitations of their dreams.
As with every animated film that achieves popularity, there comes a set of questions regarding the plot of the film. Are there plot holes? Are there themes that are left unexplored?
Theories that Gave the Film a Second Life
Turbo made a big splash upon the release of his film. Slugs everywhere were supporting the film. One of the biggest fan theories was that Turbo’s powers were never real. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe Turbo was insecure about himself, and the ‘Indy 500’ was a metaphorical representation of a mental battle, rather than an actual event in the film. David Soren was the director and writer of Turbo and was asked in an interview about the ending of the film and whether it should be interpreted symbolically. He, with a chuckle, said, ‘No, Turbo really wins. It’s a kids’ film, let the snail have his moment.’
As the director said, it is a kids film about a snail who wins. But, as fans of the film were on discussion forums, and were explaining endless scenes, they kept insisting that there ‘clues’ in the film about Turbo’s ending being a dream. They quote things like the transitions being dreamlike, the ending being overly dramatic, and the film on a whole being a tribute to the exaggerated dream of a dying slug- to suggest that the whole film was in the head of a dying slug. Dreamworks was quoted in response to the film ending ‘depth’, saying, ‘if we made that version, DreamWorks would have fired all of us.’
There is also a popular yet warmer theory that Turbo’s powers are real, and they represent the strength he derives from the belief of those around him.
As characters offer him support, Tito, the Starlight Plaza racers, Chet, his strength seems to increase. A fans took to social media, likening this to the film Dumbo, in which the community belief serves as the real magic. This perspective was quickly adopted in fans essays, to which, curiously, some writing team members remarked that they appreciated seeing people \”finding emotional metaphors whether we planned them or not.\”
The Alternate Endings That Almost Happened
Though not as dark as fans offer, Turbo was developed with several alternate endings.
- Turbo Was Supposed to Lose the Indy 500
In early drafts Turbo was meant to finish second, leaving with a lesson on dignity in failure. However, test audiences, particularly children, perceived this as unsatisfying. According to crew interiviews, DreamWorks quickly pivoted. \”If a snail is racing in the Indy 500, he better win,\”, remarked one producer.
- Tito`s Taco Business Was Going to Be A Bust
In a slightly more realistic version, Tito in the end had to be content with a modest increase in customers. But the studio wanted the audience to experience a positive and uplifting ending, so the plaza-wide celebration stayed.
- Chet Almost Became the Real Hero.
Another unused idea Chet was performing a fearless save during the race, his emotional growth overshadowing Turbo’s victory, though nice, was pulling the film’s focus too much. Therefore, Chet’s story was rewritten to focus on the supportive brotherhood side instead of heroism.
Fans still share and trade storyboards and sketch leaks on social media, wondering about the darker or more silent versions that could have been.
The Production Secrets Hiding Under Turbo’s Shell
Although Turbo appears to be a carefree, bright film, the production journey of Turbo had its share of surprises that even the fans do not know about.
Months were spent on researching this exhaust gas.
The team, surprisingly, went deep into the mechanics of automotive engines to figure out how to visually represent speed using \”snail biology\”. Animators even looked into how snails move under ethial and heated stressful situations. Turbo’s glowing shell effect was designed from real-world inspirations, under stress and heat.
Real Indy 500 Staff Helped Shape the Race Sequence
In order to make the snail-inclusive race feel real, DreamWorks consulted real-life pit crew members, race strategy analysts, and commentators. They animated real crew members into the crowd shots as Easter eggs.
Ryan Reynolds Recorded Lines in His Basement.
Because of conflicting schedules, Reynolds recorded some of his voice work from his home studio. The director said that they sometimes heard his dogs barking during the recording breaks.
Samuel L. Jackson Improvised Most of His Snail Dialogue.
Jackson’s character Whiplash has some of the most entertaining lines, many of which were the result of improvisation. Later, animators adjusted the lips, shells, and antennae to match his improvisations.
What Fans Speculated After Its Release
After discussions and the release, the focus was mostly directed at two main points:
Could Turbo survive at such high speeds, Safely?
Of course, science channels humorously concluded that a snail would just vaporize.
Is Turbo a metaphor for immigrants breaking systemic boundaries?
This perspective was embraced, especially by many viewers from multicultural backgrounds. The rest of his and Tito’s storyline reinforced this reading beautifully.
This Acknowledged This Was Not Intentional, saying, \”We are proud that the story held enough heart for it to be interpreted in such personal ways.”
A Film That Became Bigger Than Expected
Overall, Turbo was one of those animated films that, in the end, Turbo became one of those animated films that managed to touch on many areas, created various theories and debates, constructed alternate realities and created emotional interpretations. This was something the creators never expected. A simple snail that raced into the imagination of fans and never slowed down became iconic, and certainly \”simple snail\” was a charming twist.