EVEN A SNAIL’S DREAMS CAN COME TRUE: The miraculously transformed snail Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) achieves his life long dream of racing in the Indy 500 race, and even racing against his hero, driver Guy Gagne (not shown). Thanks to a freak accident, Turbo receives a dose of laughing gas which turns him into the fastest snail in the world; fast enough to compete in the annual Indianapolis 500 race.

Theo (Ryan Reynolds) is ridiculed by his friends for dreaming the impossible dream of competing in the Indianapolis 500. Even his brother, Chet (Paul Giamatti), suggests that, “The sooner you accept the reality of your existence, the happier you’ll be.”

After all, Theo is a garden variety suburban snail and so slow he can barely get out of the way of a lawn mower or a child on a tricycle. But that hasn’t stopped him from painting the number “5” and racing stripes on his shell.

Theo whiles away his days dining on tomatoes that have ripened on the vine and fallen to the ground. At night, however, he retreats to his lair to watch TV and see drivers like his hero, Frenchman Guy Gagne (Bill Hader), fly around racetracks at over 200 miles per hour.

However, everything changes the day Theo is sucked into the engine of a passing automobile and accidentally injected with nitrous oxide (laughing gas). When he is deposited back on the ground, somewhere in the inner city, the slowpoke has been transformed into the speed demon, Turbo, thanks to the laughing gas that is now coursing through his body.

The snail quickly becomes the latest internet sensation and is welcomed to the ’hood by a gang of streetwise slugs led by mellow Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg), trash-talking Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson), and flirtatious Burn (Maya Rudolph). He also finds human benefactors in the kindly co-owners of Dos Bros Tacos, the owners of a mobile Mexican restaurant.

Not surprisingly, all of the above, including the food cart, make their way from Los Angeles to Indiana, with Angelo’s (Luis Guzman) and Tito’s (Michael Pena) life savings paying the Indy 500 entrance fee. At the track, it’s no surprise that the race ultimately becomes an exciting showdown between Turbo and his idol, Guy.

Turbo is the directorial debut of David Soren, and is a visually captivating and inspirational modern parable guaranteed to keep the kids perched on the edge of their seats. Besides its uplifting overcoming the odds message, the movie fills the screen with a menagerie of colorful characters who keep the audience laughing all the way to the satisfying conclusion.

A hilarious variation of Aesop’s fable The Tortoise and the Hare.

Excellent (****). Rated PG for mild action and mature themes. Running time: 96 minutes. Distributor: 20th Century Fox.