Turbo F.A.S.T. races to NETFLIX

One of my son's favorite movies during the summer of 2013's blockbuster movie season was TURBO, the story of a snail who wants to be fast and thanks to a freak accident is transformed into a speedy racer who competes in the INDY 500.  This premise has been used by the Internet movie/television service NETFLIX in its bid to transform itself from a re-broadcaster of media content to an originator of premium programming, as it made available it's first original programming series targeted to children, TURBO F.A.S.T. on Christmas Eve.  NETFLIX made 5 (23 minute) episodes available to its subscribers on December 24, 2013 and additional new shows will be added to the site for streaming in 2014.

I watched the first episode with my 5 yr old son and daughter and they both really enjoyed it - enough that as soon as the show ended they yelled out "let's watch it again!"  The first show in this new animated series has Tito, Turbo's taco truck driving buddy, bring the racing snail home after a world wide promotional tour celebrating his win at Indy.  They are greeted by Kim Ly (voiced by comedian Ken Jeong - who voiced the character in the movie) as they return to the Starlight Plaza strip mall in a short skit which serves as a segue from the movie to the cartoon series. Tito takes Turbo to a "City" for bugs that he has created next to the dumpster behind the strip mall and lets the snail off into his new home.  That is the last scene with "humans" in it as the show focuses on Turbo's adventures in the Bug City as he is also joined by his snail family and friends from the movie - Chet, Burn, Whiplash, Skidmark & White Shadow.

Check out this clip from the new animated television series:

The animation for TURBO F.A.S.T. is refreshing in that it has a bright neon glow to it reminiscent of 80s Saturday Morning cartoons like Pacman and The Smurfs with a 2D flat hand-drawn retro feel versus the CGI three-dimensional let's try to make the cartoon look like "real life" approach that many other animated series are doing at the moment.  This is also a departure from the movie which was in a 3-D high tech animated format itself.  See the difference between a scene from the movie and a scene from the new tv show:

TURBO - the movie

TURBO F.A.S.T

Of course, the tv show has a focus on racing and the name of Turbo and his friend's team which starts off as Fast Action Race Team but they change during the course of the first show to Fast Action Stunt Team because they like the name FAST better than FART plus they do some superhero stunts making them more than just a "race" team.  Thus the name of the show TURBO F.A.S.T.  Many of characteristics of the show including the voices ( though voiced by different actors) of the snails are very similar - that may be in part because DREAMWORKS STUDIOS created both the original movie and is producing the cartoons for NETFLIX. 

You may think that with a show that focuses on snails racing and doing stunts it might be a boys themed cartoon, but the producers do a nice job making it enjoyable for both genders.  My daughter liked the show as much as my son.  One of the reasons she liked the show was they incorporated as one of the major characters a female race named BURN that my daughter really appreciated.  Another fun aspect of the show is that they give each snail a score card with video game type 1-10  rankings for various categories that they flash on the screen.  It gives the characters a little more personality plus the viewers an idea of what each snail may be better at when it comes to a race or an adventurous task.  For example, BURNS' score card gives her a ranking of 7 for SPEED, 8 for ACCELERATION and 10 for SASS.

All in all TURBO FAST is a fun ride of a show that I give a nod to for children's viewing.  The few episodes we've seen so far from the initial 5 released show a pattern of promoting a theme of teamwork, overcoming obstacles, and following your dreams.  Both the movie and tv show send the message it is OK to dream BIG, which I believe is a great thing to communicate to our youth.

For more information, visit:  http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Turbo_FAST/70271773?locale=en-US

Make way for the extreme team.

Join Turbo and his posse on the Turbo Fast Action Stunt Team.  Filled with outrageous comedy, action and laugh out loud fun, "Turbo FAST" amps up everything to the extreme: extreme adventures, extreme challenges, and extreme excitement.

Genres: TV Shows, Kids' TV, TV Cartoons

This show is: Witty, Exciting

(Source: NETFLIX website) 

MAN OF STEEL DAY is on WEDNESDAY!!!

UPDATE (6/13/2013):  I had a fun trip with my kids to enjoy MAN OF STEEL DAY at the local comic book store.  We picked up the FREE Superman comic book and some other movie swag plus bought the new Superman Unchained comic and Star Wars #6 for me and an Ice Age one for my son and a My Little Pony for my daughter.  Than we read our comics while enjoying some Superman Ice Cream on the back porch. 

ORIGINAL POST:

Stop by your local comic book store this Wednesday (June 12, 2013) and you can pick up a FREE Superman issue!  To promote the release of the new Superman movie that opens at theaters next weekend, DC Entertainment has declared June 12 as MAN OF STEEL DAY.

People who stop by participating retailers on June 12^th will receive a complimentary comic book; ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly.   The free comic promotion is provided through the generous sponsorship of SEARS.  In addition to the FREE comic book, Warner Brothers will be providing promotional posters and bags for the movie to encourage people to hit theaters starting on Friday to see the new MAN OF STEEL film.  Some comic book stores will also be holding other promotional tie-ins and contests to reward fans who stop in on Wednesday for MAN OF STEEL DAY.  

For those readers who don’t normally frequent comic book shops, Wednesdays are the day of the week when retailers stock new issues on their shelves.  June 12 will feature a brand new Superman title hitting shelves for sale as DC debuts a new series called SUPERMAN UNCHAINED by bestselling comic creators Jim Lee and Scott Snyder.  In addition to SUPERMAN UNCHAINED having extra value in being the very first issue in a new series, the comic will also have a bonus two-sided poster (11”x18”) that can be easily removed for display.

Can’t make it to the comic book store on Wednesday? DC Entertainment has also teamed up with SEARS to make ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION available for FREE via online outlets such as  Comixology, iBook/iTunes, and Kindle).  Additionally, they will be having a .99 cent per issue MAN OF STEEL DAY sale making hundreds of Superman comics available all day on these online platforms at this special reduced pricing.

If you can’t wait until Wednesday, here’s a little secret for you … you can download ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1 SPECIAL EDITION as of today (June 9) on the DC Comics web portal for FREE:   http://www.readdcentertainment.com/free-comicsor Comixology! I just downloaded it on Comixology right before posting this blog entry.  Beware there it is also posted at its regular price of on the digital store at $1.99 so you have to look for the FREE version. It also appears to still be $1.99 on iTunes and Kindle right now so if you utilize those platforms you may have to wait a few more days to download it.  The ALL STAR SUPERMAN series focuses on the classic aspects of the Superman mythos starting with his daring rescue of a doomed group of astronauts on the surface of the sun.  All the solar radiation affects Superman in a way no one would have predicted-well no one that is except for Lex Luthor!  ALL STAR SUPERMAN is an award-winning twelve-issue series and this FREE comic is the first one in the story arc.  If you like the first issue, but may not want to buy the rest of the issues, here’s a hint for you too: they made the series into an animated movie and you can stream it on Netflix.  I haven’t seen it yet but have added it to my Instant Queue to watch it online.  Note it is rated PG and recommended for a viewing audience of 12+ - also some of the reviews note that while it is a nice film to watch it is missing some elements from the comic books and not as good as actually reading the print series.

This week should be a great time to be a Superman fan! Enjoy MAN OF STEEL DAY on June 12^thand the movie starting on June 14^th.  I’ve picked up some Superman Ice Cream (peanut allergy safe – that was a superman task in itself) and will be enjoying that with my kids before we take a trip to the local comic book store. So we’re making a fun day out of the whole promotion!  If you have younger kids like me you may also want to check with your local library to see if they are hosting an event on Saturday, June 15.  1,000 libraries across the country will be hosting MAN OF STEEL events courtesy of Random House Publishing.  Children (note the word children) will receive FREE buttons, book marks, and Superman comic books at these library events.