Snoop Dogg turns Snoop Snail in the animated film ‘Turbo’
It’s getting confusing keeping track of Snoop Dogg’s animal aliases.
Dogg, Lion -- and now snail?
The garden creature was the reason for his performance Wednesday afternoon at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, where he was promoting the new animated feature “Turbo.” Snoop has the lead song on the soundtrack and also provides the voice of a snail called Smoove Move.
The event, thrown for attendees of the E3 gaming convention, included a mini concert and appearances from “Turbo” stars Michael Peña and Michelle Rodriguez.
“Turbo,” a DreamWorks movie that is set to be released nationwide July 17, is the story of Turbo (voice of Ryan Reynolds), a snail who dreams of being in the Indy 500. But as you can imagine, Turbo is quite slow -- until a freak accident leaves him with super-speed. This captures the attention of Tito (Peña), who introduces him to other snail racers and helps him achieve his dreams.
“It’s going to be really hard to believe it, but I play a Mexican,” Peña told the audience. That got laughs.
Rodriguez plays Paz, a “car mechanic chick,” as she says --a typical Rodriguez casting.
“Turbo” seems to be marketed as a children’s feature with an adult edge. Between the movie’s tag line – “He’s fast. They’re furious” – and Snoop Dogg headlining the soundtrack, it could be called a children’s version of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, which also stars Rodriguez.
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Peña, father to a 4 1/2-year-old, likes the approach. “We watch movies over and over,” he explained, “so you want to write it for the kids, but then also add something for the adults.”
With nary a child in the audience Wednesday, Snoop was also catering to the adult crowd, playing hits such as ”The Next Episode” and “Drop It like It’s Hot,” along with the tune from the film’s soundtrack, “Let the Bass Go.”
“I wanted a song with a lot of energy, that was high-paced, that could attract the kids, make them feel good about hearing it, and want to dance to it,” said Snoop.
And, of course, it’s a bit more tame (lyrically) than his standard tracks.
He also enjoyed his new animal portrayal: “I like the way my character looks, sounds…. I think I’m a great snail,” he said.
Unfortunatlely, “Snoop Snail” doesn’t have a very good ring to it.
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