“This holiday season, DreamWorks Animation presents the first-ever Netflix original series… for kids!” blares the first trailer for the streaming service’s upcoming series. Turbo FASTAnd how is Netflix celebrating this big occasion? With a farting snail.
A little fecal humor is not a bad thing, but let us hope that this opening salvo does not set the overall tone for Turbo FASTbased on this summer’s computer-animated film turbo — a film that received a relatively modest reception both critically and at the box office. This small-screen version trades the film’s computer effects for a 2D animation style, replacing turboThe Movie’s high-profile voice cast includes Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti and Samuel L. Jackson, including actors such as Reid Scott and Jeff Bennett (although Ken Jeong will reprise his role from the film).
Turbo FAST may sound like a redundant title, but there is a reason for it: FAST stands for “Fast Action Stunt Team”, a group of snails led by Turbo himself. The series follows the team immediately after the events of turbo as they travel the world, compete in races and face off against supervillains.
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For those who are not necessarily interested in the exploits of Turbo and his crew, Turbo FAST offers an intriguing shift in Netflix’s usual distribution style. Although the company has become known for releasing entire seasons of shows like House of Cards, Arrested developmentAnd Orange is the new black at once, Turbo FAST is following a different model: Five episodes will premiere on Christmas Eve, with additional episodes planned for the entire year of 2014. “New episodes will be released in the coming months, so kids will have something to look forward to all year long,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, in a statement.
But that’s not much of an explanation. Is Netflix rethinking the way it distributes original content? Is there something about the way kids consume streaming content that’s different from adults? Or is Turbo FAST simply not ready to release a full season yet? Whatever the explanation, it’s an intriguing break from Netflix’s status quo – and we’ll find out in the coming months whether or not it’s a sign of a new strategy from the streaming video giant.
