Elon Musk’s snail is playing a key role in the development of hyperloop, a transit system that moves people at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. While the gooey gastropod called “Gary” may ...

Gary is a snail who lives in a pineapple, balanced precariously on a wall overlooking a deep trench. He is trapped there, waiting for the day when he is forced to race against a giant machine.

But don’t be fooled by its title or its small handful of celebrity drop-ins — “Sponge on the Run” belongs to one character above all others, and that character is Gary the Snail (whose ...