Planes

Voices of: Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Priyanka Chopra, John Cleese, Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Sinbad, Gabriel Iglesias, Brent Musburger, John Ratzenberger
Directed by: Klay Hall
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A crop-duster (Dane Cook) dreams of competing in a famous around-the-world race.


Review:

Tim: I get that Planes isn't the most beloved Disney movie. This spinoff from the Cars movies was certainly about selling more merchandise, and the story seems a little too familiar. And yet, despite these issues, I still had a fun time watching this movie. While this film is easy to criticize, I actually think that it's a lot better than most people give it credit for being. It's a cute little kid's movie and it's worth checking out.

The basic story is very familiar, but it's one that is a good lesson for kids- if you believe strongly enough and are willing to put in the time and effort, you can accomplish amazing things. This is a film about wanting to better yourself, about chasing your dreams and working until they become a reality. Those are all great lessons for younger viewers. However, the film isn't preachy- these lessons are wrapped up in a pretty exciting around-the-world race that features a great deal of action, adventure, and suspense. All in all, this is a fairly engaging movie that does a lot to entertain the audience.

Our protagonist is Dusty, a crop-duster. While he isn't built to race, it's his dream and he and his friends will stop at nothing to see him achieve it. This film is about the underdog, going toe-to-toe with the big guys, the rich and the famous. How can you not get a little excited rooting for the underdog to win? While it's all very predictable, it's still fun to watch on screen. I thought this element was well established.

The voice cast is good. Dane Cook does a good job as Dusty. I really liked Stacy Keach as Skipper. Brad Garrett and Teri Hatcher are good additions to the cast. I loved the nod to Top Gun with the voices of Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer. Overall, this movie does a good job of assembling famous voices while making sure the celebrity never outshines the character. I felt like all the voices fit the individual characters and I was able to concentrate on the characters, instead of constantly saying, "Hey, that's Dane Cook!" Disney did a very good job of assembling the right quality of voice actors for this film.

The animation is good. I enjoyed the bright colors and the various locales. In this film we see the frozen Arctic, we see giant mountains, terrible ocean storms, the desolation of the Mexican landscape, and much more. By creating a round-the-world race, the film is able to showcase lots of different areas around the globe. It was fun getting caught up in this global event.

Of course, the film has a number of flaws. It's basically a rehash of the Cars movies and it features very familiar themes. Some of the film feels a bit rushed and is clearly not close to the quality of Pixar films (when they are at the top of their game). Despite all this, I had a fun time with this film. There's something appealing about anthropomorphic planes in this cute little world. I enjoyed watching this movie and I'd recommend it.

* Update- maybe 6 years after first watching Planes, I watched it again with my four year-old son. I was pleased to see I'm still aligned with my original review. This movie got really bad reviews from critics, but I just don't understand that. I've seen so many bad animated movies and Planes is absolutely not one of them. Yes, the proximity of the story to the superior Cars franchise is a little unsettling, but it's a spinoff and there's enough difference here to justify its existence. It was fun to watch my son get absorbed into this world. And, while he didn't love Dusty like he loved Lightning McQueen (which is the right response), he still had fun watching this movie. It's an exciting, globetrotting adventure that delivers some good life lessons to younger viewers. I still disagree with the critics on this one- Planes is an entertaining, fun movie. I had fun watching it for the second time and I wouldn't be opposed to future viewings (and for comparison purposes, I couldn't say that about Cars 2).

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cars, Cars 2