Cars did not have the critical esteem of its Pixar counterparts but it was a massive hit with its younger audience, so the next logical step (after the inevitable sequel Cars 2) was to expand that world to other types of vehicles, and thus Disney’s Planes was born. While taking place “above the world of Cars,” the film was originally to be a direct-to-video release and produced by DisneyToon Studios, not Pixar, causing many a skeptical brow to be raised.
[pullquote_left]While it may feel like a cash-in, the final product does a nice job of catching enough of the spirit of Cars.[/pullquote_left]While it may feel like a cash-in, the final product does a nice job of catching enough of the spirit of Cars while managing to exceed my cynical expectations. Much of that is most likely due to the involvement of Pixar’s chief creative officer John Lasseter as co-writer and executive producer bringing his passion to the skies. Lasseter is no stranger to this world, having directed both Cars films, and continues the vibe here with director Klay Hall by evoking that earnest Americana wonder that worked in those films.
Disney’s Planes revolves around Dusty Crophopper (unsurprisingly a cropduster) and his longing for something bigger than the quiet life of dusting crops, so he decides to try and qualify for the massive “Wings Across the World Race.” Dane Cook provides the voice of Dusty and despite how you feel about his stand-up comedy or film work, you can’t deny his exuberance and energy are perfectly matched for animation voice work, and he does a fine job with Dusty.
In order to get himself ready, Dusty seeks the help of Skipper Riley (Stacy Keach), a grumpy old ex-military plane hermit that wants nothing to do with the hopeful upstart’s quest to race. If the dynamic sounds familiar, that’s because it’s near exactly the same character relationships in Cars, resulting in one of the bigger downfalls of the movie: the generic paint-by-numbers script. You’ve seen the character journeys and their comedic archetypes many times, so there’s not much fresh in the story department.
[pullquote_left]Can you really go wrong with a cameo by Val Kilmer as Bravo, the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet? [/pullquote_left]If the viewer is able to get past the extremely predictable plot beats, you’ll still be able to get some solid enjoyment from Disney’s Planes. The film has tons of fun new characters that pop with beautiful designs and above average voice work. El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) modeled after the Gee Bee plane with a luchador paint job/mask is an extremely fun side-character as he romances the french Rochelle (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) with his Latin charm. Also, can you really go wrong with a cameo by Val Kilmer as Bravo, the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet?
The biggest selling point of Disney’s Planes is easily the visuals, and the Blu-Ray treatment is a superb representation of just how pretty the work on this film turned out. Since the plot revolves around a race around the globe, the ever-constant scenery changes to gorgeous diverse locations keeps things amazingly stimulating for the eyeballs. Many kids will no doubt be staring open-jawed in wonder at Disney’s Planes this holiday season.
[pullquote_right]The rest of the Blu-Ray treatment isn’t quite as good due to the lack of any real impressive special features.[/pullquote_right]The rest of the Blu-Ray treatment isn’t quite as good due to the lack of any real impressive special features. The cupboard isn’t bare, but you can burn through the stack of features pretty fast leaving an overall feeling that this is the supplemental material for a lesser profile Disney release. There are three deleted scenes, two of which are incomplete (told through storyboard and pre-viz animation), revolving around a training montage, a Taj Mahal sequence and a musical number featuring the German Aerocar Franz.
Rounding out the special features are items most likely to bore the kids but actually provide interesting content. Klay’s Flight Plan chronicles how the movie was developed, including the director’s passion for airplanes (similar to Lasseter’s for cars) while he tells his personal story to his two sons as they check out the really neat real-life inspirations for the characters in Disney’s Planes. Finally, there’s Top 10 Fliers that is not so much about the film, but gives a documentary style look into the actual ten best fliers of all time. [pullquote_left]It doesn’t have the brains nor quite the heart, but kids will go nuts for this film.[/pullquote_left]
Despite quite a few issues getting Disney’s Planes off the ground as a major theatrically released Disney film, the end result is a better than expected expansion to the world of Cars. It doesn’t have the brains nor quite the heart, but kids will go nuts for this one and adults will have enough passable humor and stunningly animated action sequences to sit through those inevitable repeat viewings.
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