Cropduster Dusty Crophopper dreams of leaving the farm behind and becoming a racing plane. He decides to try out for an epic race around the world and barely manages to secure himself a spot. With the advice of his mentor Skipper Riley, Dusty hopes to take on the defending champion Ripslinger and make his dreams come true by winning the race.
Planes has been heavily advertised as taking place in the same world as the Disney/Pixar film Cars and even references this with a title card at the start, however, it should be noted that the film was not made with any involvement by Pixar and was in fact originally planned as a direct-to-video release. While this may lead some to assume that Planes is a lower-quality effort by Disney, the film shouldn't be completely written off.
Probably the biggest criticism of Planes is that the film is more or less a complete rehash of Cars, in both plot and characters. This does not give Planes many points for originality and the film can almost be seen as a cheap tie-in for an existing brand. In fact, the film might have been better off going in a more Top Gun-like direction, which is hinted at in the opening moments of the film. However, despite the lack of originality, the plot of the film is still enjoyable on some level and features some awe-inspiring visuals with the flying scenes.
The voice cast of the film is headlined by Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper. Cook is competent in the role, but he doesn't really have a voice that stands out among more recognizable voices, such as Brad Garrett, John Cleese, and even Sinbad. The film also continues its references back to Top Gun with the casting of Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer as two fighter jets. In an interesting bit of casting, Julia Louis-Dreyfus puts on a French Canadian accent as Rochelle, who is subject of one of the main highlights of the film, as lovestruck Mexican El Chupacabra serenades her with a flamenco version of the disco hit “Love Machine.”
While Planes is a lesser animated film for Disney, families should still find enjoyment in this Cars spin-off.
Is Planes opening weekend worthy?
Maybe. The film would be best suited for families with kids, who would be sure to enjoy the film better than the adults.
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