Review of Planes (2013) by Katie M — 16 Oct 2013

Swanner: If you've been following our reviews Brian and I have not been fans of Pixar's Cars movies. They play to a much younger audience and have very little entertainment value for adults. Disney had Pixar make Cars 2 because the merchandizing for Cars brought in over 3 billion dollars. So Disney, not Pixar, has brought Planes to the silver screen. Imagine the new merchandising possibilities. I can see the stock holders wringing their hands in delight. A crop duster named Dusty Crophopper wants to complete in an around the world race.

Judd: We had several overlapping movies this month, and I actually willingly chose to see Planes over something else. With a voice cast of Stacy Keach, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Cleese, Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Sinbad, Teri Hatcher, Brad Garrett, Carlos Alazraqui and Dane Cook how could I refuse? Those are some serious heavy hitters - and most of them only put five minutes of time in the studio. Stacy Keach was a main character, but I don't even know who Edwards or Kilmer voiced. I felt seriously betrayed.

Swanner: I don't watch an animated film for the voiceover actors. They better not be the only thing holding the film together. I like this film much better than Cars or its awful sequel Cars 2. It was better paced and didn't waste time on character development in the supporting characters. All the supporting parts were stereotypes which is fine in this kind of a film. It's a kid's movie. They learn the lessons from the main characters and that's it. One other thing Planes has over Cars is the running time. Both Cars movies were just under two hours where Planes flies in with a trim 92 minutes.

Judd: I liked the 92 minute runtime; however, I thought the pacing was poor and there could have been a little more development of the main characters. I couldn't care less about the perils Dusty faced. They could have trimmed back on the extras (the big names) and given the core characters a little more to do. The fact that we just saw pretty much the same movie when we saw Turbo a month ago didn't help matters. At least Mater didn't show up.

Swanner: I was worried too that Mater or other Cars characters might show up...that was a happy surprise they didn't. I must admit that the first 15 minutes I was worried about the movie. It looked and felt a lot like Saturday morning cartoons for really young kids. Once the race got going, the film won me over. I knew we weren't going to get the depth of character we usually get in these films and like I said I'm glad for it. All that does is make the kids restless and the adults bored. I thought Planes soared above its earlier incarnations and found it to be a quick fun adventure.

Judd: As you said, Planes in nothing more than a Disney cash-in and it feels like it. It's flat, boring and cheaply animated. It's also going to make a ton of money through spin-offs and tie-ins. I just wish I wasn't tempted into the theater with voice talent to watch a 92 minute toy commercial.

Swanner: **1/2.

Judd: *.