Review of Planes (2013) by Smaug87 — 04 Dec 2013

If it was not for the abysmal 'Cars 2' and less then glossy 'Brave' recent Pixar releases would look like failers but thanks to these two let downs it makes 'Planes' shine in comparison. It was originally planned to be a direct to DVD release but Disney took the gamble and brought it to the big screen. Some may argue this was a gimmick to sell merchandise but the truth is kids owned toy cars and planes before Pixar came along and their is no doubt they still will when they are gone. This was defiantly the right choice and also clever merging it with the 'Cars' Universe despite not featuring any of the main characters from the Cars franchise.

The film is based around Dusty Crophopper, voiced by Dane Cook is a crop duster plane with a fear of heights. He longs to become a racer and compete in the Wings across the World Championship. With help training from a former Navy War plane named Skipper(Stacy Keach) ,Dusty enters but fails to get past the qualifying stage. However after another plane is disqualified Dusty takes his place.

Like 'Cars' the planes are portrayed as different nationalities including Bulldog, a British plane voiced by John Cleese, Mexican El Chupacabra, Italian Arturo and many more. This gives the film some good humour without being offensive. We also see races across, Germany, China, India and more. The earlier races are brief so do not become tedious.

'Planes' provides a vast amount of charm and will appeal to not only the younger viewers or older viewers as well. The animation is not what we have come to expect from Pixar but neither was Cars and leaves us with little concern. It may not be the best Pixar film but it is by no means the worst and is a worthy addition, sitting somewhere just below the middle.