Review of Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) by Patrick L — 19 Aug 2015

"Planes are flying in the skies again?".

DVD Movie Review: Planes: Fire & Rescue.

Date Viewed: November 29 2014.

Directed By Roberts Gannaway.

Screenplay By Bobs Gannaway, Jeffrey M. Howard, Story By Bobs Gannaway and Jeffrey M. Howard.

Featuring the voices of Dane Cook, Julie Bowen, Ed Harris, Stacy Keach, Wes Studi,.

Danny Mann, Teri Hatcher, Brad Garrett, Curtis Armstrong, Dale Dye, Erik Estrada,.

Regina King, Corri English, Bryan Callen, Danny Pardo, Fred Willard, Jerry Stiller, Matt L. Jones, Cedric the Entertainer, John Michael Higgins, Kevin Michael Richardson,.

Patrick Warburton and Hal Holbrook.

Dusty Crophopper now wants to fight fires?

"Planes: Fire & Rescue" is slightly better than the first movie and it is a passable diversion for young kids but this is not "How to Train Your Dragon 2". It is too flat and too boring for me to recommend even though it's only 84 minutes long. The first "Planes" movie was supposed to be released onto DVD but Disney decided to give it a theatrical release and what do you know, it became a solid hit even though it was similar to "Cars".

After winning his big race in the last movie, Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook) has since had a successful career as a racer.

Soon, his engine's gearbox gets damaged and he can no longer race because his type of gearbox is no longer in production and it isn't available anywhere else. After he accidentally starts a fire at Propwash Junction airport, Dusty decides to become a firefighter and fight wildfires.

After arriving at Piston Peak National Park, he meets Blade Ranger (voiced by Ed Harris), the leader of a fire and rescue unit. Blade used to be a police helicopter on the TV show "CHoPs" with Nick "Loop'n" Lopez (who's voiced by Erik Estrada, what a surprise). When Lopez got killed during a disastrous stunt on the show, Blade decided to become a firefighter. We also get a possible love interest for Dusty, a Super Scooper helicopter named Lil' Dipper (voiced by Julie Bowen) is a big fan of Dusty and she has a crush on him.

When a huge wildfire heads for the national park, Dusty's skills as a firefighter are put to the test. Don't get me wrong, "Planes: Fire & Rescue" is formulaic and medicore but the firefighting scenes are well shot. This story about courage and getting a second chance is nothing new and the biggest highlight of the movie is the dedication to those who fight forest fires in real life. Look, I know a lot of wildfires happen every year on the west coast of the United States but come on Disney, couldn't you have found a better script than this.

"Planes: Fire & Rescue" also has lame jokes and weak characters. The voice cast includes Hal Holbrook, Regina King, Wes Studi, Jerry Stiller, Dale Dye, Fred Willard, Patrick Warburton and returning players Teri Hatcher, Brad Garrett, Cedric the Entertainer and Stacy Keach. "Fire & Rescue" is not a bad movie but it's not a smashing success either.