Review of Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) by Mikaela G — 09 Mar 2015

The first one was meant to go straight to DVD, which means we may have avoided this sequel entirely. Alas, the bright minds at Disney know a merchandising cash cow when they see one and now we have a second.

Planes: Fire and Rescue takes our crop duster-turned racer and transitions him into a wildfire preventer at a national park. Why, you ask? Because Disney, that is why. I have no issue with a premise like that.

I grew up with talking toys and monsters that use the screams of kids as power, so talking planes isn't weird to me. What is weird is the almost complete 180 from Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 to this.

High quality animation, exceptional voice over work, a well rounded and inventive plot, and a great story for everyone traded for sub-par animation, C-level voice work (except a seemingly bored Ed Harris), and a typical plot with an overbearing "message".

Needless to say that I wasn't a fan of this film. The characters are all one dimensional, with most being either being caricatures or even racist caricatures (An apache helicopter just so happens to be Native American.

..and chants.) There isn't much going for this film for anyone over the age of 6. And to be honest, that might be an insult to 6 year olds everywhere.