Disney’s PLANES Movie Review #DisneyPlanesEvent

I’ve been talking about Disney’s PLANES for months! I even got to go behind the scenes at DisneyToon Studios. Now, the time has finally arrived for the big PLANES release in theaters. Before you head out to the movies, I want to let you know what I thought about the film.

I’m sure you’ve seen Pixar CARS (I know my four year old can recite the film word for word). Disney’s PLANES takes place above the world of Pixar CARS. If you liked Pixar CARS, you are going to enjoy Disney PLANES. I was lucky enough to see it twice already, once on my trip to California for the #DisneyPlanesEvent and once with my son in Orlando for the Disney PLANES Premiere.  So, I’ll be able to give you my thoughts, but also my four-year-old son’s review. 😉

Disney’s PLANES Movie Review

The story follows Dusty Crophopper as he tries to qualify for the Wings Across the Globe Rally. We follow Dusty as he meets with Skipper and starts to race, meets his opponents and struggles his way across the globe. My favorite character is El Chupacabra, voiced by Carlos Alazraqi (watch for my interview with him soon).  My son’s favorite character is a tie between Bulldog, voiced by John Cleese and Dusty, the main character voiced by Dane Cook.

From above the world of “Cars” comes “Disney’s Planes,” an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing—and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.

There is a lot of action in this movie! From high flying planes, to an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. There is even a cameo by both Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards as fighter planes. Echo and Bravo are perfect as fighter jets and if you remember, both Kilmer and Edwards were in Top Gun. Who could forget?

There is a flashback World War II war scene that includes Skipper and explains why he is the way that he is. After watching the first time, I was worried about how that scene would seem to a child. I spoke with Director Klay Hall about the scene and the way that it is portrayed is as a flashback and only lasts a few moments, if that. The war scene did not bother my four year old, if that tells you anything. It’s part of Skipper’s story and needs to be told.

The characters in the movie are memorable and each have their own personality. Like the “cars” in Pixar CARS, the “planes” in Disney’s PLANES stick with you and there is an underlying goodness in the story. Oh, and for my son’s review he says PLANES gets a “big thumbs up.” He actually sat, glued to his seat for the entire movie with his child-sized 3-D glasses on. He bounced all the way home and told his Daddy all about it.

Disney’s PLANES opens August 9, 2013.