Planes Review
RYAN: This has been scoffed at as “Cars with wings,” because it just looks like the same thing.
CHUCK: It’s actually part of the same franchise, from the World of Cars.
RYAN: This movie skews juvenile. Young kids will like this but it’s not really a crowd-pleaser for the whole family.
CHUCK: Agreed. You have to be about five to really enjoy this movie. It’s the same visual style as the Cars movies, so the kids who liked those will like this but some who’ve now grown up might be a bored.
RYAN: It definitely caters to the very young. It’s a cruder animation than we see in most Animated movies where things look very realistic and detailed. Some of the backgrounds here are cool but the basic design is much simpler.
CHUCK: The whole production value is lower. The music is hokey, not rousing.
RYAN: But the message is great about anti-bullying and…
CHUCK: …don’t be afraid of heights.
RYAN: [laughs’ Yes and about believing in yourself and overcoming imposed limitations to succeed, nonetheless. Reach for your dreams.
CHUCK: Think out of the box.
RYAN: It’s very positive and good. They also go all over the world.
CHUCK: But you can’t necessarily tell where they are. It’s very nondescript but it’s fun.
RYAN: And interestingly, this is from Disney, not Walt Disney and that means something.
CHUCK: Right. It’s produced by DisneyToon Studios and it’s not in the same legion, or canon, as their classic films like Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, etc… I read recently that this was supposed to be a direct to DVD release and John Lasseter, who is the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, decided to go with this as a theatrical release. But to me, it looks like The Disney Channel.
RYAN: No one is better at marketing and merchandising than Disney and they probably just brought this out to add Planes to Disney Stores beside all the Cars they’re selling. There are so many princesses for the girls. The boys have Peter Pan, Woody, Buzz Lightyear; but they needed some more, so here are the Planes. They could do Boats next.
CHUCK: I was thinking Submarines. But there will be tons of toys and tie-ins.
RYAN: I especially liked Teri Hatcher as the purple forklift.
CHUCK: She was cute. John Cleese is always great.
RYAN: Dane Cook is the main plane. One cool thing is you don’t sit and think that this story is happening to the people inside these planes or cars. The vehicles are fully realized characters and it’s neat how they form eyes and mouths organically into them.
CHUCK: It’s called anthropomorphic.
RYAN: Oh good word!
CHUCK: Thanks. Everything fits in together in this world they’ve created.
RYAN: It’s a little slow moving and long-seeming. There are better movies out now for families, like The Smurfs 2, which will be better enjoyed by all ages than this. But it’s certainly not a bad movie.
CHUCK: Monsters University.
RYAN: Right. This one’s simple. Wait to park your kids in front of the DVD.
