Disney Planes Movie Review
Disclosure: I was provided with tickets for my family to see a preview of Disney Planes 3D in order to facilitate this review. Any opinions are my own.
Summer is such a great time for movies, and the most recent family movie to be released is the highly anticipated flick, Disney’s Planes. Having an almost 4-year-old boy who is just vehicle crazed, he pointed out the Planes logo everywhere, whether it was on television, on my laptop or prominently displayed on top of almost every cab we saw in New York City last weekend.
At a trip to Barnes and Nobles last weekend, preparing for our trip to NYC, I bought Gavin a Planes storybook that also included an audio cd, which he probably listened to 20 times prior to seeing the movie. When we sat down in the movie theater he was able to identify the characters immediately, and I was contiually amazed at how perceptive and keen these little eyes can be, especially when they have a vested interest.
The movie is about Dusty Crophopper (voice of Dane Cook), a crop spraying plane who has aspirations of entering and winning a high-speed race around the world, the Wings Around the Globe rally. Dusty gets some training advice from his buddies Chug and Skipper and despite not initially qualifying, he put forth a fantastic showing in the qualifying rounds coming in 5th place. When another contestant is disqualified, Dusty is then able to participate in the race around the world, the only problem is that he will need to conquer his fear of heights in order to have a chance at winning.
Dusty has a small hometown crew that help him prepare for the race , and during the rally he races against planes with all sorts of personalities and character traits adults will find humorous. Each leg of the race brings various challenges for each contestants and Dusty completes obstacles with determination and a kind-heart, stopping to help other contestants in various ways. When Dusty shows promise of winning, Ripslinger, the former winner of the race, is determined to disqualify Dusty. Planes is a great movie about friendship and perseverance, with a very similar message as Turbo, to “Dream Big and Persevere.”
We viewed the movie in 3D and if you are prone to motion sickness, I’d really evaluate whether you want to see the movie in 3D. It’s fast moving with lots of turns and dips, which my son didn’t mind, but on a few occassions I found myself closing my eyes. The relationship of Dusty and his best friend Chug was pretty reminiscent to me of Lightning McQueen and Mater in Cars. At some points, I felt like there were a lot of characters with too many short-lived subplots. Watching a lot of Disney movies for Gavin has been hard because there is usually a character or animal that is somewhat mean and scary. With Planes being rated PG I was worried this would still be a concern. Gavin definitely knew Ripslinger wasn’t nice, but wasn’t afraid of him specifically where in the past he has expressed concern and fear over specific characters that have included Lucifer from Cinderella, Scar from the Lion King, or the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Gavin did feel the anticipation and the excitement at the end of the movie and was shaking on my lap asking to leave, but he also couldn’t stop watching it either. In general, the movie itself was entertaining and enjoyable for all ages, and most likely your children will adore the characters and fast-action scenes.
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