Planes Information

Planes is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated adventure sports comedy film produced by DisneyToon Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise and the first film in a planned Planes trilogy.

Like most of DisneyToon's films, it was initially set to be released as a direct-to-video film, but was theatrically released on August 9, 2013 in the Disney Digital 3D and RealD 3D formats. A sequel, titled Planes: Fire & Rescue, will follow in 2014.

Plot

Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) is a cropduster plane who works at a cornfield and practices aerobatic manuveurs in his spare time, dreaming of becoming a racer. His dreams are scorned by his boss, Leadbottom (Cedric the Entertainer) and his forklift/mechanic friend, Dottie (Teri Hatcher). However, he is supported by his fuel truck friend, Chug (Brad Garrett). Dusty and Chug train for qualifiers for the upcoming Wings Across the World race. On the night before the qualifiers, Dusty asks an elderly and reclusive navy war plane named Skipper Riley (Stacy Keach) to teach him how to fly well but Skipper refuses. Dusty enters the qualifiers, and although the audience mocks him for being a crop duster, he manages to wow them by his well-practiced flight maneuvers, but barely makes it into the race.

Later in the morning, Skipper visits Dusty and tries to talk him out of racing, but when Dusty explains he wants to prove he's more than just a crop duster, Skipper decides to mentor Dusty on his speed and agility. While in the midst of his training, Dusty admits that he has a fear of heights. Despite this, their training continues and when it is complete, Dusty heads off to the meeting of the race at John F. Kennedy Airport where he befriends a crazy but loyal Mexican race-plane named El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) who eventually falls in love with a beautiful French-Canadian racer named Rochelle (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who shows little interest in him. Dusty then makes a rival of the arrogant and villainous 3-time winner plane Ripslinger (Roger Craig Smith), who rudely dismisses him as being only a crop duster. He also falls in love with a racer plane named Ishani (Priyanka Chopra), who becomes supportive of him. During the first leg of the race from New York to Iceland, Dusty's refusal to fly high causes him to finish in last place. During the second leg of the race to Germany, Dusty shows good sportsmanship by saving another racer, Bulldog (John Cleese) from crashing when Bulldog's eyes get squirted with oil from one of his propellers, winning Bulldog's respect but finishing last again.

In India, Ishani gives Dusty some advice on how to fly low through the Himalayas by following some railroad tracks. However, after encountering a tunnel and barely being able to fly through it, Dusty realizes Ishani deliberately gave him bad advice in order to get a new propeller from Ripslinger and he shuns her. As the race continues, Dusty manages to get into first place. In Shanghai, Dusty manages to help El Chupacabra win over Rochelle with a romantic song. In the next race across the Pacific Ocean, Ripslinger's henchmen, Ned and Zed, under orders from Ripslinger, sabotage Dusty's navigation antenna. Lost and low on fuel, Dusty miraculously comes across the USS "Flysinhower" (a reference to the real-life carrier) which allows him to land and refuel. While on the carrier, Dusty sees a hall of fame set up for Skipper's squadron, but discovers Skipper only flew one mission, which contradicts his previous reputation as a veteran of many battles. He is then forced to take off in order to try and beat an oncoming storm.

Dusty gets distracted from flying due to his thoughts about Skipper and ends up crashing into the ocean but is eventually rescued. He is flown to Mexico to his friends but he is severely damaged and may never fly again. Skipper confesses to Dusty that he did indeed fly only one mission in the Pacific theater where his entire squad of trainees was killed in an attack on the Japanese Navy. Skipper was the only survivor, but torn by his guilt, he never trained another plane or flew again. Demoralized and heartbroken, Dusty begins to consider dropping out of the race, but is encouraged by his friends, Bulldog, Ishani, and many of his newfound fans to continue and they all donate parts to have Dusty repaired.

With a change of heart and morale restored, Dusty becomes determined to win the race but Ripslinger still won't give up and plots to sabotage his chances of winning. He and his goons ambush Dusty, but are thwarted by Skipper, who overcame his guilt and came to help Dusty. When trying to catch up with Ripslinger, Dusty conquers his fear of heights when his engine starts losing power, forcing him to ride the Jetstream. Both he and Ripslinger make it to the finish line in New York and when it looks like Ripslinger will win, his ego gets the best of him and and slows down to have his picture taken. Dusty manages to fly above him and win the race while Ripslinger crashes into some portable toilets. Dusty is congratulated by his friends and fans and Skipper thanks him for giving him the confidence to fly again. Skipper rejoins the navy with Dusty as his partner and they take a flight together, ending the story.

Voice cast

• Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper. He was inspired by the Air Tractor AT-502, Cessna and the PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader.
• Stacy Keach as Skipper Riley, a Chance Vought F4U Corsair and Dusty's mentor.
• Danny Mann as Sparky, a forklift
• Priyanka Chopra as Ishani, a Pan-Asian champ from India
• Brad Garrett as Chug, a fuel truck
• Teri Hatcher as Dottie, a forklift
• Cedric the Entertainer as Leadbottom, a biplane
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Rochelle, a racing plane. Originally from Quebec, her flag and paint job will be localized in 11 countries.
• Roger Craig Smith as Ripslinger, a custom-built carbon-fiber plane and Dusty's rival.
• Gabriel Iglesias as Ned and Zed, Ripslinger's henchmen
• John Cleese as Bulldog, a de Havilland DH.88 Comet
• Carlos Alazraqui as El Chupacabra, a Gee Bee Model R
• Val Kilmer as Bravo, a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet
• Anthony Edwards as Echo, a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet
• Colin Cowherd as Colin Cowling, a blimp
• Sinbad as Roper, a forklift
• Oliver Kalkofe as Franz aka Fliegenhosen, a German aerocar
• Brent Musburger as Brent Mustangburger, a 1964½ Ford Mustang
• John Ratzenberger as Harland, a pitty

Production

Planes is based on a concept created by John Lasseter. Although Pixar did not produce the film, Lasseter, being chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and director of Cars and Cars 2, was also the executive producer of the film. Jon Cryer was initially announced as the voice of the main protagonist Dusty. Cryer later dropped out of production and was replaced by Dane Cook. A modified version of the teaser trailer for the film (featuring Cook's voice in place of Cryer's) was released on February 27, 2013.

Release

Planes was originally set to be released in North America as a direct-to-video film in Fall 2013, while having a theatrical release in Europe, but completed sequences impressed Disney enough to instead plan the movie for a theatrical release. This shift from video to theatrical release has happened before with Doug's 1st Movie (in 1999), Toy Story 2 (also in 1999), The Tigger Movie (in 2000), and Return to Never Land (in 2002). This is the first DisneyToon Studios film released theatrically in North America since Pooh's Heffalump Movie eight and a half years earlier in 2005.

The film premiered on August 2, 2013, at a special screening at The Fly-In Theater at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, an annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was theatrically released on August 9, 2013, and when was also screened at the D23 Expo, a biennial convention for Disney fans.

Reception

Critical response

Planes received generally negative reviews from critics, with a 24% "Rotten" rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 72 reviews. The site's consensus says, "Planes has enough bright colors, goofy voices, and slick animation to distract some young viewers for 92 minutes -- and probably sell plenty of toys in the bargain -- but on nearly every other level, it's a Disney disappointment." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 38 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". However, the film earned an "A-" from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a positive review, saying, "As shameless an attempt by Disney to sell more bedspreads to the under-10s as Planes is, it nonetheless manages to be a minor lark that will at least mildly amuse anyone who ever thrust their arms outward and pretended to soar over the landscape." Justin Chang of Variety gave the film a negative review, saying, "Planes is so overrun with broad cultural stereotypes that it should come with free ethnic-sensitivity training for especially impressionable kids." James Rocchi of MSN Movies gave the film one out of five stars, saying, Planes borrows a world from Cars, but even compared to that soulless exercise in well-merchandised animated automotive adventure, Planes is dead in its big, googly eyes and hollow inside." Michael Rechtshaffen gave the film a negative review, saying, "Despite the more aerodynamic setting, this Cars 3D offshoot emerges as an uninspired retread." Jordan Hoffman gave the film one out of five stars, saying, "The jokes in Planes are runway flat, and parents will likely reach for the air-sickness bag." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film two and half stars out of four, saying, "Many will enter theaters thinking this is a Pixar film, with the raised expectations that accompany that mistake. But even cynical animation fans will see there's quality here. After a little turbulence, Planes comes in for a nice landing." Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film two out of five stars, saying, Planes was originally scheduled to be released straight to video. Although the smallest children might like bits and pieces of it, there's nothing in the movie that suggests why Disney strayed from its original plan." David Hiltbrand of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "The animated film has all the hallmarks of a straight-to-DVD project - inferior plot, dull writing, cheap drawing - perhaps because it was intended for the bargain bin at Target, Walmart, and Costco." Jen Chaney of The Washington Post gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying, "This film is 100 percent devoid of surprises. It's the story of an underestimated underdog that's like every other kid-friendly, life-coachy story about an underestimated underdog." Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying, "If Planes were a reasonably priced download, you'd gladly use it to sedate your kids during a long car ride. As a theatrical, 3-D release, however, Planes will sedate you, too."

Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "Often less really is more, and that's why I can recommend Planes, a charmingly modest low-budget spin-off from Pixar's Cars that provides more thrills and laughs for young children and their parents than many of its more elaborate brethren." Bruce Demara of the Toronto Star gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "While the plotting is rather pedestrian, the humour mostly lame, what makes Planes a stand-out experience - not surprisingly, based on Disney's vast and impressive history of animated classics - is the visuals." Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two out of four stars, saying, "It's engaging enough, driving home the familiar message of following one's dreams and the less hackneyed theme of facing one's fears. But it feels far too familiar." Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "As with Cars, the world of Planes feels safe. A little too safe, perhaps." Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times gave the film two out of five stars, saying, Planes is for the most part content to imitate rather than innovate, presumably hoping to reap a respectable fraction of the box office numbers of Cars and Cars 2, which together made hundreds of millions of dollars." Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying, "Though not officially a Pixar production, the new Planes "? released by the beloved animation studio's parent company, Disney "? has the look and feel of Pixar's 2006 hit, Cars, if not the latter's charm or strong story." Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two out of four stars, saying, "It's strictly by the numbers, from the believe-in-yourself moral to the purely predictable ending." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B, saying, "What Planes lacks in novelty, it makes up for with eye-popping aerial sequences and a high-flying comic spirit." A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a D+, saying, "Planes cuts corners at every turn, a strategy that leaves it feeling like the skeletal framework of an incomplete Pixar project." R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant Magazine gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "The film feels second-rate in every sense, from the quality of its animation to its C-list voice cast."

Box office

The film opened to #3 in its first weekend, with $22,525,000, behind Elysium and We're the Millers.

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Mark Mancina. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on August 6, 2013.

Track listing

Video game

Disney Interactive released Disney's Planes, a video game based on the film, on August 6, 2013. It was released on Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo DS.

Sequel

A sequel, titled Planes: Fire & Rescue, is scheduled for theatrical release on July 18, 2014. Bobs Gannaway, the director of Secret of the Wings, will direct the film. Dane Cook, who will reprise his role of Dusty, will be joined by Julie Bowen as the voice of Lil Dipper. Rather than publish an Art of book for Planes, Chronicle Books will publish The Art of Planes 1 & 2 to coincide with the release of the sequel.

The official synopsis reads: "Planes: Fire & Rescue features a quirky crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting historic Piston Peak National Park from a raging wildfire. When world famous air racer Dusty learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of wildfire air attack. Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his courageous air attack team, including spirited super scooper Lil Dipper, heavy-lift helicopter Windlifter, ex-military transport Cabbie and a lively bunch of brave all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero."