The Film
After the juggernaut that was Cars (and Cars 2), Disney decided to capitalize on yet another mode of transportation. Buses? Too close to the world of Cars. Trains? Thomas has that monopoly. Bikes? Not flashy enough.
Ah yes, Planes. Disney's latest manages to pack in the same quantity and quality of characters as Cars, all the way down to the animation. Is it any good? Well, it depends on the age of the audience.
Planes is the story of Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of being a real racer. Sound familiar? He has a goofy sidekick (Brad Garrett), a ladylove (Priyanka Chopra), an olde-tyme mentor (Stacy Keach), and a Michael Keaton-esque rival (Roger Craig Smith). Yes, this is pretty much the same plot as Cars, with very similar characters. Disney just dropped the Pixar label and tweaked the story a little, but it's most certainly Cars, people -- but in the air!
Not that it really matters to the film's core audience. Whether or not those wee ones remember the original plotline or not, Planes offers a whole new crop of toys to collect. It's also insanely pleasing to the eye, which I'll get to in a minute. Strap yourself in, grab a bunch of those little bottles of Kahlúa, and enjoy.
The Picture
This 1.78:1 transfer isn't quite as good looking as Cars, but it does have plenty of characters and scenery to show off Disney's handiwork. There's definitely a lot to ogle in this movie -- and ogle you will. The colors are at their best and brightest in outdoor settings, but impressive throughout. There's also some pretty sharp detail on the planes, cars and trucks. Overall, it's a pleasurable viewing experience, both in 2D and 3D. That said, the 3D effects are sort of disappointing. Considering the film's title, characters and action, you'd expect to feel like you're soaring through the animated airspace. That's just not the case. However, those effects don't detract from the image and do deliver a nice amount of depth. They just probably won't matter all that much to the film's target audience.
The Sound
This is where Planes really soars. Disney has given the film a very active DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix. The soundtrack is loud, the dialogue is clear, and ambient effects abound. However, this track really takes flight when its characters do the same. The engines roar with a lot of detail and the flying shows off some nice directionality. It's definitely the highlight of this release.
The Extras
The one lengthy featurette is the semi-worthless "Klay's Flight Plan." For a few of the short's 15 minutes, director Klay Hall describes how the film was designed to be about trains and divulges some other tidbits about how much real-life research went into this film. However, the bulk of the short has Hall talking to his two sons about the family's personal connection to the film's subject matter. I hate to sound heartless. I'm sure the trio had fun riding in the B-25. It's just hard to figure out who would sit through this featurette -- on purpose.
The one interesting tidbit has ESPN's Colin Cowherd counting down the top 10 aviators of all-time. Again, it has nothing to do with the actual characters in the film. Do Planes fans care about actual aviation? This perky, rapid-fire countdown may be able to capture that short attention span.
Final Thoughts
Planes is a total Cars rip-off, but it probably won't matter to its core audience. Of course, there are several better kids' movies -- even new ones under the Disney umbrella. That said, you could do a lot worse than this underdog story. It has a nice message and a lot of famous voices (including John Cleese!). If you do indulge, know that the movie is fun from an AV standpoint, making it a pretty pain-free 91 minutes.
Product Details
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