Starring: Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen
The world-famous plane, Dusty Crophopper (Cook) is one of the great air-racers. However, he has a problem. Getting older, Dusty's mechanics are starting to fail him and his gearbox breaks. Unable to get a replacement, Dusty instead begins to go down another path, joining a team of fire and rescue vehicles.
A frustrating mystery for movie viewers these days must be what's the fascination with the Cars franchise? When the original Cars film came out in 2006, it received fairly good reviews but was seen as the worst film in Pixar's then faultless track record. Cars 2 (2011) just dug the hole even deeper. Then Disney Toons (not Pixar as is often assumed) made Cars spin-off, Planes last year and the criticism towards this little franchise keeps on growing. To be fair, none of the films are on a par with Pixar's best. They aren't in the league occupied by Toy Story (1995), Monsters Inc (2001) or Finding Nemo (2003) but the series has done well financially and it's not that it's all terrible. A lot of it is disappointing because the people who made these films are so extraordinary at their best. After all, the worst Hitchcock, Kubrick or Spielberg movies are still better than the best films of countless filmmakers. If I'm honest, I didn't think the first Planes was that bad, just disappointing. Planes 2...well...
Early on the film really doesn't do itself any favours. At every turn you're bombarded by puns (BAD puns) centred around planes and cars. The film, much like its relatives. seems geared to a younger demographic and that's perfectly fine but in going for a very young audience, the filmmakers seem to have made less effort. This isn't always the case and there are some amusing moments and a few good gags, but just as many bad ones. The plot at the start very quickly switches gears. In fact, generally that's a problem with this film. With such a short running time, the film runs at such a pace as it leaps between plot points and doesn't take the time to establish an emotional relationship with the audience.
The performances are fine and there's a well-assembled cast of talent. Dane Cook does a good job as does Ed Harris even if they're playing characters that are little more than stock retreads of other characters from many films (Cook the determined but damaged hero, Harris the jaded mentor) whilst Julie Bowen acts as a sort-of love interest (she's has a crush on Dusty but this idea is never built on) and performs as if high on speed and helium. That being said, it's an entertaining performance.
Animation wise, there's no surprises in that given that this is Disney, it looks quite good but given the simple designs, Disney haven't quite brought their a-game and it's best not to waste any additional money on seeing this in 3D because there's no reason for it. Planes 2 is at its absolute best when it focuses on he actual fire and rescue. There is drama and there is peril and there's enough to make a decent animated film. However, you just end up thinking that given the Ingredients, Disney Toons should have tried harder.
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