To be fair, I haven't seen the first Disney Planes film, because I wasn't part of its target audience (in other words, kids 12 and under). But seeing the sequel, Planes: Fire and Rescue, made me wonder why it could have been green lighted so fast. Maybe Disney wanted to cash in on this franchise like its predecessor, Cars, in the past. I don't know. I'm just a critic, not a studio executive.
In this sequel, world-renowned plane Dusty (comedian Dane Cook) breaks his engine and won't be able to race unless a new one is found. But when he causes a fire on the airfield, he blames himself. After that incident, he decides to be a wildfire air rescuer on Piston Peak. Leading the team is Blade Ranger (voiced by Ed Harris), a firefighter with his own secret. A deadly wildfire in the climax tests their skills and teamwork in motion.
The 3D animation and resounding visuals are amazing and Mark Mancina's adventurous score sounds remarkable, but this is a routine animated film made for the little fry with nothing much special for the over-12 crowd. There's echoes of Cars in this film with mentions of Rust Eze bumper ointment and Lightening McQueen's catchphrase ("ka-chow") and glimpses of the tractors from the 'other' film. But the script by Jeffrey M. Howard isn't that much funny for grown-ups and he even resorts to that overdone kiddie film cliché, the fart joke, to get a laugh. (Memo to Howard: fart jokes aren't that funny anymore.)
Teens and parents, if you want to see a grown-up fire film, I recommend seeing Ron Howard's Backdraft (1991) and Jay Russell's Ladder 49 (2004). Planes: Fire and Rescue is strictly made for the kids.
Rating:**
Parent Advisory: Planes: Fire and Rescue is rated PG for the action sequences and some peril.
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