Les avions

Disney takes the Pixar Formula that made Cars and Cars 2. Instead they make it about the planes that inhabit the Cars world. the Story is actually Very simple. Dusty Crophopper is a Crop duster. but he dreams of being a big time racer. His friends tell him he wasn't made to be a racer stick to dusting crops. But he has two friends that believe in him. And when they actually get him ready to qualify for the big race and He to everyone's amazement Does Qualify. Dusty becomes much more then just a dust cropper. He seeks the advice of a old World War II corsair named Skipper who pushes Dusty thru his paces and makes Dusty perfect because of Skipper's intense training. When the race begins Dusty is met with scorn and isn't given much of a chance. The Current Champion ripslinger hates him because Dusty represents all of the planes that have no business racing. but slowly Dusty Makes friends and impresses everyone with his heart and courage.

And not once does he ever give up on his dreams. There is a wonderful story here. But a Better lesson for kids who want to be something and are told no they can't because of whatever reasons.

I took my kids to see it and they loved it. Sure it's a kids movie but it's so well made it can be for adults as well. Never give up on your dreams put the hard work in that's needed to succeed and you too can be a winner.

Some people say it's lazy film making but it isn't. There was a lot of hard work and hard thought that went into this movie and a lot of inspiration. I took a group of five year old boys to see it. Two of them have ADHD and they sat thru this movie and paid attention. That alone should tell you everything you need to know.

I enjoyed this movie as did my 3 1/2 year old son. While not quite as 'warm and cuddly' as the original Cars movie it was still loads of fun (and far better than Cars 2). The landscape views from the air were tremendous as were the snow and water scenes. The dialogue was good but a bit more for kids and a bit less for adults. Still, they got a lot of the aircraft stuff right and the take on VF-17 was a nice touch and did a simple but effective job of helping to tie in Skipper's appearance in the film.

Overall I rate this one a 7...it invariably will be compared to both Cars movies but really it should stand as its own flick. And on that it holds its own and has real merit. Worth a look-see and BTW my son REALLY loved it.

Feelings before seeing Planes was more the "not sure how it was going to turn out" sort of feeling. On one hand, there was the hope that Disney(or Disney Toon Studios to be exact) would continue the return to form trend started with 2009's The Princess and the Frog, which later saw even better films with Tangled(their best film since The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Wreck it Ralph, Winnie the Pooh was also very sweet. There was also the feeling of trepidation as well because reading the plot line gives the sense that it would be predictable and unoriginal. Regardless of any initial feelings, the only way to judge Planes was to see it. Sadly, Planes was very disappointing for this viewer and possibly their weakest since Chicken Little. And this is coming from somebody who hopefully knows how to judge family films, yes guys this is a family film not a kids' film.

Planes does have things that it did do well. The animation is the best aspect by some considerable distance, it is great, not the best animation there's ever been but it looks beautiful all the same. It manages to be colourful and well-textured with detailed backgrounds and well-designed characters. The camera angles as well are a source of wonder, they're very well-incorporated and really give the sense that you're journeying in the air with the character. The music is catchy, with very well-chosen songs, and serves the film very well, the mariachi version of Love Machine is very sweet and fun. The aviation at least shows that the writers have done their research. The voice acting too is commendable all round, with Dane Cook in particular voicing with enthusiasm. John Cleese, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Val Kilmer are pleasing too, though they have been better.

Unfortunately Planes is also one of those films where it starts slowly and unpromising and never really takes off, sorry couldn't resist. The story just doesn't have any spark, the storytelling is predictable and lazy and the pacing sedate. People have said that it is basically Cars in the air with touches of Top Gun, Jay Jay the Jet Plane and The Ugly Duckling story and that is true, it is a very derivative film that makes a bigger problem in that there is nothing of surprise or distinction. The script lacks freshness, charm and wit, instead it's full of tedious down-time talk, tired one-liners and jokes(crazy like a firefox for example) and has no emotional impact. The air-force/aviation jargon might go over children's heads as well. The romance between Dusty and Ishani comes across as a cliché that is poorly developed, almost like an afterthought. The characters are annoyingly shallow, Dusty is not so bad but the rest are not very interesting and their development is thin, Skipper's back-story especially felt shoe-horned in and forced. El Chupacabra has his moments but is a stereotypical character(something that people may take a dislike to) and too many of his jokes are lame. In fact there are a lot of cultural stereotypes, and much of them border on the insensitive. The villain Ripslinger is also stereotypically designed and is possibly one of Disney's blandest villains, with some of the most annoying and unnecessary goons of any animated film in recent memory. The action looks good in the animation but fails to generate any excitement, much of it suffers from too much predictability and that the pacing is too sedate throughout.

In conclusion, far from a truly terrible film or the plane wreck it's made out to be but a disappointingly lazy one where it's easy to see the things Planes has been criticised for. Then again this is personal opinion and be taken with a pinch of salt instead of being discarded for being an opinion being different to your own. 4/10 Bethany Cox

I've just bought a new food processor. If you put in every animated film ever made, and set it to the highest setting, you may come out with something like Planes.

You have the plucky young dreamer who seems destined to a life of drudgery, but aspires for higher things. He has a stoopid best friend, who is charming in his own special way. There is an elderly mentor, who initially turns down the whippersnapper when he asks for his help... but gosh darn it, he changes his mind once he sees how determined the kid is. The bad guy is an irredeemable moustache-twirler with two giggling goons who follow him around everywhere. A 'comedy relief' is a cheeseball Mexican who is obsessed by dance and romance (of course, and this guy outstays his welcome from his first syllable). As for the love interest, she starts off working for the evil dudes, but soon discovers her true feelings, and...

So on, and so forth. There isn't one original idea in the whole farrago... and that's without even getting into the recycled story or the below par animation. The fact is, this is film-making by committee: it ticks every box, caters for every demographic but missing that all important ingredient: soul. If you respect your kid's intelligence, take 'em to see something else this Summer. 5/10

OK so it's no Cars. Or actually, it's very much like Cars, but the Planes part of that world. That's the whole idea. The Brent Mustangburger character ties it together if there was any doubt. Some of the jokes are similar. Some of the sight gags are similar. But the story itself is actually superior. Rather than a story about a spoiled sociopathic jerk who discovers that he actually does have a heart, this is a story of an individual who is all heart and proves to the world that you can be more than what everyone else tells you that you have to be. The Skipper character is very much reminiscent of the Doc character but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Overall, it's a very inspiring story. Perhaps a little contrived, but it's a cartoon for kids. Lighten up! The jokes are good. The animation is good. My 4 year old daughter liked it and so did I (a 40yo man). As an inspiring story for kids to dream, work hard hard, and succeed, it is far superior to Cars in every way.