My family and I were invited to a local screening of Disney’s PLANES earlier this week. Other than the free movie, no compensation was received and all thoughts and opinions on the movie are my own.
If you have kids (elementary school aged boys, in particular) then I’m sure you’ve been eagerly awaiting today’s release of Disney’s newest movie, Planes. I was surprised by how much my older kids, especially my 16 year old daughter, wanted to see it.
About Disney’s Planes
From above the world of “Cars” comes “Disney’s Planes,” an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing — and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps him qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.
What I thought of Disney’s Planes:
I loved the message in Disney’s Planes…
Director Klay Hall said it well: “I think people will really relate to ‘Disney’s Planes’ because it’s a great underdog story. It has a lot of heart and a message we can all use: If we can believe in ourselves, step out of our comfort zones and get past whatever fear is holding us back, we’d be surprised with the results. And that’s exactly what happens to Dusty in this movie. He’s a crop duster who’s never flown above 1,000 feet, but he dreams of being the fastest air racer in the world. He has a lot of obstacles to overcome and needs to dig pretty deep to find the courage to become more than what he was built for.”
Disney’s Planes was fun, and certainly a kid-pleaser, but there was something about Planes that just didn’t wow me. My first mistake was to expect a Pixar-quality story. Although Planes is set in the world of Cars, unlike Cars 1 and 2 (which I thought were absolutely fantastic), Pixar was not directly involved in the making of Planes.
I have to back up and say that it almost kills me to say anything negative about this movie. The animation is stellar, the story is cute, and I know that kids will love it. Heck, my husband was laughing out loud so much during the movie that my 16 year old and I were driven to a little eye rolling. But…the script was just ok. Like I said at the beginning, the movie just didn’t wow me.
I think part of Planes’ problem is that it gets off to a slow start. I do admit that by the end of the movie I was “feeling it” more. I’m not 100% sure when the shift was for me, but Planes went from feeling like a made-for-DVD movie to a screen quality movie somewhere around the time that Dusty sets off on his race around the world. I even heard rumors that the movie started out with the intention of being released only on DVD (but I have no proof!).
I asked the rest of my family who had joined me that night what they thought of the movie, and they all replied that they enjoyed it. It was good…It was cute…But that’s about the extent of their enthusiasm. And this is coming from kids who get together with their friends on the weekend to watch Mulan (true story…high school seniors still love classic Disney!).
I’m actually eager to hear if parents of younger kids (ages 3-7, maybe?) have a different reaction to the movie. I will readily admit that I support this type of wholesome family-friendly movie much more than the typical garbage in the theaters, even when it’s not up to my personal Disney quality standards.
Should I see Disney’s Planes in 3D?
I saw Planes in 3D and while the scenery and the high-flying action was fun to watch in 3D, I think this is a safe movie to watch in 2D, especially for younger kids. There certainly wasn’t anything that you’d miss out on by skipping the 3D.
PS – be sure to check out my free Disney’s Planes Printable coloring pages and activity sheets (including FUN paper airplanes)?
Opening in Theaters: August 9, 2013
Running time: 92 min
Rated: PG for Some Mild Action, Rude Humor.
Director: Klay Hall
Cast: Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Cedric the Entertainer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Cleese, Carlos Alazraqui, Priyanka Chopra, Gabriel Iglesias, Roger Craig Smith, Colin Cowherd, Sinbad, Oliver Kalkofe, Brent Musburger, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer
Connect with Disney’s Planes:
Like Disney’s PLANES on Facebook
Follow Disney’s PLANES on Twitter: @DisneyPictures
Visit the Planes website: Disney.com/Planes
© 2013, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
I hope they love it! I bet 5 is the perfect age to appreciate this movie, and it’s certainly not scary or over their heads like some other “older kid” animated movies. Let me know how they like it!
Looking forward to making this my guys’ first theatre movie-they just turned five. This review is really helpful-I was a little worried because I saw somewhere it had a pg rating and I always thought disney movies were always g.
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it! Maybe I’m too far out of the little kid stage and I’m used to Disney movies being equally entertaining for kids and adults.
I just posted my review and I will say that I think it’s perfect for preschoolers! My son is 4..5 and he loved it. I was so happy that it wasn’t scary! Seems like that is hard to come by these days. I highly recommend it for the younger set!
Mitch, I whole-heartedly agree. I actually felt a lot of inner conflict after the screening, thinking “how do I say anything negative about Disney?!” I am a Disney lover, but like I said this one just didn’t seem up to Disney’s typical standards for a theatrical release. Just trying to keep it real. LOL
looks like such a cute movie, we can’t wait to see if ourselves, looks a lot like Disney’s Cars.
I am so excited to see this movie@!
How does one not love all things Disney! Wholesome movies like this for the kids is what the world needs more often!
thanks!
Mitch
I can’t wait to see it! Thanks!