Imagine being an airplane and being afraid of heights.
Such is the dilemma of poor Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook), a dust cropping plane who longs for adventure.
Specifically, he would love to be a fighter pilot, but his big dream is to compete in a huge around-the-world race that would, unfortunately, require him to go much higher into the air than he currently does as a crop duster.
Dusty's faithful friends Chug (Brad Garrett), a fuel truck, and Dottie (Teri Hatcher), a forklift, are very supportive of him, even though they know he doesn't have a chance of winning that race.
When he qualifies because of a very funny fluke, they conspire to get a cranky World War II vet named Skipper (Stacy Keach) to come to his aid.
Skipper slowly but surely shows Dusty that there is nothing to be afraid of if he soars to much greater heights than he has ever been before.
Skipper tries to help Dusty get over his fears and help him to learn to be a good competitor for the upcoming race.
After lots of training and soul searching, the day of the race finally arrives.
Dusty has a blast meeting some of his competitors, including a Mexican plane named El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) and British plane, Bulldog (John Cleese).
Unfortunately for Dusty, not all the planes are as friendly as those two.
There is also the nefarious Ripslinger (Roger Craig Smith), the defending champion who has no intention of giving up his trophy to a crop duster.
As the race progresses, Dusty bonds with some of the lower-flying planes and seems to be getting over his fear; then, a big secret reveal scares him enough to potentially put him out of the race for good.
It's as if everything that Skipper has taught him has somehow disappeared, and Dusty has gone back to his old ways.
Will he have to drop out of the race if he can't go higher in the air, or will he find a way to make it work and stay competitive? The evil Ripslinger, who is clever enough to devise a way to sabotage Dusty for good if the little crop duster doesn't end up sabotaging himself, is also an obstacle.
Dane Cook is better known as a comedian than an actor, but has recently been trying to branch out and do more films and television.
His turn as the lead in "Planes" should help him get more work because he is utterly charming and loveable as Dusty.
The rest of the cast is also superb, but Cook really knocks it out of the park, which will likely result in big sales for Dusty merchandise.
Also doing a great job is Keach as Skipper, who is equal parts crusty and likeable as the veteran pilot trying to help Dusty realize his dream.
There is also a short but very sweet cameo from "Top Gun" stars Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer, who play fighter pilot jets.
Somebody should get these two characters their own movie, stat! The film is absolutely gorgeous, taking full advantage of Disney's vast array of animation talent.
When the planes take to the air, their joy at soaring is believable because of the wonderful visuals.
The fact that the animation is so fluid is actually quite surprising considering that the film had only a modest budget.
It was intended as a direct-to-video film that would only be released on DVD and Blu-ray rather than getting a theatrical run.
The reality of the film industry is that non-theater releases often have as shoestring budget, which would usually not bode well for an animated film.
Animation like this usually takes months, even years, to do properly, and the longer a film takes, the more expensive it gets.
Somehow, director Klay Hall managed to stay on budget but make the film look much more expensive than it really is.
Hall also hits a homerun with the sheer scope of the film.
There are multiple scenes in the air that include daredevil moves like loops as well as lots of speed.
These scenes are so much fun that audience members might feel like they are taking flight themselves.
It draws viewers further into the movie, which adds to their overall enjoyment of the film.
Whether "Planes" ( watch trailer ) gets the "Cars" treatment and gets to have sequel remains to be seen, but there are some plot threads that could easily be turned into a second film.
With a likable lead character and actor and a fun story that doesn't get preachy at all, "Planes" has all the makings of a new Disney franchise.
Such is the dilemma of poor Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook), a dust cropping plane who longs for adventure.
Specifically, he would love to be a fighter pilot, but his big dream is to compete in a huge around-the-world race that would, unfortunately, require him to go much higher into the air than he currently does as a crop duster.
Dusty's faithful friends Chug (Brad Garrett), a fuel truck, and Dottie (Teri Hatcher), a forklift, are very supportive of him, even though they know he doesn't have a chance of winning that race.
When he qualifies because of a very funny fluke, they conspire to get a cranky World War II vet named Skipper (Stacy Keach) to come to his aid.
Skipper slowly but surely shows Dusty that there is nothing to be afraid of if he soars to much greater heights than he has ever been before.
Skipper tries to help Dusty get over his fears and help him to learn to be a good competitor for the upcoming race.
After lots of training and soul searching, the day of the race finally arrives.
Dusty has a blast meeting some of his competitors, including a Mexican plane named El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) and British plane, Bulldog (John Cleese).
Unfortunately for Dusty, not all the planes are as friendly as those two.
There is also the nefarious Ripslinger (Roger Craig Smith), the defending champion who has no intention of giving up his trophy to a crop duster.
As the race progresses, Dusty bonds with some of the lower-flying planes and seems to be getting over his fear; then, a big secret reveal scares him enough to potentially put him out of the race for good.
It's as if everything that Skipper has taught him has somehow disappeared, and Dusty has gone back to his old ways.
Will he have to drop out of the race if he can't go higher in the air, or will he find a way to make it work and stay competitive? The evil Ripslinger, who is clever enough to devise a way to sabotage Dusty for good if the little crop duster doesn't end up sabotaging himself, is also an obstacle.
Dane Cook is better known as a comedian than an actor, but has recently been trying to branch out and do more films and television.
His turn as the lead in "Planes" should help him get more work because he is utterly charming and loveable as Dusty.
The rest of the cast is also superb, but Cook really knocks it out of the park, which will likely result in big sales for Dusty merchandise.
Also doing a great job is Keach as Skipper, who is equal parts crusty and likeable as the veteran pilot trying to help Dusty realize his dream.
There is also a short but very sweet cameo from "Top Gun" stars Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer, who play fighter pilot jets.
Somebody should get these two characters their own movie, stat! The film is absolutely gorgeous, taking full advantage of Disney's vast array of animation talent.
When the planes take to the air, their joy at soaring is believable because of the wonderful visuals.
The fact that the animation is so fluid is actually quite surprising considering that the film had only a modest budget.
It was intended as a direct-to-video film that would only be released on DVD and Blu-ray rather than getting a theatrical run.
The reality of the film industry is that non-theater releases often have as shoestring budget, which would usually not bode well for an animated film.
Animation like this usually takes months, even years, to do properly, and the longer a film takes, the more expensive it gets.
Somehow, director Klay Hall managed to stay on budget but make the film look much more expensive than it really is.
Hall also hits a homerun with the sheer scope of the film.
There are multiple scenes in the air that include daredevil moves like loops as well as lots of speed.
These scenes are so much fun that audience members might feel like they are taking flight themselves.
It draws viewers further into the movie, which adds to their overall enjoyment of the film.
Whether "Planes" ( watch trailer ) gets the "Cars" treatment and gets to have sequel remains to be seen, but there are some plot threads that could easily be turned into a second film.
With a likable lead character and actor and a fun story that doesn't get preachy at all, "Planes" has all the makings of a new Disney franchise.
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