Movie review: A weak take-off

Planes helps children navigate through fear on a predictable map.

If you’ve seen Pixar’s 2006 animated comedy adventure film Cars, consider that you’ve pretty much also seen Disney’s Planes. It seems that Disney made a deliberate decision to use the same formula for its 2013 airplane-based spinoff. This plot also features an underdog, a competitive race and a villain. Even the title artwork has the same red theme and metal-embossed logo.

The main character is Dusty Crophopper (the voice of Dane Cook), a crop-dusting propeller plane, who wants more out of life than spraying farms with vile-smelling pesticides. Dusty’s biggest dream is to race with the big guns in the prestigious Wings Across the World race.

But in order to get there, he has to develop physical strength and overcome his fear of heights. The competition is not an easy one as the big race features many pit-stops around the world, including Nepal, India and Mexico. For starters, Dusty persistently tries to enlist the help of Skipper (Stacy Keach), a grumpy old war veteran who has the experience to take Dusty to new heights. Dusty’s friends cheer him on. There is the slow-witted but lovable fuel truck Chug (Bradd Garett) and forklift mechanic, Dottie (Teri Hatcher).

The film sticks to a tried-and-tested format for its conflict, crisis, resolution storyline. Dusty has to tackle an evil competitor Ripslinger (Roger Craig Smith), who is a three-time returning champion and an arrogant New Yorker to boot. At first Ripslinger scoffs at Dusty for being what he says is a plain nobody, but Dusty starts gaining rank in the race. A jealous Ripslinger resorts to some evil trickery in an attempt to derail Dusty. In one heart-wrenching sequence, Dusty is sucked into a deadly storm orchestrated by Ripslinger’s minions.

We are further endeared to Dusty when he ignores his own ranking in the race in order to take time out to help a malfunctioning British plane land to safety. This makes him popular among the other racers, including the funny and flamboyant Mexican stunt plane, El Chupacabra.

Pakistani audiences will be briefly amused by one mesmerising sequence in which Dusty and his love interest, an Indian plane named Ishani (Priyanka Chopra), fly over the Taj Mahal to the soundtrack of AR Rahman’s Tere Bina from the 2007 Bollywood movie Guru.

Despite these cute highlights, Planes is very much a story that you have seen before. It is not a game changer like The Incredibles or Despicable Me. The familiar plot and predictable climax make it a picture strictly for the younger audience. Dusty sets a good example for the young ones, as he is the epitome of goodness throughout the film. He works hard, accepts his shortcomings, tries to incorporate feedback from his mentor and never resorts to underhandedness, even if it results in his defeat.

Although the movie lacks novelty, it compensates with eye-popping aerial sequences, bright colours, adorable-looking planes with assorted accents and an encouraging message to take home.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 29^th, 2013.