Review: Planes: Fire and Rescue

Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook) receives the devastating news that he has broken parts inside of him (a shonky gearbox) that are too outdated to replace. His racing career over because he can’t risk going to top speeds, Dusty is at a loss to what to do with himself now. However, a fiery mishap later and he decides to join the fire and rescue crew as a water-dumping plane. Ed Harris provides the voice of Blade Ranger, the veteran plane of the fire and rescue crew, whilst old favourites Chug (voiced by Brad Garrett), Skipper (voiced by Stacy Keach), and Dottie (voiced by Teri Hatcher) make small return appearances.

 

Unlike the animated “Doc Hollywood” rip-off “Cars”, Disney’s “Planes” pretty much told its own original story, albeit a clichéd one. It was no world-beater but it was nice and looked terrific. Unfortunately, this 2014 sequel from director Bobs Gannaway (“Leroy and Stitch”) and screenwriter Jeffrey M. Howard (who wrote “Planes”) is a pretty big disappointment. Opening the world up to show all kinds of different vehicles is fun for a while and also has an exciting climax, and offers up some prettily-rendered animated scenery. The film seems inspired by all the trucks and other vehicles guys like myself played with as kids, and in that sense is a little akin to “Toy Story”. In theory, it’s a nifty idea for a film that should provide a lot of entertainment for boys both young and young at heart. In fact, instead of feeling like you’re watching someone play with their toys, the film seems on the verge of getting closer to the experience of actually playing with the toys yourself. I was feeling like a kid again. I also liked the idea that Dusty is made up of parts that are no longer available, meaning he can’t race anymore. It’s a cute twist on an old staple of sports films.

 

However, after a while, one realises there’s not much plot here, there’s too many characters (who don’t really pop like in the earlier film), too many songs on the soundtrack, and it’s all extremely sluggish. For a film about emergency vehicles, the latter is pretty ironic. I just didn’t get into this one as much as the first, I’m afraid despite the potential. The voice work, for the most part is also a disappointment, though Ed Harris is put to good use (until his character becomes a mixture of the characters in the first film voiced by Stacy Keach and John Cleese) and Hal Holbrook is a joy to hear when used here as an elderly fire truck named Mayday. The rest are pretty dull and blend together, I’m afraid (Yes, even Jerry Stiller and the late Anne Meara as retired RVs. Fred Willard in particular is badly wasted, as is Stacy Keach who was put to such good use in the first film.

 

The fire and rescue scenes in the latter stages are a major high point in the film, and some of the background animation is really, really nice. However, after about 30-40 minutes, my interest in the story was already seriously waning. With half the characters and a few more impressive voice actors, this would’ve been a lot better. As is, it’s on par with “Cars”, which although not a bad place to be (hey, it’s better than “Turbo”!), is certainly disappointing. Kids will probably like it, if they can handle the sluggish pacing.

 

Rating: C+