Planes
Starring: Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Priyanka Chopra, Brad Garrett, Julia louis-Dreyfus, John Cleese
Rated: 6.5/10
Well, here is a little twist to the tortoise and the hare story, one of Aesop’s fables. Only here, instead of the race between the tortoise and the hare, one has planes and not your average planes — there is Pan Asian champ from India, a biplane, a racing plane and a custom-built carbon fibre plane — and in the midst of all this a crop duster plane who dreams of becoming a racer.
Those who have seen the movie Cars will obviously pick on what is right in front of their eyes — that it is inspired by the movie. The faces, the deserted nowhere on the map small town, a veteran plane who is hiding, all are a lift from the film which is a downer.
So, despite the fact that it has been borrowed, one is not likely to hear a complaint from the tiny tots who will be watching this one. The colour, the gruff voices of the planes and the brilliantly done animation is sure to keep the young watchers glued to their chairs for all of 93 minutes. But then Hollywood is known for doing a great job when it comes to animation. One only wishes that not all animation movies of today are in 3D.
Coming back to the Planes, the underlining message is clear — never under estimate the under dog and that if one believed in one’s capabilities, the sky is the limit — literally. The visual effects are beautifully realised as director Klay Hall takes one for a brilliant spin to a variety of locales — from Iceland to Germany to India to Mexico throwing in the race, the spinning rotors and love in the air for good measure.
The characterisation and the technical accuracy of the planes captures the imagination of all those who love planes. Even thought there is a 10 minute technical jargon, this Disney animation soars high and is sure to keep the children entertained.