August Movie #2: Planes

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

August Movie #2: Planes

Starring the Voices of: Dane Cook, Teri Hatcher, Stacey Keech, Brad Garrett
Run Time: 1 hour 31 minutes
Directed By: Klay Hall

Planes is kind of like Cars, in that the vehicles have names, faces, thoughts, and act just like a person would. I think the next installments will be Boats, which is about a little tug boat who wants to be a cruise liner and see the world until he realizes that he performs a valuable service, and Trains, about a caboose who's tired of always being last. Just kidding.

Planes is about Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Cook) who is tired of flying in straight lines every day. Although he has flown thousands of miles, he's never left the state. His dream is to race, to compete with the jets. Chug (voiced by Garrett) is a refueling truck who eggs on Dusty's ambitions. Dottie (voiced by Hatcher) is a mechanic-type-car thingie who is the voice of reason, trying to gently deflate Dusty's wild dreams. Skipper (voiced by Keech) is an old military fighter that Dusty enlists to help him train to be a racing plane. They all come together in support when Dusty wins a spot in a race around the globe.

Eh. That's my summary: Eh. I wasn't a fan of Cars (I didn't hate it but I didn't love it) so I guess it stands to reason that I wouldn't be a fan of Planes. This movie was cute. It made me laugh. There were several bits (like Dusty having his sprayer removed) that they carried through to the end very well. They did a good job anthropomorphizing the vehicles. They moved like humans. They did very human-like things. All of the different planes from different countries was well done (although I was wondering if some of the designs/depictions of the planes wasn't a tad racist). The movie just didn't have that something extra that pushes into greatness. It was sweet. It did no harm. It was slightly funny. It was an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. And yet I didn't love it.

The story itself was sweet - dreaming of being something you're not and then putting it to reality. On one hand, the message that you can be anything you want to be (particularly if you have support from loved ones and good training) is a worthy message. However, in execution, it's a little starry-eyed, overly optimistic, and certainly naive. There is a difference between a crop duster and a jet. And that's okay. I wish the movie had made that point.

I spent a lot of the movie trying to figure out who was voicing Dusty. It had a lot of Owen Wilson (who is the voice of Lightning McQueen from Cars) overtones. I wonder if they cast with that in mind. I can almost hear the discussion around voice casting, "Hey, Owen's voice worked well as a car. Wouldn't it work well as a plane? Go get someone who sounds like him. But not him." I was also not a fan of Teri Hatcher's Dottie. Her voice quickly became grating.

So.... definitely one the kids will like. Not sure if even they will love it (unless they love planes). It held my attention. It's not one I'm going to buy (I don't own Cars either). It was cute. It had a good story. The message was a little naive but the undertones of the message were nice. A little predictable. Good movie. Not great. Good. Cute. Sweet.

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List O' Movies Watched

2016 Movies
16). Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
15). Suicide Squad
14). Star Trek Beyond
13). Ghostbusters
12). The Legend of Tarzan
11). The Secret Life of Pets
10). Finding Dory
9). Central Intelligence
8). X-Men: Apocalypse
7). Captain America: Civil War
6). Zootopia
5). Deadpool
4). Kung Fu Panda 3
3). Norm of the North
2). Spectre
1). Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
2015 Movies
45). Peanuts Movie
44). Goosebumps
43). Scouts Guide (to a Zombie Apocalypse)
42). Suffragette
41). Burnt
40). Last Witch Hunter
39). Crimson Peak
38). Bridge of Spies
37). The Martian (3D)
36). The Intern
35). Hotel Transylvania 2
34). Everest
33). Man from U.N.C.L.E
32). Vacation
31). Terminator: Genisys
30). Ant-Man
29). Pixels
28). Minions
27). Jurassic World
26). San Andreas (3D)
25). Spy
24). Inside Out
23). Ex Machina
22). Tomorrowland
21). The Age of Adaline
20). The Avengers: Age of Ultron (3D)
19). Danny Collins
18). Fast and the Furious 7
17). Home
16). Cinderella
15). Focus
14). Kingsmen
13). Paddington
12). Whiplash
11). The Imitation Game
10). American Sniper
9). Selma
8). Birdman
7). Theory of Everything
6). Boyhood
5). Jupiter Ascending (3D)
4). Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb
3). Taken 3
2).The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (3D)
1). Into the Woods
2014 Movies
20). Big Hero Six (3D)
19). Gone Girl
18). Dracula Untold
17). Boxtrolls (3D)
16). A Walk Among Tombstones
15). Frank
14). Expendables III
13). Guardians of the Galaxy (3D)
12). Chef
11). X-Men: Days of Future Past
10). How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D)
9). Maleficent
8). A Million Ways to Die in the West
7). Transcendence
6). Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5). Muppets Most Wanted
4). The Grand Budapest Hotel
3). The LEGO Movie
2). Non-Stop
1). Saving Mr. Banks
2013 Movies
52). Philomena
51). Delivery Man
50). Frozen (in 3D)
49). Homefront
48). Hunger Games: Catching Fire
47). Thor: The Dark World (in 3D)
46). Free Birds (in 3D)
45). About Time
44). Escape Plan
43). Gravity (in 3D)
42). Don Jon
41). Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (in 3D)
40). Riddick
39). Planes
38). Red 2
37). Despicable Me 2 (again)
36). Turbo
35). Despicable Me 2 (in 3D)
34). The Heat
33). Monsters University
32). This is the End
31). Now You See Me
30). What Maisie Knew
29). The Hangover III
28). Star Trek: Into Darkness
27). Fast and the Furious 6
26). Gatsby (in 3D)
25). Iron Man 3 (in 3D)
24). Disconnect
23). Pain & Gain
22). Place Beyond the Pines
21). Side Effects
20). G.I. Joe: Retaliation
19). The Croods
18). Jack the Giant Slayer (in 3D)
17). Oz the Great and Powerful
16). A Good Day to Die Hard
15). Snitch
14). Zero Dark Thirty
13). Life of Pi (3D)
12). Beasts of the Southern Wild
11). Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films
10). Warm Bodies
9). Parker
8). Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (3D)
7). Django Unchained
6). Amour
5). The Last Stand
4). The Impossible
3). Les Miserables
2). Silver Linings Playbook
1). Lincoln
2012 Movies
42). Wreck it Ralph
41). Skyfall
40). Argo
39). Hotel Transylvania (3D)
38). Looper
37). Taken 2
36). ParaNorman (3D)
35). Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
34). The Expendables 2
33). The Odd Life of Timothy Green
32). Total Recall
31). The Amazing Spider-man
30). Brave(again)
29). Magic Mike
28). Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (3D)
27). Brave
26). Prometheus
25). Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
24). Snow White and the Huntsman
23). Men in Black III (3D)
22). Battleship
21). Dark Shadows
20). The Pirates! Band of Misfits
19). The Avengers
18). Mirror Mirror
17). The Hunger Games
16). Titanic (3D)
15). Coriolanus
14). The Lorax (3D)
13). The Artist
12). Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud
11). The Help
10). Hugo
9). Journey 2: Mysterious Island (3D)
8). Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts
7). Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts
6). Safe House
5). A Dangerous Method
4). My Week with Marilyn
3). The Grey
2). The Descendents
1). Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
2011 Movies
56). Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
55). The Muppets
54). Arthur Christmas (in 3D)
53). Puss in Boots (in 3D)
52). In Time
51). Martha Marcy Mae Marlene
50). Margin Call
49). Real Steel
46). Dolphin Tale
48). 50/50
47). Ides of March
45). Killer Elite
44). Moneyball
43). What's Your Number?
42). Drive
41). Winnie the Pooh
40). Fright Night
39). Crazy, Stupid, Love
38). Captain America: The First Avenger
37). Cowboys and Aliens
36). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
35). Cars 2 (again)
34). Zookeeper
33). Midnight in Paris
32). Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (in 3D)
31). Bad Teacher
30). Cars 2
29). Mr. Popper's Penguins
28). Green Lantern
27). X-Men: First Class
26). Kung Fu Panda 2
25). Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides
24). Bridesmaids
23). Thor
22). Rio
21). Hanna
20). Source Code
19). Fast Five
18). Hop
17). The Adjustment Bureau
16). Limitless
15). Rango
14). Beastly
13). The Housemaid (Ha-nyeo)
12). I Am Number Four
11). True Grit
10). The Kids Are All Right
9). 127 Hours
8). Unknown
7). Oscar Nominated Live-Action Short Films
6). Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films
5). The Fighter
4). The Mechanic
3). The King's Speech
2). The Green Hornet (in 3D)
1). Black Swan

Robin's World - Movie Valley

Movie Reviews

Tuesday, August 20, 2013