I was skeptical about Planes when it first came out. Initially a direct-to-video spin-off of Cars it wound up getting a theatrical release and would test well enough to warrant a sequel to be put into development before its release. Planes: Fire & Rescue tricked me initially because I thought it was a second story with an all new cast of characters. I will admit to not paying as much attention to the trailers as I probably should have.
Dusty Crophopper successfully overcame obstacles and went from being merely a crop duster to a world famous racer. As this film opens up he is still a successful racer but something happens to his engine, and in a series of events that is much more convoluted than necessary for a children’s movie, Dusty needs to learn how to become a firefighter. Here we get to meet a new cast that … wait for it … helps Dusty overcome problems both internal and external to succeed in becoming a firefighter. Does this sound like a bit of a rehash of the first Planes film? Well, yes, it is. Planes: Fire & Rescue may not win a lot of points for originality but it does have enough charm for the kids without dumbing down the quality.
Look, Planes: Fire & Rescue isn’t the best film and won’t be up for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but it isn’t trying to be something it isn’t, which is nice. While the adults may not find the film as amusing or worth repeat viewings smaller kids will enjoy it. My 4 year old saw the film not only in the theater but has watched the Blu-ray three times. I do want to mention the not to a certain iconic television series made me laugh far greater than any of my kids. There are still plenty of references in there for the grown ups.
Much like the first film this sequel looks decent, definitely theatrical quality animation, but as you might imagine it doesn’t look like a Pixar film. It should be remembered that Pixar did not work on this. Since Disney owns Pixar it has the right to create any derivative works based on Pixar properties (see Mater’s Tall Tales). This is why the film is labeled Disney, not Disney-Piixar. Some people were confused when Planes came out thinking it was Pixar’s latest film, but that’s not the case. I think it is clearer this time around.
The Blu-ray comes with a few special features starting off with three animated shorts. Two are extremely short and barely worth mentioning (Were they released on the internet previously?) while the third is a much more “traditional” short which looks like it was created for this home video release. A couple of deleted scenes, promotional videos from the world of the film and a small featurette briefly looking at the real firefighting vehicles that inspired the ones in the film round out the special features. That is if you don’t count the music video which I don’t.
I enjoyed Planes: Fire & Rescue for what it is – a sequel to a spin-off. While it doesn’t match Cars for quality in storytelling, it definitely passes Cars 2.