Planes: Fire and Rescue doesn’t reach movie altitude

posted in: Animated, Children, Fantasy, Sports | 0


Movie Title:  Planes: Fire & Rescue
PG, 1 hour 24 minutes
Grade:  C+
In a Nutshell:  You know when you make a Xerox copy of another actual Xerox copy and the quality gets worse each time?  That’s kind of this movie. The first Planes movie was a spinoff of the successful Cars franchise, but landed with a thud.  So what’s a movie studio to do?  Make a sequel!  No doubt the merchandising for little boys will be big.
For a movie about airplanes, it just doesn’t quite reach the altitude we all wish it did.
If your kids loved the first Planes, then go for it; you’re in for more of the same.  If you and your kids were bored out of your minds the first time around, skip this one.  You can read my movie review from the first Planes movie here.  Go watch Frozen again.
Uplifting theme: 
  • Heroism
  • Friendship
  • Responsibility
Things I liked:
  • Every animated film is better with the awesome voice talents of Patrick Warburton. Seriously.  Put him in everything.
  •  The scenery was beautiful as “we” flew over deserts, mountains, and meadows.
  • It’s better than the first Planes , but that still doesn’t make it an actual good movie.
  • It’s definitely geared towards the tots.   
  • It’s always fun to hear the lovable voice of John Ratzenberger.
Things I didn’t like:
  • There were quite a few sexual innuendos intended to entertain parents, such as “How’d you like to rub tires?” and “We wore off the treads on our honeymoon” and “Yeah, they’re real.”    Not classy.
  • I love Modern Family’s Julie Bowen and was happy to hear her voice the character of Dipper.  Unfortunately, I didn’t like Dipper at all.  She’s an airplane who constantly throws herself at Dusty for some cheap laughs.  Great role model for little girls, eh?
  • I’m kinda tired of the obligatory fart jokes in lil tyke flicks.
  • I got a little dizzy with some of the aerial dips and tricks.
  • The most emotional scene was one with two old RV’s who expressed their love for each other.  Sweet, right?  Well, yeah, except their loving words were spoken in between inappropriate sexual innuendos and winks towards the parents. 
Did you notice?
Funny lines:
  • “It’s a mysterious mystery.” – little bulldozer
  • “This is so exciting, I’m going to overheat.” – random car in a group scene
Tips for parents:   I thought some of the fire scenes were scary and could frighten little ones.  Otherwise, the movie is mostly harmless fun.
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Author of 23 books, university professor, mom of 4 awesome sons, movie critic, ice cream lover. Check out her world travels and tips at www.EmptyNestTravelHacker.com

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