Writer: Jillian Cheong

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Watch this if you liked: "Cars" & "Cars 2"

After the success of the "Cars" franchise, it is no doubt that Disney found a way to appeal the younger audience with another transportation themed movie but this time taking it to the skies. Good on Disney for creating more animated films that suit the younger male demographic, to balance out with their 'Disney Princess' collection for the female audience

"Planes" tells the story of a small town Jersey plane named Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook) who has big dreams of competing in the exhilarating around-the-world air race. However being a crop duster, Dusty happens to be terribly afraid of heights. In spite of his fear, the strong-willed Dusty manages to score a place in the competition. Being inspired by an old Navy Corsair, Skipper (voiced by Stacy Keach), Dusty does everything he can to be coached by the once ace flier. The part where Skipper coaches Dusty really reminded the reviewer of the scene from "Karate Kid", where Jackie Chan trains Jaden Smith.

Of all the many aircrafts, Disney interestingly chose a Crop Duster as the lead character. One thing about Crop Dusters is that they are not exactly built for racing and travel at a low altitude, which is where the creators smartly incorporated Dusty's fear of heights. Being an animated spin-off from "Cars", the creators decided to choose the underdog for the lead instead of being a hot-shot race car.

Another interesting aspect of the movie is that the creators also incorporated many international characters and while watching the race around-the-world, it really reminded the reviewer of the World Cup experience. The Romeo of the group, El Chupacabra (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) the caped plane from Mexico, really stands out of the crowd with his loud personality and charismatic presence. Despite being named after the legendary monster Chupacabra, his personality is definitely one of the more fun to watch characters in the animation. Furthermore, another character that really stood out was Ishani (voiced by Priyanka Chopra), who is the reigning Pan-Asian champion from India. Her brightly painted plane most likely inspired by the colours of her country gives her a really exotic look that is definitely easy on the eyes.

All in all, this movie is really inspiring as audience are able to learn a thing or two from the admirable Dusty. The only bump along the ride is that it failed to venture into other aspects apart from the race, as three quarters of the movie was solely focused on the race. However, there were many light hearted moments where the jokes were relatable to us humans even in the world of planes.

Look out for the sequel, "Planes: Fire and Rescue" that's already planned for a 2014 release!

Cinema Online, 14 August 2013