Planes: Fire & Rescue (Film Review)

I haven’t seen the original Planes, mostly because it looks like a cliché ridden, child pandering animated rip off of Cars (my least favorite Pixar film).  Despite that, I went and saw Planes: Fire & Rescue, a film that looked…slightly better than Planes, but didn't get my hopes up.  Imagine my surprise when not only was Fire and Rescue not awful, but I actually enjoyed it! 

The plot to Fire & Rescue has very little to do with the first (at least I assume since I never got confused with the sequel’s plot).  In fact, everything you need to know about Planes was in its trailers:

1. Dusty (Dane Cook) is a cropduster who wants to become a pro-racer
2.  Dusty becomes a pro-racer yet is looked down upon
3. Dusty wins some giant race and gains everyone’s respect

That last part wasn't revealed in the trailers, but it doesn't take a genius to put the pieces together (plus the first minute of Fire & Rescue reveals he won).  It’s made even easier to follow Fire & Rescue since a bunch of planes promoted in the first’s trailer appear absolutely nowhere; instead being replaced with a whole slew of new characters, which for me ended up becoming one enjoyably massive “name that voice actor’s other character” game.   Let’s see: you've got Robert Barone as a fuel truck, Booger as a forklift, Joe Swanson as a fire engine, Varrick as a Cadillac and even Badger from Breaking Bad as a smokejumper car (there’s a ton of nameable voice overs in the film). 

The plot for Fire & Rescue is pretty straight forward; Dusty needs to train to become a firefighter in order to save his home from being closed down…and that’s what he does!  There are however two main aspects that made Planes: Fire & Rescue an enjoyable film: animation and pacing.  While the film’s budget was relatively low compared to recent animated films (only a fourth of Cars 2), the studio sure did a good job with milking all its worth; using the Yellowstone setting of forests, mountainsides, and waterfalls to add a very tranquil yet majestic atmosphere that can simply be viewed and enjoyed…until the FIRES start that is!  

These blazing infernos are both visually appealing and somewhat intense, particularly during the massive forest fire at the end where cars and planes scramble to evacuate the territory (as my fiancée called it: “it’s the fire-version of the Titanic”).  One particularly well-choreographed scene involves the planes soaring directly into a deafening, blazing inferno, resulting in them flying through what resembled the pits of Hell (or at least as close as you can get in a kids film).  The fact that they’re planes (or helicopters) also means that all these scenes occur from a lovely birds eye view, adding to the sereneness or intensity. 

I cannot express my gratitude to the film’s director for Fire & Rescue’s non-painful, remarkably fluent pacing.  The film never aims for more than it can chew, telling a contained story that flows well and cuts to the chase.  No “unnecessary side-plots” or dreaded “main character ruins everything” devices where he/she is blamed for a catastrophe (even though it’s usually not their fault) and has to go waste time sulking only to come back and save the day.  Here all those scenes are combined short and sweetly; in fact the other characters treat Dusty’s mistakes fairly (he is in training after all) and his faults with an open mind.  With the story moving fluently, I was able to enjoy the characters, comedy (there were a couple good zingers here and there), and plot a lot more.  

Planes: Fire & Rescue is not one of the best films of 2014, but I will say it’s the most kid friendly, especially when compared to How to Train Your Dragon 2, that parents can also enjoy.  In fact I’d say it’s the definition of a “good film for kids”; balancing drama so it doesn't become traumatic for younger viewers yet has enough energy, comedy, visuals and solid pacing to entertain adults.  It’s not a must see nor anything groundbreaking, but it’s harmless entertainment that I quite enjoyed seeing in the theaters.