Planes Soars into Theaters Everywhere Today! {Movie Review}

On Monday, after walking the red carpet & enjoying the tailgate pre-party, I was able to catch Disney’s newest movie, Planes! As the mother of a {soon-to-be}  four year old boy, this is my turf, so I knew I was in for a treat.

The movie started with a great action sequence. After we realize the sequence is just a dream, we first meet Dusty Crophopper {Dane Cook}, whose day job is as a crop duster but who dreams of being a racing plane. He’s not exactly built to be a racer, but he practices with his best truck friend, Chug {Brad Garrett} despite the warnings of his maintenance truck friend Dottie {Teri Hatcher}. He tries out for the Wings Around the Globe Rally & comes in one spot shy of qualifying for the international race.

Dusty knows if he’s ever going to be a real racer, he’s going to need training from someone who can actually fly, so he gets retired navy plane Skipper {Stacy Keach} to teach him the ways of the wind. During his training, he gets word that one of the planes that beat him was found to be using fuel enhancements & so Dusty becomes qualified! Skipper trains him to win- learning in the process that Dusty is afraid of heights!

Once Dusty arrives at the Wings Around the Globe rally, he isn’t met with a lot of support. Even one of his idols, Ripslinger, shuns him. He does find a friend in El Chupacabra, and as the race progresses, certain events cause him to gain more friends & more support.

Without giving away the ending, I will say that Planes definitely has the happy ending we all hope for, but that the story includes a few snags in the road for Dusty. However, in overcoming the obstacles, Dusty proves that you can be “more than what you’re built for”. Here is this tiny little plane, meant to work on a farm forever, but he’s able to reach for and achieve his bigger-than-him dreams.

The movie had a lot of laughs & even a couple of jokes for grown-ups {a reference to the constant release of a new iPad, a joke about one of the females’ good looking “propellers” meant to be her behind}. There weren’t any jokes that I deemed inappropriate though & in fact, I didn’t think anything to be inappropriate the entire movie.

Can you take little kids to see Planes? I definitely think so. However, as a small warning, there are two very, very brief scenes that may get a little scary for very small children. I tell you not to dissuade you from taking your kids, because the scenes are quick & it’s still worth seeing the movie, but if you have a particularly sensitive child you may want to hold their hand at these parts. {Warning: Small spoilers ahead.} When Dusty is forced with the decision to fly above a mountain or go back, he comes up with his own solution & goes through a tunnel. He almost crashes into a train and in fact, there are a few seconds of a white screen after a near-collision that may lead children to believe he didn’t make it. In another scene, Dusty is fighting against a very intense storm & there’s a bit of drama to it- the scene is loud & the waves almost beat Dusty. Both scenes are very quick & definitely should not deter you from taking your kids by any means, I just want that out there because I have a sensitive kid so I know how that goes.

I definitely recommend this movie to anyone. Planes is rated PG but I can’t think of any reasons for that- I didn’t catch any bad words, inappropriate situations or overly violent scenes. I recommend it for small children even, and I have already promised Shane that I would take him next week & I have no fears about taking him. I think that the story delivers a great message about following your dreams, even when the odds aren’t in your favor.

Planes soars into theaters today, August 9th! Be sure to check out Planes on Facebook & follow El Chupacabra {one of the hilarious planes} on Twitter for more fun!

Note: I saw Planes at the premiere at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. Disney covered my expenses to cover this trip. All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.