The Aero Experience Reviews Disney's "Planes" Movie

By Mark Nankivil

Tuesday evening The Aero Experience attended a private screening of the new Disney movie "Planes" which opens to the public on Friday, August 9th.  The movie is an aviation themed movie by DisneyToons Studios, much along the lines of the hugely successful Pixar "Cars" movie and its later "Cars 2" sequel, and it follows the aspirations of "Dusty" the crop duster who wants to be a racer.  The characters both at the home airport and in the racing scenes allow for a variety of aircraft types with plenty of "color," both with the paint schemes and the characters, that will keep any kid (and adult age kid!) watching intently from start to finish.  There's humor both for kids and at the adult level, and for those of us totally immersed in aviation, there are plenty of things to see in the background and in the sometimes subtle humor of the moment at hand in the movie.  There are of course plenty of other marketing items that have been or will be released to go with the movies, and die-cast toys, gliders and other play packages are already available at a number of retailers.  A recent visit to an airport ramp full of full-scale crop dusters found a radio controlled "Dusty" sitting on the manager's desk!

The movie is well worth seeing and for this scribe, and it was the first 3D movie I have seen.  The 3D effects indeed added to the movie, and are worth considering when choosing a movie time.  My son enjoyed the movie as well, and he will definitely want to stock up on the toy characters much as he did when "Cars" was in the movie theaters and in the DVD player at home.  It is highly recommended, and hoping/expecting that the DVD/BluRay is out for Christmas!