After the great success of Cars 1, 2 and 3 by Disney, they have now brought us another children's favorite in the anthropomorphism (yes that's a real word!) genre: Planes, and Z.E.N. and I had a chance to see an advanced screening.
I found this movie to be VERY similar to the Cars movies. The movie has the usual villain and hero, only in Disney's Planes, there are plenty of both to cheer and boo as the main character, Dusty, morphs from a lowly crop dusting plane flying daily over endless fields to accomplishing his dream of being a world-class air racer. As his dream starts to come true, thanks to a faithful and generous support team, there are of course, those who see Dusty as a threat. These villains, try their best to make Dusty fail.
Children of all young ages will have one or more take-away messages from the movie. First up is the message of never giving up. Dusty never gave up and had an “I can do it” attitude. Another positive message I observed is the idea that everyone has talents and dreams and that some of those dreams can be accomplished by using your talents to work together as a team. Finally, the concept of right and wrong are clearly exhibited in the movie. Children will see the behavior of the villains as being hurtful and mean which will cause them to dislike the villains and show feelings of empathy towards Dusty.
The movie also shows the value of age and experience as we see the vital contributions of the elderly and experienced characters Skipper and Bulldog. I also love the fact that they included international characters like El Chupacabra from Mexico and Ishani from India.
The bright colors, action, and multiple scene locations will keep all children engrossed with strong subtle lessons smartly delivered to them.
