Planes

Year 6, Day 260 - 9/17/14 - Movie #1,851

BEFORE: I'm stressed out because it's the last week for one of my jobs, so I'll be down to one paycheck for at least a while.  You'd think this would make me less stressed because I'll have more free time and vast new opportunities could be opening up for me, but the feeling is exactly the opposite.  I'm stress-eating and not sleeping well - my sleeping pattern was already pretty bad, now it's just abysmal.  I don't know if this will affect my mood when it comes to reviewing films, but that's certainly possible.

Linking from "Flight" (see what I did there?) John Goodman was also heard in "Monsters University", along with John Ratzenberger, who also does a voice here, as he does for all of the Pixar films.

THE PLOT:  A cropdusting plane with a fear of heights lives his dream of competing in a famous around-the-world aerial race.

FOLLOW-UP TO: "Cars 2" (Movie #1,067)

AFTER: Well, it's certainly cut from the same cloth as the "Cars" films, in addition to inhabiting the same world of anthropomorphized vehicles, it feels like the same basic plot - folksy regular vehicle competing in an international series of races.  That makes the series feel very one-note, it's like they couldn't think of anything else to make planes do, except race.  Planes transport people, but there are no people in this world (so who invented cars and planes, then?) so the screenwriters here probably had very limited options.  Maybe in the "Fire & Rescue" sequel they finally thought up some new material.

So...a plane is afraid of heights?  That seems like an odd choice.  Especially when NOT flying high during the races ends up causing more problems than it solves - ice on the wings, danger of crashing into mountains or the ground, etc.  But just fundamentally, depicting a plane who's afraid of heights seems like a mistake to begin with - why not a story about a squirrel with a nut allergy, or a dog who forgot how to bark.  He's a PLANE, flying should be inherent to the foundation of his character, and being afraid of flying high seems both incorrect and tacked-on, like a manufactured road-block.

Beyond that, I don't know if this film sends the right message to kids, either.  It's bad enough we live in the world of "everybody gets a trophy" and non-losers, what does that say about the generation that's currently learning about the way life works? We want to tell kids that they can be anything they want to be, if they just follow their dreams and WANT it hard enough, but that can't possibly be true for everyone, right?  Should we tell the non-athletic kids that they can play in the Olympics, or would it be better to switch to a more believable lesson plan, like "know your limitations"?

When I was in fourth grade, my moronic gym teachers set up an intra-school track event, and since I didn't show much proficiency in the long jump, high jump, or 100-meter dash, I was slotted into the 800-meter race by default.  Never mind the fact that I had never run for 800 yards before in my life.  Not even if you added up all the running I'd done up to that point, cumulatively.  But then race day came and I only made it about halfway around the track before I had to walk - and it was a long, embarrassing walk back to the stands.  I think they even had to start another race while I was still making my way back at a snail's pace.

My point is, if the gym teacher had any sense he would have taken one look at me and said, "Hey, maybe running's not your strong suit.  But you've got some bulk on you, can you throw a shot put?"  Somehow I think shot put wasn't a valid choice at the time - but I knew my limitations, even if the P.E. teacher didn't, and I could have saved some face if I'd only spoken up.

So that leads me back to a cropdusting plane who thinks he can compete with much faster, much more aerodynamic planes.  The script accomplishes this by him first shedding all unnecessary crop-spraying equipment, then getting many of his structural elements and design features upgraded - which means that he's NOT the same plane that he was when he started.  This also sends a weird message out to the kids - "Not right for the job you want?  Just get plastic surgery, or some other body modifications!"

Yes, it's worth noting that our plucky plane hero succeeds because of his good deeds, and his ability to make friends and do favors for them.  This is a slightly better message - but the flip-side of that is, he never would have been able to win on his own, without help or calling in these favors, so then what did he really accomplish?  It seems like getting outside help from naval planes to win the race should constitute cheating, as a form of outside interference.  It certainly doesn't happen just through hard work and practice, coupled with the desire to succeed.

Questionable messages all around, therefore.

Also starring the voices of Dane Cook (last seen in "Dan in Real Life"), Stacy Keach (last seen in "American History X"), Brad Garrett (last seen in "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone"), Teri Hatcher (last seen in "Tomorrow Never Dies"), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Cleese (last seen in "The Out of Towners"), Cedric the Entertainer (last seen in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"), Carlos Alazraqui, and cameos from Anthony Edwards (last seen in "Zodiac"), Val Kilmer (last seen in "Pollock"), Sinbad, Gabriel Iglesias, Brent Musburger.

RATING: 3 out of 10 forklifts