Planes: Fire and Rescue

This review may contain spoilers.

Never have I seen a sequel pull it's entire franchise back from the brink in such a damn entertaining manner. I would give Planes: Fire and Rescue a 7/10.

How does a franchise that failed so bad get so good? Honestly by remembering to do what Disney and Pixar do best...pluck them heartstrings. The story within Planes: Fire and Rescue is so perfectly done. It opens with a dedication to the brave men and women who put their lives above others. The film then progresses by wiping away Dusty's ability to race and teaching him humility by making him become a firefighter so as to save his home town. Throw in some tragic backstory, some near death and a sad old firetruck who's lost all hope in his ability to serve his town and you have one of the greatest comeback sequels that Pixar has done. Not to mention the music this time round was so much better, specifically the huge sequence in which a fire was extinguished while AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' was playing in the background. The visuals for this film were a lot better than the last Planes film as well, the spiralling pillars of fire were just encapsulated perfectly as well as actually seeing planes get damaged by fire in slow motion in an aesthetically stunning way.

Ed Harris, who voiced Blade Ranger, did a great job as the leader of this team of firefighting heroes; he had a great backstory and was a brilliant self-sacrificing character. John Michael Higgins, who voiced Cad, was a decent antagonist in this film; his selfishness and ignorance in the face of danger posed great life lessons for young viewers. Hal Holbrook, who voiced Mayday, gave a tear jerking performance as the fire truck who had become too old to do his properly. Teri hatcher, who voiced Dottie, is one of the few members of the original cast who stands out incredibly; she takes charge and deals some of the worst news in the film really well.

The best character in the film was Maru, voiced by Curtis Armstrong. This character is just fantastic, the voicework is great. The jokes he spins out are good for kids and adults but his revelation of various character's backstories is what sets him apart. It's through Maru that a lot of the most emotional story arcs in the film are explored and he does each one spectacular justice.

Planes still lacklusters in it's comedic elements; it has definitely improved but not all that much. I also think that the original characters and references to the first film still hindered the film from being the best it could be, Ultimately this is the film that should have been the first one.

Dane Cook, who voiced Dusty Crophopper, still has the corniest voice I have ever heard and is such a basic and toned down character. Julie Bowen, who voice Lil' Dipper, is proof that cinema still thinks we need shitty and even creepy romance storylines and characters. Wes Studi, who voiced Windlifter, is one of the worst representations of a native American character that I have ever seen. Brad Garrett, who voiced Chug, was the spearheading character that represented awful comedy; he should never have been brought back. Stacy Keach, who voiced Skipper, was the best character in the last film and in this he was frightfully underused and dismissed as if he had been the worst; it was such a poor move.