Planes

Given the staggering amount of money that the Walt Disney Company earned from the animated Cars franchise, it's not surprising that their “imagineers” have decided to take flight. Dusty Crophopper (voiced by Dane Cook), a feisty little airplane determined to escape his humdrum life of spraying fertilizer on farm fields, dreams of entering a ‘round-the-world race intended for much more sleek, sophisticated aircraft—such as egotistical Ripslinger (Roger Craig Smith), who has already won the race three times. Plucky Dusty is reluctantly coached by Skipper (Stacy Keach)—an old Navy Corsair who spins World War II stories—and his support team includes dimwitted fuel-truck buddy Chug (Brad Garrett) and plucky forklift Dottie (Teri Hatcher). Other high-flyin' competitors include Mexico's El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui), who ardently woos French-Canadian Rochelle (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Britain's veteran Bulldog (John Cleese) with his stiff-upper-propeller, who is enamored with sassy Indian jet-setter Ishani (Priyanka Chopra). Animated by DisneyToon Studios, known for their low-budget sequels to beloved Disney classics, Planes is decidedly second-rate and stereotypically scripted, ultimately grounded by an air of familiarity. An optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the “making-of” featurette “Klay's Flight Plan” (16 min.), a “Meet the Racers” character featurette (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (8 min.), the “Top 10 Flyers” featurette on real life pilots (6 min.), the deleted scene “Franz's Song” (4 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing Disney film.] (S. Granger)