Planes Fire and Rescue Movie Review

Planes Fire and Rescue is a great movie, it’s actually better than the first. The world-famous air racer Dusty has been pushing his engines to the limits by racing all the time. He soon learns that his engine is damaged beyond repair and if he pushes his engines too hard one more time he will never fly again unless they can find more parts. Meaning he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of aerial firefighting to save his local airport. He has a hard time with his new transition but wants to keep his airfield safe and they need a new firefighter.

Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his team, a bunch of all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero. This is a great story of finding yourself in the middle of overcoming your fears. Dusty even goes as far as giving up his ability to fly to save others trapped in a fire. The storyline is strong and the characters are well developed.

“Planes: Fire & Rescue” features the voices of Dane Cook (“Disney’s Planes,” “Louie,” “Dan in Real Life”) as Dusty, Ed Harris (“Pollock,” “Apollo 13,” “A History of Violence”) as Blade Ranger, Julie Bowen (“Modern Family,” 1 “Horrible Bosses”) as Dipper, Curtis Armstrong (“Supernatural,” “American Dad!”) as Maru, John Michael Higgins (“Happily Divorced,” “Pitch Perfect”) as Cad Spinner, Hal Holbrook (“Promised Land,” “Lincoln”) as Mayday, Wes Studi (“Avatar,” “The New World”) as Windlifter, Brad Garrett (“Disney’s Planes,” “Everybody Loves Raymond”) as Chug, Teri Hatcher (“Disney’s Planes,” “Desperate Housewives”) as Dottie, Stacy Keach “Disney’s Planes,” “Nebraska”) as Skipper, Cedric the Entertainer (“Disney’s Planes,” “Barbershop”) as Leadbottom and Danny Mann (“Disney’s Planes,” “Up”) returns as Sparky. The voice talent also includes Barry Corbin (“Northern Exposure”) as ‘Ol Jammer, Regina King (“Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous,” “Jerry Maguire”) as Dynamite, Anne Meara as Winnie, Jerry Stiller as Harvey, Fred Willard as Secretary of the Interior, Captain Dale Dye as Cabbie, Kevin Michael Richardson as Ryker, and Patrick Warburton (“The Emperor’s New Groove,” “Seinfeld”) as Pulaski. Everyone bringing personality and life to the characters.

“It’s a movie about second chances,” says director Bobs Gannaway (“Secret of the Wings”). “Each character was something else before finding their current roles, and Dusty is a crop duster-turned-racer who can’t race any more. When we learned that historically, the very first air attack teams were crop dusters, it was clear that the plane was telling us where the story was going.” The ending is a bit intense and looks like all will be lost, and you’ll have to see for yourself how it actually ends.