Aubrey Malone
Planes: Fire and Rescue (G)
I've often thought America is as much to be commended for the amount of films it makes satirising itself as it is to be blamed for the amount it makes patting itself on the back. This is one of the latter. Though set in the present, its atmosphere harks back to the time during World War II when people like Howard Hawks or his namesake Howard Hughes were making films saluting the air force – usually featuring stars like John Wayne in the lead role. (Wayne ducked war duty, preferring to be heroic on celluloid than in the trenches.)
It's animated, needless to say. No contemporary director would risk making such an ashamedly traditional movie today, more's the pity. For people like myself who like old movies, Disney is one of the few repositories left for such trips down memory lane.
It starts off like The Tarnished Angels, segues into Towering Inferno territory and ends with a kind of anti-climactic jingoism that's all too predictable. Young males are the main target audience, i.e. 'boys with toys.' A latterday Biggles, one might say – for those who remember Biggles.
Dusty (voiced by Dane Cook) is a former racing hero who now has engine trouble so he reluctantly takes on firefighting duties instead. He joins forces with a fire and rescue helicopter called Blade Ranger (voiced by Ed Harris) and his team The Smokejumpers. Here Dusty meets Dipper (voiced by Julie Bowen) who flirts unashamedly with him. He also has to deal with a forest fire that's gone out of control and threatening to decimate Piston Peak National Park.
Vivacity
Dusty is an old-fashioned character whose days are numbered but he won't go down without a fight. Disney's special effects make his character come to life with great vivacity in the film. This is ironic as its theme is precisely that: the onset of technology and the toll this takes on clunky old planes/people like Dusty.
Yes, the planes and cars really do 'become' people here. The headlamps are eyes, the number plates are mouths, and sometimes the tyres are moved about like arms and legs. In an early scene we even witness the phenomenon of a vehicle playing darts.
It all moves at a helter skelter pace but could be accused of being an aerial rip-off of Cars. Also, the 'moral' – Dusty 'learns' how to be a hero – is old hat. I could have done with more of the elegiac theme of the plane on its last legs.
The action sequences are superb, though, especially those relating to the raging fire as it wrecks bridges and buildings near the end. Fire and water relieve us of the possible monotony of motorised vehicles whizzing around.
For anyone in withdrawal from the cancellation of the Garth Brooks concerts, there are also some hand-clappin', foot-stompin' country and western songs to savour.
