"Disney’s skill is their knack for making you care about the plight of these characters"

Those DisneyToons are at it again. Not a year since Planes debuted, Planes 2: Fire & Rescue is ready to take flight. The only question is, is it a smooth flight or is it one plagued with turbulence - one flight you’re likely going to want to forget? 

An ambitious film that could find itself amidst concerns that it has taken flight too early, Planes 2 has been four years in the making. The filmmakers behind Dusty Crophopper's latest adventure have had the requisite amount of time to craft their sequel to ensure that it’s ready for its maiden flight, and ready to dazzle kid’s and adults alike. Inevitably the hopes are for a long run in multiplexes, but no doubt come December Disney and its filmmakers are looking towards those Christmas lists to ensure Planes 2 is more than a one way flight.

The sequel picks up where the last film left off to find Dusty (Dane Cook) a household name having won race after race. At the top of his game, disaster soon strikes as Dusty is forced to find a new profession – hopefully one that will make him a hero once again. In search of heroic deeds he joins the Piston Peak Firefighters where he meets the tough, no nonsense Blade Ranger (Ed Harris) who takes him under his wing and trains him to be a firefighter.

Planes 2 is a visual treat - a beautifully and lovingly animated feature whose effects of fire, smoke and water are the icing on the cake. If there are only a handful of films to justify the need for 3D then Planes 2 takes its place amongst that group by offering a spectacle that places you in the thick of the action.

Cook and Harris lead a stellar voice cast, although it is Julie Bowen as the voice of Dipper who steals the spotlight, supported of course by her character - Dusty's biggest fan who has an intense and crazy, though harmless crush on him that infuses the film with real heart. 

Planes 2: Fire & Rescue is a film the whole family can enjoy – film bringing families together! It also serves as a great entry into the universe of inanimate objects that are alive – film injecting a little make-believe into your day!  But Disney’s skill is their knack for making you care about the plight of these characters, and from the moment Dusty receives the news that he may never race again, we as an audience feel for him, ensuring he has our full and undivided attention.

As we have come to expect from a Disney film there is the guarantee of a fun ride whilst he figures everything out, with the help of a cast of memorable characters that will see you exit the multiplex with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.