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Rented this on Blu-Ray. Overall, a nice movie. Lots of little references and clues in there, such as scenery and objects shaped in the shapes of many classic airplanes, similar to little things done in "Cars". As a pilot, I appreciated this, and on that note appreciated the aeronautical information and historical aviation put into the movie. The movie wasn't really BAD in any way. But it was far from the (often) masterful story usually created by Pixar. The story was nice, but fairly formulaic and predictable. Sound quality was good. PQ was really nice.
But here's the thing, and why I find this movie SO dangerous: "Planes" is NOT a Pixar movie. "Planes" is billed as being "from the world of 'Cars'", obviously so you as a consumer draw a connection with Pixar movies and the quality of "Cars". There are some elements of "Planes" that is drawn from Pixar, such as visual styling and John Lassiter being one of the Executive Directors. But "Planes" is not Pixar. "Planes" is a DISNEY movie, spun off from Cars and Pixar. Since Disney bought out Pixar several years ago, Disney can do whatever they want with Pixar, their styling, their reputation, their movies, their characters, etc, etc.
Why is this important? What does it matter if "Planes" is a Disney or Pixar movie? The answer is movie quality, and preservation of established movie universes. For years, Pixar refused to sell to Disney, and one of the reasons was the idea of Toy Story 3. Pixar rightly recognized that Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were special--VERY well done, and Pixar wanted to protect that universe, the brand, and reputation by refusing to make TS3. Disney wanted to milk that obvious cash cow, and get the profits that were sure to come from another sequel, regardless of quality. So when Pixar finally sold out to Disney, sure enough, we got Toy Story 3. Was it fresh and top notch like previous Pixar films? Nope. It was okay. But it was a milking of already established Pixar creations. I don't think there was anything really "special" about TS3. So was "Cars 2". God help us if and when we get more sequels that Disney loves to milk, like "Finding Nemo 2", "The Incredibles 2", etc.
So now we have a spin-off of "Cars", not even made by Pixar, but by Disney's greater studio. In fact, in the pre-movie trailers that Disney loves to pack onto DVD/BD's, they even showed that they're already producing a spin-off of this spin-off, called something like "Planes - Fire and Rescue". At least "Planes" wasn't Direct-to-DVD quality. (ahem... "Cinderella 3" anyone?) But it's coming. Only a matter of time before Disney squeezes Pixar movies and universes into an indistinguishable mash of theater movies, disc movies, made-for-TV specials, 3 AM Disney channel 30 minute cartoons, and so on, that retread characters and themes over and over until there's nothing special about them at all.
Here's why I'm really upset and leery about this... two words: Star. Wars. Disney just bought the Star Wars universe from Lucas. Before, just like Rowling and Harry Potter, Lucas solely controlled and protected the SW universe. There is something special and even sacred about the SW universe. One could easily argue it has already been diluted and bastardized by Lucas' production of Ep 1-3, the Clone War cartoons, etc. But what is going to happen now that Disney owns it? Just like "Planes", we're going to get "Bubba - the rags-to-riches story of a young boy, set in the world of Star Wars". Then there will be a spin-off from "Bubba", made direct-to-DVD, stamped with the Star Wars logo so that every 10 year old boy will pester his parents to buy it for him for Christmas. We'll get a true Episode VII. But we'll also get movies and videos that you'll have no idea where they fit into the Star Wars universe. It will become a wayyyyyy overly-retreaded farce, to the point where even sci-fi nerds will laugh at each other for wearing a SW character costume to Comicon.
In case you're a skeptic here, and thinking this topic is just a big load of baloney, answer me this basic question: Will the Star Wars franchise become MORE special and revered with Disney in control? Or less?
:3: out of :5: for the movie "Planes". But WATCH OUT - dangers are ahead with Disney!
But here's the thing, and why I find this movie SO dangerous: "Planes" is NOT a Pixar movie. "Planes" is billed as being "from the world of 'Cars'", obviously so you as a consumer draw a connection with Pixar movies and the quality of "Cars". There are some elements of "Planes" that is drawn from Pixar, such as visual styling and John Lassiter being one of the Executive Directors. But "Planes" is not Pixar. "Planes" is a DISNEY movie, spun off from Cars and Pixar. Since Disney bought out Pixar several years ago, Disney can do whatever they want with Pixar, their styling, their reputation, their movies, their characters, etc, etc.
Why is this important? What does it matter if "Planes" is a Disney or Pixar movie? The answer is movie quality, and preservation of established movie universes. For years, Pixar refused to sell to Disney, and one of the reasons was the idea of Toy Story 3. Pixar rightly recognized that Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were special--VERY well done, and Pixar wanted to protect that universe, the brand, and reputation by refusing to make TS3. Disney wanted to milk that obvious cash cow, and get the profits that were sure to come from another sequel, regardless of quality. So when Pixar finally sold out to Disney, sure enough, we got Toy Story 3. Was it fresh and top notch like previous Pixar films? Nope. It was okay. But it was a milking of already established Pixar creations. I don't think there was anything really "special" about TS3. So was "Cars 2". God help us if and when we get more sequels that Disney loves to milk, like "Finding Nemo 2", "The Incredibles 2", etc.
So now we have a spin-off of "Cars", not even made by Pixar, but by Disney's greater studio. In fact, in the pre-movie trailers that Disney loves to pack onto DVD/BD's, they even showed that they're already producing a spin-off of this spin-off, called something like "Planes - Fire and Rescue". At least "Planes" wasn't Direct-to-DVD quality. (ahem... "Cinderella 3" anyone?) But it's coming. Only a matter of time before Disney squeezes Pixar movies and universes into an indistinguishable mash of theater movies, disc movies, made-for-TV specials, 3 AM Disney channel 30 minute cartoons, and so on, that retread characters and themes over and over until there's nothing special about them at all.
Here's why I'm really upset and leery about this... two words: Star. Wars. Disney just bought the Star Wars universe from Lucas. Before, just like Rowling and Harry Potter, Lucas solely controlled and protected the SW universe. There is something special and even sacred about the SW universe. One could easily argue it has already been diluted and bastardized by Lucas' production of Ep 1-3, the Clone War cartoons, etc. But what is going to happen now that Disney owns it? Just like "Planes", we're going to get "Bubba - the rags-to-riches story of a young boy, set in the world of Star Wars". Then there will be a spin-off from "Bubba", made direct-to-DVD, stamped with the Star Wars logo so that every 10 year old boy will pester his parents to buy it for him for Christmas. We'll get a true Episode VII. But we'll also get movies and videos that you'll have no idea where they fit into the Star Wars universe. It will become a wayyyyyy overly-retreaded farce, to the point where even sci-fi nerds will laugh at each other for wearing a SW character costume to Comicon.
In case you're a skeptic here, and thinking this topic is just a big load of baloney, answer me this basic question: Will the Star Wars franchise become MORE special and revered with Disney in control? Or less?
:3: out of :5: for the movie "Planes". But WATCH OUT - dangers are ahead with Disney!
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