It's entertaining enough for young kids but is generally too reminiscent of Pixar's 'Cars.'


The opening credit of Planes draws a pointed parallel when it announces: "From Above the World of Cars."

Anyone who has seen Cars, Cars 2 or just a commercial for either can see that Planes (* * out of four; rated PG; opens Friday nationwide) is essentially Cars in midair.

The title here could even be Cars 3: Planes.

It's not that this tale of a little plane that could isn't entertaining for the very young. It's engaging enough, driving home the familiar message of following one's dreams and the less hackneyed theme of facing one's fears. But it feels far too familiar

Not only are the plot and cast of characters of this 3-D animated adventure strongly reminiscent of Pixar's Cars, but there is overlap between Cars creator John Lasseter and the DisneyToon Studios filmmakers responsible for Planes.

Lasseter, the chief creative officer for Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, worked closely with director Klay Hall on the story and is credited as executive producer. So with his imprimatur, it's easy for audiences to wrongly assume this is a Pixar creation. It's certainly on a related creative plane.

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Wouldn't it have been better if Pixar had created a transportation trilogy from the get-go? Why not have a kid-friendly take on Planes, Trains & Automobiles?

Instead, this feels like a reheated stew with capable voice talent, slick animation and too many locomotion puns. It also feels like a merchandising bonanza.

Dusty Crophopper is a low-flying crop-duster on Midwestern farmland who dreams of being a racer. He doesn't want to be defined by his less-than-imposing size and yearns to pursue his big dreams. Sound familiar? A similar theme has coursed through Cars, Ratatouille, Lilo & Stitch, A Bug's Life and, more recently, Turbo.

There are virtually no impediments to Dusty achieving success, save his own fear of heights. He qualifies for a worldwide race with minimum preparation, so off he goes into the wild blue yonder.

Dane Cook lends Dusty a peppy voice, but the more memorable voices have foreign accents. Regarded cynically, their international flavor is a fairly obvious bid to reach a global market. Still, at least they're distinctly diverse.

El Chupacabra is humorously voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. Not only is this plane a legendary star of Mexican telenovelas, but he's also warmhearted and charismatic. And his serenading rendition of The Miracles' Love Machine is sung with surprising soul. As interpreted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, French-Canadian plane Rochelle is competitive and clear-eyed. John Cleese lends his distinctive British tones to Bulldog, a veteran plane who's been racing longer than anyone on the circuit. Ishani, the colorful and sassy Pan-Asian champ, is charmingly brought to life by Indian superstar Priyanka Chopra.

The planes race from New York to Iceland and Germany, then across the Himalayas to China, and over the Pacific Ocean to Mexico. The opportunity for iconic imagery looms at every checkpoint. And the message about stepping out of one's comfort zone may be worthier of passing on to kids than the overdone one about striving.

It's just too bad that the movie didn't take its own advice and step out of the formulaic animation transportation zone.