Hot action yet story fails to take off

DISNEY'S PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE (G)
Comedy/84 minutes/Opens today

Rating: 2.5/5

There is a reason why the Planes franchise does not come under the marquee Pixar or Walt Disney Animation Studios brands.

The spin-off from the Cars films is pitched squarely at the under-10 set and was hence produced by DisneyToon Studios, which does mostly straight-to-video titles.

In this sequel to last year's Planes, Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) is forced to give up racing and has to learn to fight fires instead.

You can bet on the crop duster getting his certification and learning some positive lessons along the way, not to mention saving the day with some heroic manoeuvre.

While the fire scenes are generally well executed, the story fails to muster much surprise or excitement. And the corny, punny humour is unlikely to raise laughs among older moviegoers.

All I can think about when the gung-ho firefighting utility vehicles are introduced is: These would make for a nice range of toys.

So what's next for Disney? Ships?

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