Disney's Planes

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Is anyone looking forward to "Planes?" I am! Actually, I was so excited for Monsters University that I almost forgot that Planes is coming out in August!

Here are a couple of trailers:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjcPOZ_z3Ts[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfnWYHO7Id4[/youtube]

After learning more about the movie, I'm actually almost as excited for it as I was for Cars and Cars 2.

Thanks for posting that! I hadn't even heard of Planes (or Monster University). There is no way I'm missing out. I love cartoons like that I'll wait for the DVD though!

I should have known. I suppose the next project will be Disney's Boats.

I'd heard of the movie and seen some posters but not the trailers. These look pretty good.

To be honest, I think Planes looks...interesting, to say the least. I've heard people knock it because the Cars films were weak compared to the rest of the Pixar oeuvre, but in my opinion, it certainly shows that Pixar still has a knack for creating visually beautiful animated films (though we'll have to see if the story is as beautifully crafted as the animation, as in films like Wall-E and Up). Still, given that Pixar has been recovering from its slump after Toy Story 3 (case in point: Monsters University, which was released today, has been rather well-received, though I can't give my own opinion since I haven't seen it yet), so I'm optimistic about Planes.

Let's hope so! Cartoons about 'living' cars, planes etc are awesome IMO

Planes is not made by Pixar. but directly by Disney.

Drat, got there first. What I find rather bizarre is how Disney are pushing Planes out as a cinematic movie when originally it was supposed to be a direct-to-DVD spiritual successor of the Cars franchise.

Pixar were approached to do Planes at first but said no due to their "no sequels" rule of yesteryear. However, Disney applied pressure and forced Toy Story 3 out of Pixar otherwise Disney would do the film itself with its recently reshuffled Burbank-based studio (same case with Monsters University and now Finding Dory).

Animation politics aside, we shall see how Planes turns out, though my hopes aren't raised too high - I personally did not like Cars 2 at all, as to me, it came off as nothing more than a 2-hour toy commercial and sadly Planes looks as if its from the same think tank (especially as Lassetter is heading Disney's new animation studio these days). Then again, I can't blame Disney taking advantage of its assets; animation is a pretty cut-throat industry, speaking from personal experience during my university days and contacts currently trying to get by in domestic (non-advertising) American and British animation.

So who knows... maybe Planes will turn out alright after all? All that said, I think if people are anticipating Planes, then good for them.

Funny, Toy Story 3 sure didn't seem "forced out".

Also, now that I've taken the time to look up more about Planes, my previous excitement has been dampened, somewhat. As you mentioned, it's an original property (well, sort of) being handled by an outside party-that's almost never turned out well (CD-i Zelda, anyone?). The fact that it was direct-to-DVD is another red flag. I originally thought it was a Pixar film, and therefore, I examined it based on Pixar's performance both pre and post-Cars 2, but as you said, the fact that it's being produced by Disney means the possibility that it will be a glorified toy commercial seems more likely. Granted, as you said, it could turn out alright, but I've begun to understand some of the negative hype surrounding it.

Also, the main character is being voiced by Dane Cook.

Compared to Toy Story 2, which had a very short (for a US movie) and troubled production time (indeed, a large chunk of the movie had to be re-done in less than 3 months before its US Thanksgiving release - hence why it ran so similar to the first movie but with the roles reversed), Toy Story 3 had a bit more care taken to it. If you notice, it was more written as a closing chapter of the series - Andy grew up and the toys were given away. Pixar produced it on the understanding Disney wouldn't force a 4th Toy Story movie out, which technically Disney haven't, insofar - Toy Story will simply continue as a series of short cartoons. Oddly, Disney won't be attaching the first of these with a cinematic release but instead will air it on ABC around Halloween time.

But I digress. Getting back to the main subject at hand, I too am rather ... disquieted by the fact a lot of American comedians seem to getting the Planes voice roles, and I can see there are early signs of lazy character-writing and clichéd world-building. But it's too early to write it off just yet (and you know what the Internet is like when it comes to negative press) so let's wait and see.

I guess you have a point. After all, Toy Story 2 itself was originally planned to be a direct-to-DVD release, and although it was the weakest of the Toy Story films (at least, in my opinion), it turned out okay. I'm not trying to dispel the possibility that Planes will turn out well, but once again, I still think it would be better if Pixar was producing the film.

Also, in regards to the possibility that the film could be lazily written and cliched, that certainly is a possibility, at least according to the second trailer. Of course, trailers are intended basically to drum up publicity for the film by appealing to a broad audience, so they can't accurately represent the quality of the film itself, but I can see where you're coming from.