Planes: Fire & Rescue (also known internationally as Planes 2: Fire & Rescue[1] or simply as Planes 2) is a 2014 theatrical sequel to the 2013 animated film Planes, a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise. Directed by Bobs Gannaway, produced by Disneytoon Studios and Ferrell Barron,[2] and executive produced by John Lasseter,[3] it was released in theaters on July 18, 2014 by Walt Disney Pictures.[4][5]
Plot[]
Since winning the Wings Around the Globe Rally, Dusty Crophopper has a successful career as a racer. Unfortunately while training with Skipper, his engine's gearbox becomes damaged due to too much over-revving. To make things more complicated, that type of gearbox is out of production, and none can be found anywhere, so he is unable to race again. Frustrated with mechanic Dottie's newly installed warning light to keep his engine performance low to prevent further damage, Dusty goes on a defiant flight testing his limits. Unfortunately in doing so, he has a hard landing with engine trouble at Propwash Junction's airport, causing a fire.
The residents put out the fire with some difficulty, but the accident leads to a government inspector named Ryker closing the airport due to inadequate firefighting personnel. Aggrieved at his carelessness, Dusty offers to undergo training to be certified as a firefighter to meet the necessary regulations to reopen the airport. To that end, Dusty travels to Piston Peak National Park, where he meets a fire and rescue crew under the command of a helicopter named Blade Ranger, the leader of an efficient unit. Blade is initially unimpressed by the small newcomer and Dusty's training proves to be a difficult challenge since he keeps pulling power to prevent his gearbox from failing.
Dusty's original undercarriage is replaced by two big scooping water tanks with retractable undercarriage wheels on their undersides. During training, Dusty learns that Blade was formerly an actor who played a police helicopter on the TV series CHoPs. Later, Dusty gets a call from his friends at Propwash Junction, noting that they found a replacement gearbox, which turned out to have a crate that was mislabeled, thus meaning he can no longer race.
Depressed that his racing career is over, Dusty's education falters to Blade's frustration, and things come to a head when Dusty makes a forced landing in a river during a fire dispatch and is swept through the rapids with Blade trying to extract him. Eventually, the pair make it to land as Blade starts to scold Dusty for not following orders. This argument reaches to a point where Dusty finally confesses his physical disability, to which Blade (who quietly understands why Dusty kept pulling power) advises Dusty not to give up. They shelter in an abandoned mine while a fire passes. The situation is complicated in that Blade is also damaged, from protecting Dusty in the fire, and is temporarily grounded for repairs. While Blade is recuperating, Dusty learns from Maru that Blade's co-star from CHoPs was killed during a stunt gone wrong on set, in which he couldn't save him because he didn't know what to do, wherein he quit to save lives in reality.
Lightning in a thunderstorm over a forest near Piston Peak starts several spot fires which unite into a serious forest fire, and the team fight it and seem to have extinguished it. But during the grand reopening of a local lodge, visiting VIPs fly too low and make air eddies, which blow embers about, creating a larger fire. The national park's superintendent Cad Spinner selfishly diverts all the water supply to his lodge's roof sprinklers to prevent the lodge from burning and so prevents the firefighters from making fire retardant for their own duties. With only their pre-existing tank loads, the firefighters manage to help the evacuees escape the fire while Dusty is alerted that two elderly campers, named Harvey and Winnie, are trapped on a burning bridge deep in the fire zone. He races to the scene and is forced to push his engine to the maximum to climb vertically up a waterfall to refill his water tanks to drop water to save the campers, as the only other surface water near is a river too shallow and twisty and rocky for him to scoop from. Meanwhile, Blade shows up and assists the campers. Dusty successfully drops water and extinguishes the fire, but his overstressed gearbox fails completely, and he crashes.
Unconscious, Dusty is airlifted back to base, where he wakes up five days later to learn that not only has his structure been fully repaired, but the base mechanic has built a superior custom refurbished gearbox for his engine to allow full performance again, which means he can race again. Impressed at Dusty's skill and heroism, Blade certifies him as a firefighter. Propwash Junction is reopened with Dusty assuming his duty as a firefighter, celebrated with an aerial show with his new colleagues from Piston Peak.
During the end credits, it is shown that Cad's misconduct resulted in him being demoted and reassigned as a park ranger in Death Valley.
Voice cast[]
- Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper
- Stacy Keach as Skipper Riley
- Danny Mann as Sparky
- Julie Bowen as Lil' Dipper
- Brad Garrett as Chug
- Teri Hatcher as Dottie
- Curtis Armstrong as Maru
- Ed Harris as Blade Ranger
- Wes Studi as Windlifter
- Dale Dye as Cabbie
- Regina King as Dynamite
- Corri English as Pinecone
- Bryan Callen as Avalanche
- Danny Pardo as Blackout
- Matt Jones as Drip
- Fred Willard as Secretary of the Interior
- Cedric the Entertainer as Leadbottom
- Jerry Stiller as Harvey
- Anne Meara as Winnie
- Erik Estrada as Nick Loopin' Lopez
- John Michael Higgins as Cad Spinner
- Barry Corbin as Ol' Jammer
- Hal Holbrook as Mayday
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Ryker
- Patrick Warburton as Pulaski
- Brad Paisley as Flap
- Kari Wahlgren as Patch
- René Auberjonois as André
- Steve Schirripa as Steve
- Brent Musburger as Brent Mustangburger
- John Ratzenberger as Brody
Production[]
According to director/co-writer Roberts "Bobs" Gannaway, "The first film [directed by Klay Hall] was a race film. I wanted to look at a different genre, in this case, an action-disaster film." Production on Planes: Fire & Rescue began six months after the start of the previous film. "We’ve been working on this film for nearly four years." The filmmakers researched the world of air-attack teams and smokejumpers by working with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and sent a crew to the US Forest Services' annual training exercises for smokejumpers. Gannaway explained, "We actually hooked cameras onto their helmets and had them drop out of the airplane so we could catch it on film." Nearly a year of research was done before the filmmakers started work on the story. The idea of Dusty becoming a fire and rescue plane was based on reality. Gannaway stated that during their research, they discovered that in 1955, crop dusters were among the first planes to be used in aerial fire-fighting, "There was a group of crop dusters who reworked their planes so they could drop water." Gannaway also noted that in the first film "Dusty is doing things to his engine that should not be done to it—he is stressing the engine out and causing severe damage. It’s great that the first movie tied this up without intending to. We just built on it, and the results were remarkable." Producer Ferrell Barron stated "I think we’ve all experienced some kind of loss at some point in our lives—an end of an era, a lost love, a failed career. We’ve all had to recalibrate. In Planes: Fire & Rescue, Dusty can’t go back to being a crop duster, he left that behind. He has to move forward."[6][7]
A pre-release screening of the film was conducted at the 2014 National Native Media Conference, where screenwriter Jeffrey M. Howard and art director Toby Wilson joined actor Wes Studi in Q & A to discuss the Native American themes in the film. They noted that the character of Windlifter, and the folkloric story he tells of how Coyote was renewed by fire, was developed in consultation with Dr. Paul Apodaca, an expert on Native American myths and folklore.[8]
International Release Dates[]
- Netherlands - July 16, 2014
- Argentina - July 17, 2014
- United States - July 18, 2014
- France - July 23, 2014
- United Kingdom - August 8, 2014
- Germany - August 14, 2014
- Hong Kong - August 14, 2014
- Singapore - September 4, 2014
- Brazil - September 12, 2014
- Sweden - October 17, 2014
- Italy - November 6, 2014
Trivia[]
- Aside from the new title, the Planes logo appears to have a few small changes. For example:
- The silver metal has been changed to bronze.
- The small star below the title "Planes" has been changed to a sort of firehouse symbol.
Gallery[]
Trailers and clips[]
Character Images[]
References[]
- ↑ Planes 2: Fire & Rescue (U)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRS14Movies2014 - ↑ Exclusive: New Poster for Disney’s Planes: Fire and Rescue
- ↑ The Muppets...Again is Now Muppets Most Wanted, Planes: Fire and Rescue Announced
- ↑ More Disney Release Dates: Two New Marvel Pics, ‘Alexander’, ‘Hundred-Foot Journey’, ‘Into The Woods’, ‘Planes’ Sequel Slotted
- ↑ First Clip from 'Planes: Fire & Rescue' Combines High-Flying Action With High-Energy Rock
- ↑ Soaring to New Heights with the Filmmakers of Planes: Fire & Rescue
- ↑ Winging It with Wes Studi