Alternate Title: World of Cars: Disney's Planes; Disney's Planes
Infusing the film with personal touches to honor the wartime heroics of his long-passed Navy flyer father, it’s safe to say that director Klay Hall’s “World of Cars” spin-off Planes is a labor of love.
And in easily the strongest bonus feature included in the Blu-ray Combo Pack of Disney’s latest new release, Hall’s infectious enthusiasm, vast knowledge of the subject and obvious passion for planes shines through. It’s just a shame that the movie itself isn’t nearly as engrossing as the anecdotes he shares onscreen while touring a plane museum with his sons.
Originally slated to revolve around trains and make its cinematic debut as a direct-to-disc feature before it was transferred into 3D and released on the big screen to cash in on the blockbuster summer box-office, Planes’s overwhelming familiarity and strict adherence to the underdog formula employed in so many of the studio’s features ensures a bumpy ride.
The first of a planned trilogy, while fortunately it can only improve as the series continues, unfortunately the first impression we’re left with for Planes is that it’s a virtually recycled retread of the Pixar smash which inspired it – Cars.
Additionally hindered by the fact that it bowed onscreen mere months after the release of DreamWorks Animation and Twentieth Century Fox’s vastly superior, topically similar underdog racer movie TurboWhile the allure of Disney ensured a much bigger success given the company’s amazing track record, the novelty of Planes’s plot was lost on those who’d already seen Turbo.
Centering on a likable crop duster aptly named Dusty (voiced by Dane Cook) who longs to compete in the Wings Around the World Rally despite a serious fear of heights, Planes benefits from the top-notch vocal cast that diverts us from the predictable paradigm while bringing the scene-stealing supporting “ladies and gentle-planes” to life.
Taking a cue from the recent trend of color and ethnic-blind international casting to appeal to the hearts (and wallets) of a global box office, Cook’s predictable Rocky-inspired “vehicle interest story” themed character pales in comparison to the charm and comedic attention-commanding characterizations of Carlos Alazraqui’s cape-swishing El Chupacabra and Roger Craig Smith’s cocky champion Ripslinger.
Also featuring John Cleese, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Teri Hatcher, Stacy Keach and Priyanka Chopra, Planes makes a play for the children of the ‘80s now dragging their own children to the theater with cameos from Top Gun leads Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer.
Though we can only hope that the next installment will move one of these supporting planes to the front of the runway so the series can really take off and keep us engaged, ultimately what we’re left with is a somewhat entertaining but mostly unimaginative hodge-podge of Pixar and Disney hits from years past.
While some would see fit to blame the small-screen ambitions of Planes’s origin, as its screenwriter Jeffrey M. Howard has proven in the past with his stellar work on Disney’s direct-to-disc Tinker Bell series (including its strongest sequel Great Fairy Rescue), there’s no room for narrow minds regarding which audience the project was originally intended.
Simply put, the only criterion for success (particularly when dealing with this market) should be whether or not you’re entertained from start to finish. And despite the cheerfully crisp, colorful animation that particularly dazzles whenever Dusty finds himself in new surroundings from the Far East or America’s east coast, most viewers big and small will find their minds begin to wander long before we’ve reached the second act.
Forgetful by the time you’ve made it to the final credits, while toddlers will probably happily fly along (at least for a little while), for slightly older race fans, the best bet is to go with Turbo or perhaps hitch yet another ride with Pixar’s transporting original people-mover Cars.
As I sit down to write this I'm reminded of Jack Black's Stevie Wonder related query in High Fidelity when he ponders: "Sub-question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins; is it better to burn out or fade away?"
With Steve Martin... I'm not really sure what to think other than beginning to fear he's become so out of touch with reality that he's the only one who thinks these recent films he's made are funny. Furthermore, I'm struck by an even more horrifying question-- namely, for the guy who once upon a time just wanted to make us laugh--has integrity finally just vanished completely and box office greed taken over in its place?
Like the infamous "Black Sox" scandal following the 1919 World Series which found the heartbroken little boy famously asking Shoeless Joe Jackson to "say it ain't so," I'd like to give Martin the benefit of the doubt. But then again when he confesses with a straight face on the Blu-ray of Pink Panther 2 that "it turned out even better than I'd hoped for," I'm at a total loss.
Why would one of my favorite comedic idols with: a Mensa level IQ, a degree in philosophy who is also an accomplished banjo player, a quintessential "wild and crazy guy," author of the brilliantly witty Pure Drivel, and a highbrow art collector who has created and starred in some of the funniest films of our generation not only needlessly crib from the incomparable Peter Sellers? Yet he does so in taking on the genius creation of Inspector Clouseau in the Blake Edwards' Pink Panther movies for an awful 2006 remake and returning once again in 2009 for a sequel to a film that critics and audiences alike mostly couldn't stand?
While of course I've watched enough crime shows to learn that your first instinct is always the one you go with so I'm simply going to cite the money but even with that excuse I'm wondering just where exactly the films make money? It definitely isn't in the United States where Pink Panther 2 opened and closed within the span of what felt like a week following abysmal reviews so I can only guess that the press release may indeed be accurate when the first film is referred to as a "worldwide hit."
Therefore, maybe Panther is funnier in subtitles or when dubbed making Steve Martin's recent comedic phase sort of like Jerry Lewis who's worshiped in France as though he were Chanel... or maybe just like with The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons' popularity overseas, Europeans welcome some of the films that just don't strike a chord over here.
And international public relations is not only the key to the film as a "product" but also the bulk of its screenplay (which was given a polish by City Slickers and Fever Pitch writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) which was augmented by the decision to widen its net to cast the most globally diverse and popular stars as the filmmakers could find.
Not only a great marketing ploy to then drum up support in the actors' home countries but also to add to its ridiculously impressive roster of performers that gives a second meaning to the film's new group of detectives dubbed "The Dream Team." The team are hired to find the world's most treasured artifacts (including the Pink Panther diamond, the Shroud of Turin and the Magna Carta etc.) after they were all snagged by the elusive thief, The Tornado.
Although Kevin Kline-- possibly taking a cue from Bill Murray who was smart enough to jump ship and bow out of the second Charlie's Angels movie-- has left the cast, his Fish Called Wanda co-star John Cleese takes his place as Clouseau's superior. However when you take into consideration that one of his earliest big on-screen moments is literally banging his head against a wall, you wonder if deep down even John Cleese wondered just what the hell he was doing there.
With the adorable, bookish colleague Nicole (Emily Mortimer) setting off sparks with Closeau that neither one can put into words-- their faux romantic relationship is tested as other colleagues fly in such as the drop-dead gorgeous Aishwarya Rai (Bride and Prejudice) who has an only-in-the-movies schoolgirl crush on Clouseau. Likewise, the Cuban-American Andy Garcia throws a wrench into the relationship playing a seductive Italian who decides that Nicole is just the type of woman he'd like to "make-a the babies with... lots and lots of babies... all day long with the babies."
In a great moment of in-joke humor as Martin's Clouseau refers to Garcia as Don Corleone-- I couldn't help remembering that yes, although Garcia did star in Godfather Part III, even that film was more welcome than this one because it closed the trilogy's story and had a purpose. Yet, Garcia who also starred in the Ocean's Eleven movies seems to have no problem disappearing into lackluster ensemble projects even though he deserves much better.
Rounding out the cast we find a Japanese computer expert played by Yuki Matsuzaki (thus, of course prompting Clouseau to go thirty years in the past to the previous films to call him his "little yellow friend") and the always reliable Jean Reno as Clouseau's best friend. Also signing on, Jeremy Irons arrives as a suspect (naturally) and Lily Tomlin appears as an enforcer of political correctness who we view as all too eager to reunite with her All of Me star twenty years later even in something as misguided as this film.
Perhaps the best addition to the group is in the form of Alfred Molina who gets the best scene as he and Martin's Clouseau try to out deduce one another by sizing each other up using their skills as inspectors in an increasingly funny intellectual showdown. However, the script pushes barbs to the background and physical humor to the foreground as mostly the wondrous cast is left with little to do other than to try to cover for the clumsy Clouseau as he falls down a chimney or off the Pope's balcony while dressed as the Pope or just react to his escalating physical gags over the course of the movie.
Slapstick and physical comedy are all ramped up to the extreme in Pink Panther 2 as we note in one of the Blu-ray's extra features when it's revealed that Martin did about eighty percent of his own stunts but there were always two doubles around for the most dangerous ones.
However, aside from the aforementioned back-and-forth one-upmanship exchange with Molina-- it's Martin's willingness to go back into his classic comedy skill arsenal and ability to juggle that helped win me over in the film's second worthwhile scene (aka the only other time I genuinely laughed aloud-- making that two chuckles in 92 minutes which was two more than in the original film).
As he and Nicole push the boundaries of their professional relationship over a romantic dinner in Rome, Clouseau decides to select the perfect bottle of wine as inevitably they come tumbling out and bottles are tossed and juggled to perfection until the restaurant goes up in flames. And it's in this scene especially where I felt that genuine credit was owed to Martin to get in there and go for the laughs with close-ups rather than sit on the side-lines and just count the money (which no doubt he did later) but two successful jokes in a film's running time is hardly a success overall.
In fact, the more enjoyable experience was definitely to be found reading the reviews of the work-- which ranged from scathing to hilarious. Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle had the best opener yet when he wrote, "One can only hope that something good is coming from all the bad movies that Steve Martin has been appearing in. I keep waiting for Martin, Robin Williams and Ice Cube to announce that they've used all the proceeds from their unfunny comedies to cure cancer."
While I would also add Martin's Bowfinger star Eddie Murphy and The Love Guru's Mike Myers to that list of comedy offenders, Hartlaub has a point regarding all the wasted money, wasted resources, and wasted talent. And replacing the second walk-out in the form of the 2006 director Shawn Levy (who's since moved onto helming the financially lucrative Night at the Museum franchise with Ben Stiller), Netherlands native Harald Zwart's decision to make the jokes bigger and faster in the second one helped ensure that it was more cartoonish and kid friendly than the first. It's most likely a skill he acquired directing Agent Cody Banks before moving onto (sigh) the needless remake of Karate Kid called Kung Fu Kid slated for 2010.
While per usual for the exceptional quality of Fox Blu-ray discs-- once again the wizards working in their technical department manage to make this one sound theatre-level and sparkle in clarity as much as the famous diamond and the breathtaking Aishwarya Rai. And given the extra features, we're able to see at least how much work went into the film and appreciate it on that level. Although in certain behind-the-scenes inclusions including the gag reel which-- despite being mostly unfunny-- did result in three laughs from me as opposed to the film's two, making me sadly note that like Garcia's Ocean's movies, the Panther works are only fun if you're on the set and not if you're at home viewing them.
Luckily, Fox knew that this time-- given the poor product-- they'd have to do more than just deliver another breathtaking transfer so in addition to a digital copy file, there's a third disc in the set that boasts 27 classic Pink Panther MGM cartoons including the Oscar winning Animated short "The Pink Phink" which-- clocking in at nearly three hours-- are infinitely more enjoyable than Pink Panther 2, the feature.
After his master Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese) is tragically killed in the name of misguided experimentation, his hunchbacked dwarfish assistant Igor (John Cusack) crafts his very own version of Frankenstein in an attempt to win his community of Malaria's "Evil Science Fair."
However, instead of unleashing a dangerous monster, he creates Eva, a charismatic, sensitive, and sweet female giant (Molly Shannon) who-- after an unsuccessful trip to become "brainwashed" via subliminal videos (think A Clockwork Orange)-- finds herself wanting to become an actress after the channel is accidentally changed to host James Lipton's Inside Actors Studio.
Yet, instead of giggling at Lipton's sophisticated cadence, his frequent tendency to go a bit overboard in his praise or relishing in the audience favorite "what is your favorite curse word?" section of his survey that closes every episode, Molly Shannon's Eva decides she needs to create sense memories, work on her instrument, and get new head-shots.
Initially upset that his plan to create diabolical havoc has gone awry since the goal of Malaria as argued by Jay Leno's King Malbert is to take advantage of the failing climate and economic hardship to become Donald Trump like wealthy off of horrific products they can unleash on others-- instead Igor decides to try and control his new she-creature by pretending that the Evil Science Fair is merely one big show for which she needs to prepare.
Along with his two eccentric sidekicks (and inventions gone awry) including Steve Buscemi's endlessly suicidal rabbit character Scamper who keeps trying to fight his curse of "immortality" and Sean Hayes' clueless robot who labels himself a "brain" although the label on his head reads "Brian," Igor tries to blend the musical Annie into Eva's preparations for her frightening debut.
When the competitive scheming Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard) and his shape-shifting, seductive girlfriend (Jennifer Coolidge) start to sabotage Igor's work by stealing ideas as they do every year to ensure Schadenfreude's victory, soon the blossoming relationship between Igor and Eva is jeopardized as he begins questioning their strategies as evil-doers to instead become joyful and kind citizens.
MGM and Fox pulled out all the stops in their creative animation for the visually compelling film and all the more so in Blu-ray with a plethora of concept art galleries, storyboards that comprise a veritable delight for animation fans in this high definition transfer with mesmerizing picture and sound.
And while it begins on a high note as the film is given a hilarious set-up which appeals much more to adults than children (due to the thinly disguised references to the most recent president's administration, politics, jokes about actresses, etc.) and writer Chris McKenna receives bonus points for originality in the overall concept, ultimately the influences cinematically and structurally towards the end of Igor seem overwhelmingly inspired by Shrek, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and several other superior films.
Soon evolving into a misfire as the highly complicated plot changes gears uneasily as it begins as a political satire before moving into a Hollywood satire before ultimately becoming a "beauty is on the inside" and "can't we all just get along" Shrek styled fairy-tale at the end. Nonetheless it has its moments and I adored the adorably drawn characters (especially Buscemi's crazy death wish happy rabbit).
Additionally, it's a great toe-tapper due to the abundance of wonderfully engaging Louis Prima tracks on the soundtrack (which-- because they're the least obvious musical accompaniment for this children's science fiction monster movie makes them feel that much fresher). Still, overall, it's a rambling mess that tries to squeeze in too many plot-lines and agendas into an overly crowded eighty-six minute running time.
The sparks of brilliance were evident from the start and had the filmmakers just stuck with that original plot-line by making a kids film into a commentary on "evil doers" and our political climate, it may have been-- if not in the same league-- than at least closer in quality to 2008's other film featuring a character whose name is pronounced the same as Shannon's Eva-- namely, Wall-E'a love for the sleek robot Eve whom he calls "Ev-a."
And although that's another film that took a major likability detour about one hour in-- at least the catalyst was more than just an accidental viewing of Inside the Actor's Studio since James Lipton seems about as capable of brain-washing as comedian Jay Leno is as being a king. I mean, seriously-- everyone knows that's David Letterman's job... just kidding.
Walking Movie Encyclopedia at Film Intuition; 3-Time National Award Winning Scribe; Film Reviewer; "Watch With Jen" Podcast Host; Screenwriter; Movie Discussion Host; BA in Film Studies & Communication.
who's worshiped in France as though he were Chanel... or maybe just like with 
