Often less really is more, and that’s why I can recommend “Planes,’’ a charmingly modest low-budget spin-off from Pixar’s “Cars’’ that provides more thrills and laughs for young children and their parents than many of its more elaborate brethren.
With so little money at stake, director Klay Hall, writer Jeffrey Howard and the rest of the team are free to have some fun — and even make fun of the sort of ethnic stereotypes largely banished in Disney’s more politically correct theatrical product. And they don’t feel the obligations to force-feed young audiences heavy-handed life lessons in every other scene.
The story — somewhat similar to DreamWorks’ recent “Turbo’’ — is simplicity itself. Dusty, a lowly sentient cropduster (voiced by Dane Cook), wants to live out his dream of entering an around-the-world flying competition, never mind that he’s afraid of heights.
Encouraged in his unlikely ambitions by a perky forklift (Teri Hatcher) and a dimwitted fuel truck (Brad Garrett), Dusty is reluctantly coached by a crusty Navy Corsair from World War II (Stacy Keach).
Qualifying through a fluke, Dusty arrives for the start of the race at Kennedy Airport.
The only competitors who pay much attention to him are Mexico’s El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) and Britain’s Bulldog (John Cleese).
Romantic interest is provided by the French-Canadian plane Rochelle (Julia-Louis Dreyfuss) and the Indian entrant Ishani (Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra).
The bad guy is the egotistical defending champion, Ripslinger (voiced by Roger Craig Smith), who is constantly trying to sabotage the plucky and resourceful Dusty.
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The flying footage is extremely well executed for a low-budget animated feature, but never sacrifices character in favor of action like Pixar’s “Cars 2’’ did.
In fact, “Planes’’ is vastly better than the noisy and crass “Cars 2,’’ and even a bit superior to the once-great Pixar’s latest, the pricey but ponderous “Monsters University.’’
Not a Pixar product, “Planes’’ was made for a fraction of the cost by DisneyToon Studios and was headed straight for DVD — until the Mouse House decided it could be profitably cycled through theaters with a 3-D makeover. (Do yourself a favor and skip the stereoscopic surcharge, which is not worth it.)
“Planes’’ is fairly predictable and is far from a masterpiece. But it runs around an hour and a quarter before the closing credits. That’s a definite plus in an era when bloated cartoons frequently exceed the attention span of younger audience members.
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