Planes (Klay Hall, 2013)

"See ya, suckers!"

Introduction

Considering the obvious race-after-race structure of Cars 2 was what many considered - for want of a better word - mechanical, it is surprising that Planes seems to follow the same structure. What was originally intended to be a straight-to-video Disney spin-off, the successful racing sequences inspired John Lasseter - director of Cars and Chief Creative Officer of Disney and Pixar - to release the film cinematically. The lack of a Pixar logo will put fans off, but this film is very much in the mould of Cars 2, with a sprinkling of Cars on the top, creating a film that feels repetitive and lacking heart.

Repeating Radiator Springs

Dusty (Dane Cook) is a crop-dusting plane who is desperate to race in the big leagues - this means an opening act whereby Dusty trains and befriends old-timer Skipper Riley (Stacy Keach) and enters into a qualifying race. Does he fly-high? Of course he does - and we see his significantly smaller plane challenge the big guys as they compete in an across-the-world tour moving from crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Himalayas and the Pacific. To make matters worse, Dusty is afraid of heights and therefore plans to fly low for the vast majority of the races - and yet, continues to win each time.

In the same manner that Lightning McQueen in Cars and Cars 2 had a group of friends to help him through, Dusty has a very similar combination of friends - Dottie (Teri Hatcher) plays the female friend while Chud (Brad Garrett) is "the clumsy one", just like Mater. Cars held high ambitions and lofty aspirations as it challenged the audience to consider the small-towns that are squeezed off the road by the bigger companies. A story that, in some respects, contradicted what we all believe Disney to be. Ironically, it seems that the personal - but political - story of Cars has been squeezed off the road for toy-focussed, repetitious narrative story-telling. Cars 2, though a financial success, was critically panned but Planes has clearly ignored the criticism and continued full-steam ahead to create a franchise that is clearly about little plastic vehicles and different countries.

Re-Play

In Planes we now have an English plane in 'Bulldog' (John Cleese) and an Indian plane in 'Ishani' (Priyanka Chopra). Maybe Disney realised they had missed a central area of the Asian market and capitalised on it this time with both a core character (Pan-Asia plane 'Ishani') and a romantic sequence that is a celebration of the stunning landscape India has to offer as they glide over the Taj Mahal. No surprise that Priyanka Chopra is a huge star in Bollywood becoming one of the highest paid-actresses after notable performances in films including Andaaz, Aitraaz and Fashion.

Funnily enough, in the 1980's and 1990's, TV-series Jimbo and the Jet Set and Budgie the Little Helicopter anthropomorphised planes and automobiles and, though I recalled the Milkyway advert when watching Cars, these TV series didn't come to mind. This time, they did because it appears that big eyes stuck onto the windows of vehicles are ultimately nothing new. Planes and Cars have become a franchise that children clearly flock towards because they have the immortal enjoyment of characters that can be recreated at home on the floor (as they did in the 1980's and 1990's) - to some extent, this was the same reason Toy Story was a success as it tapped into the nostalgia when adults were young. Unlike Toy Story, the heart of the characters is missing in Planes. As children can create their own versions of Dusty and Dottie, whizzing them across the carpet, it’s worth reminding ourselves that with Toy Story - and any successful children’s film - they would also imitate the characters voices and try to act out the characters they knew. Dusty and Dottie are just boy and girl planes and cars. They have nothing else that is engaging and, unfortunately, nor does the story itself ... but we'll see them again, that's for sure.

This was originally written for Flickering Myth on August 15th 2013

Cars (John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, 2006)

"You got more talent in one lugnut than a lot of cars has got on their whole body."

Introduction

I had put off watching Cars for many years. I think, for one, I didn't see it at the cinema and once it is processed through the Disney machine it becomes a little bit too much. The toys, the adverts, the posters - even the products that have very little association are displayed everywhere. Its overkill. So, only when the latest Pixar films are released do I realise that I missed this one. Not to mention, I have rarely heard people sing the praises of Cars - "my favourite is Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Wall-E"... and so on and so forth, but it turns out that Pixar 'not on their game' would be an 8 out of 10, rather than a 10 out of 10. And this is how I feel about Cars, a great film - 8 out of 10 - but all the other Pixar films are either the same or better. The less said about Cars 2 the better so, lets reflect on what was great about Cars.

When Nostalgia and Product Placement Meet

There is a race at one point between Paul Newmans 'Doc' and Owen Wilsons 'Lightning' McQueen. The dusty setting and the two cars - the blue 50's classic VS the red car - and it reminded me of an advert (that strangely enough was re-released recently as part of some nostalgic ad-campaign) for the chocolate bar - the Milky Way...

Though I doubt this was a purposeful connection, it did place me in a fairly nostalgic mood. I think this is where Cars and Toy Story draw a connection. Both of them celebrate nostalgia and 'the good ol' days'. Ironically, at the same time, in Cars case it places itself at the centre of a conflict - as the industrial and capitalist business that it attempts to tackle is in fact the industry that Cars uses to publicize and sell itself through. Do you think we could consider for a moment all those smaller animation-studios that Disney has trampled upon to create Cars?

On a Smaller Scale...

Fact of the matter is, the film deals with this business mentality on a smaller scale - looking at McQueen as a brand unto himself - a specific car who is selfish and thinks of no-one but himself. He believes that he alone is responsible for his success - ignoring the work of everyone around who helped him become who he is. But this attitude is comparable to consumerism itself - as businesses often feel that this arrogance is required to present itself with a confident image. Nevertheless, McQueen/Consumerism blindly destroys a small town. Somebody obsessed with their own skills ignores the skills of others and what they can bring to the table.

The film explores where McQueen and, ultimately, a western-society is heading. Where are we going if this selfish attitude continues and we continue to believe that our own 'brand' and persona is more important than anyone else. We need to celebrate where we have come from and celebrate the smaller aspects of a society as much as we celebrate the larger, industrial areas of society.

I Love the Fifties

The look of the film - like most Pixar films - is one of the film stronger points. Finding Nemo prided itself on fluid textures that suited the Ocean, whilst in terms of the type of texture, Cars is the opposite. Cars builds itself on a dusty landscape, combining the shiney sports-car with the crevasses and stoney-might of Nevada. This, combined with the Cadillacs, Chevy's and Sunbeams creates an era that has been revived recently through Mad Men amongst many other films that have been released.

The post-war, pre-sixties era was a unique time in history that America is immensely proud of - the cars, the music, the drive-ins and drive-thrus. Personally, if I was to ever live in America, I would take the late 50's anyday rather than the flowers-and-peace 60's, the post-Vietnam 70's or the excess-80's. Something was lost in the last 50 years and I think maybe America sold its soul to capitalism - and it is clear that Cars additionally believes that America could get its soul back... if it is paid for.

Top 5 Pixar Films

For my birthday last Thursday my fantastic girlfriend bought me Disney's Fantasia. I had put off comitting to purchasing the Disney DVD's/Blu-Rays for a long time. I had always planned on only buying them when I had my first child and, when the boy/girl was barely born, we would start to watch all the Disney 'Classic' Collection in chronological order. With this single present, it has started me off early and within days I have watched Fantasia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Beauty and the Beast. I believe this has no replaced my James Bond marathon indefinately.

So, having noticed that Pixar are credited on Beauty and the Beast (responsible for the, now quite dated, 3D dance-hall Beauty and Beast dance within during the unforgettable song "Beauty and the Beast"...), what better time to reflect on my current favourite Pixar films (especially as their track-record seems to have been stalled by Cars 2 according to the US reviews)...

5. Ratatouille - I have only watched this once and I think it is at '5'. I need to watch it again if I'm honest as, I'm sure you'll see, I've cheated a little and films such as A Bugs Life, The Incredibles and Up shockingly don't get a look in. Bottom-line is that the whole idea of criticism is something very close to my heart and this seems to tackle it in such a way that art - and what is art - is the core of the story. This, in itself is huge, expansive story-telling ... but for kids.

4. Cars - This was the last Pixar film which I have watched and it has always come across as the lesser credible film in the Pixar canon. I have to tell ya' - I completely disagree. This film, like the best of Pixar, focusses on a bigger topic: Capitalism and destruction of small-town America. The fact that we currently see how print-press may be having an exceptional hit in the recent news, again, shows how the bigger fish ultimately eat the small fish in the capitalist business structure. I am a little worried that Cars 2 will tarnish the reputation of this brilliant first outing.

3. Toy Story Trilogy - I'm not going to split them up. They are all, very much, independent films but so many aspects cross-over. If I say how much I love the characters - thats in all three films. If I like the colours and the playful attitude, again, this is in all three. The only thing I could fundamentally separate the films by is the narratives in each film and they are so evenly match I think I can comfortably place them in a third-place tie.

2. Wall-E - I only recently told a pupil that I believed this is my favourite

film and, akin to Cars it is because of the profound themes it explores. Add to this some incredible sequences - most of which do not even require dialogue - and you have an accessible, deeply moving, highly intelligent, artistically-experimental mainstream film. Can you get anything more awesome?

1. Finding Nemo - But, when I think of the story, I look at Nemo. A film with so much heart. Two-characters on the road to discovery and what, I believe, will bring a tear to my eye when I have my own child. I think, visually, it takes you to a place which, on one level you know and feel like you are a part of, but you are shown the ocean in a way you have never seen. In the same way that I believe Jurassic Park is my favourite film, I understand that it is a personal preference - opting for The Godfather as my 'professional' favourite film. Finding Nemo is my personal favourite whilst, Wall-E would reside as my 'professional favourite. But this is my blog... so personal wins out.

The Simon and Jo Show Podcast: 11/10/2009

So, the 3D special! Begun at the Barbican and finished in 'the kitchen: Check it out!

"This week Jo and Simon talk about 3D films and the latest releases - with a specific focus on Pixar and Disney. Films discussed are Toy Story and Up in 3D and Zombieland amongst brief discourse on the back-catalogue of Pixar studios."

That's the description ... enjoy!