When others fly out, heroes fly in.
When world-famous air racer Dusty learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of aerial firefighting. Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his team, a bunch of all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero.
Planes: Fire & Rescue is an American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film. It is a sequel to the 2013 film Planes, a spin-off of Pixar’s Cars franchise. Produced by DisneyToon Studios, it was theatrically released by Walt Disney Pictures on July 18, 2014. Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Danny Mann, and Cedric the Entertainer reprised their roles of Dusty Crophopper, Skipper, Chug, Dottie, Sparky, and Leadbottom, respectively. New cast members included Hal Holbrook, Julie Bowen, Ed Harris, Wes Studi, and Dale Dye.
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 cropdusters were among the first planes to be used in aerial fire-fighting, “There was a group of cropdusters 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 teed 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.”
Planes: Fire and Rescue
Directed by: Roberts Gannaway
Starring: Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen, Curtis Armstrong, John Michael Higgins, Teri Hatcher
Screenplay by: Jeffrey M. Howard
Production Design by: Toby Wilson
Film Editing by: Dan Molina
Art Direction by: Toby Wilson
Music by: Mark Mancina
MPAA Rating: PG for action and some peril.
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: July 18th, 2014
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