Planes: Fire & Rescue
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: July 18, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
15
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerJul 17, 2014
Planes: Fire & Rescue is a good improvement over “Planes,” which Disney released last year. The story is stronger, there are some wonderful additions to the voice talent and the 3D cinematography is well-utilized. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianStephen WhittyJul 17, 2014
This sequel, thankfully, is faster paced, and has more action. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyStephan LeeJul 16, 2014
Despite somewhat of a direct-to-DVD plot, the perilous and elaborate rescue scenes are certainly big-screen-worthy. Canny references to '70s television and some genuinely funny moments will give grown-ups enough fuel to cross the finish line. Read full review
75
The PlaylistDrew TaylorJul 4, 2014
Planes: Fire and Rescue serves as a dramatic improvement over the original, introducing thrilling action sequences backed by actual stakes and an unexpected emotional dimension, all on top of upgraded animation and a greater emphasis on character. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 17, 2014
If you ignore the slicker aspects of the dialogue (and with a little effort you mostly can), it's satisfying to find a film that is as innocent and as much visual fun as this one is. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangJul 4, 2014
Planes: Fire & Rescue is a slight but improbably successful example of a movie that, despite its profusion of chrome and steel, somehow succeeds in touching something human. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaJul 18, 2014
Surprise, surprise. This "Planes" quickly grounds itself with a story that at least offers an emotional hook (if not ladder) that most adults and even kids can appreciate. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJul 17, 2014
Without the kindling of character development, Planes: Fire and Rescue is no smoldering success, but if Disney’s flight plan is to share Pixar’s airspace, it’s getting warmer. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJul 17, 2014
Ed Harris, who voices Blade Ranger, the no-nonsense helicopter who heads the fire-and-rescue operation, doesn’t lay it on too strong. Julie Bowen, as Lil’ Dipper, an air tanker, does. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillSep 22, 2014
The action is colourful, the vistas as organic as pixels will allow and, once it gets past the quickfire editing of the early stages, considered application of 3D heightens the sense of space and glide. Not much magic, but an appreciable level of polish. Read full review
60
TheWrapJames RocchiJul 4, 2014
This movie hardly rates as first-class animation, but it gets in, gets the job done, and moves on both swiftly and well. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJul 18, 2014
The sequel, Planes: Fire and Rescue, is still a DisneyToon production, but it does aim higher, with a visual zip that was lacking from the first. It is, in almost all respects, a better movie. It’s still not particularly good, though. Read full review
50
Washington PostJen ChaneyJul 17, 2014
The Disney animators still take great care to capture the majestic beauty in the jagged landscapes and towering conifers of the Yellowstone-esque Piston Peak Park. Unfortunately, the same contours and shading don’t apply to the characters. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigJul 17, 2014
With the lackluster quality of its characters — aircraft, a smattering of trucks, RVs and motorcycles — the movie makes Pixar's Cars and its sequel look like masterpieces. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJul 17, 2014
An occasionally rousing but mostly just adequate sequel to last year's "Planes." Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartJul 16, 2014
This Disney sequel to 2013’s “Planes” is a lot like flying coach: serviceable, but not trying that hard. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJul 16, 2014
Planes: Fire & Rescue is roughly twice as good as its predecessor, Planes, which was so story-and-laugh starved it would have given “direct-to-video” a bad name. Yes, there was nowhere to go but up. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJul 4, 2014
Beautiful to look at, this is nothing more than a Little Engine That Could story refitted to accommodate aerial action and therefore unlikely to engage the active interest of anyone above the age of about 8, or 10 at the most. Read full review
42
HitfixDrew McWeenyJul 17, 2014
These self-actualization stories, while certainly well-intentioned, get exhausting after a while, and it also starts to make storytelling for kids feel like it's all wrapped in this language of affirmation, and it smothers the simple joy of creating good characters we want to spend time with. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jul 16, 2014
It’s nice to look at, easy to watch, and impossible to remember for the length of a car-ride home. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanJul 18, 2014
Surprisingly dull. Read full review
40
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergJul 17, 2014
In 3-D, the firefighting scenes are visually striking — with plumes of smoke and chemical dust — though the backgrounds, like other aspects of the film, lack dimension. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackJul 16, 2014
Overall, Planes: Fire & Rescue, though featuring lovely graphics and stunning animation, is just too mundane. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJul 15, 2014
A time-killing kid-flick whose title is an exact summary of its plot. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandJul 18, 2014
The animation in Planes: Fire & Rescue is considerably better, the landscapes grander, and the 3-D flight and firefighting scenes more exciting. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Sean TepperJul 17, 2014
There’s nothing inherently wrong with kid-friendly Fire & Rescue – the movie offers enough jokes and glitzy animation to capture its target audience as well as a few witty puns for their accompanying adult – it just doesn’t introduce any new ideas or compelling characters, traits that we’ve come to expect from high-level animated films. Read full review
30
The DissolveDavid EhrlichJul 16, 2014
The jokes are few and far between, and the film lacks the spark of imagination required to engage meaningfully with young viewers... but Fire & Rescue is a competent distraction all the same, mostly on the strength of its non-threateningly round animation and magic-hour color palette. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineEric HendersonJul 17, 2014
It's not even made clear whether the machines can feel pain. But after sitting through Fire & Rescue, interminable even at a lean 83 minutes, I sincerely hope they do. Read full review
20
Time OutCatherine BrayJul 15, 2014
Displaying a weird lack of memorable or endearing characters, this animated effort feels more like a direct-to-video job from the 1990s than a fully fledged John Lasseter–exec-produced theatrical release. Read full review
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