Planes
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: August 9, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
20
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAug 7, 2013
What Planes lacks in novelty, it makes up for with eye-popping aerial sequences and a high-flying comic spirit. Read full review
67
The PlaylistDrew TaylorAug 7, 2013
When Planes really takes flight, it can be boldly transporting. Other times, though, it feels like it's running low on jet fuel, full of limp characterizations and questionable set pieces. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyAug 9, 2013
Planes has some wonderfully goofy, even ineffable, touches. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickAug 8, 2013
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. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonDave CalhounAug 13, 2013
There’s nothing groundbreaking about the animation or script. That said, the characters and story still offer low-key charms. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyAug 8, 2013
For a movie about planes, a lot happens on the ground — those refueling stops can take forever. But the animators take advantage of the power of flight, packing the action sequences with daredevil runs. But it's a race, and a kind of sameness occasionally sets in. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottAug 7, 2013
Director Klay Hall's embraceable, overachieving romp plays nicely as a big-screen feature. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 9, 2013
Planes moves along quickly at a running time of 92 minutes, occasionally taking flight with some pretty nifty flight sequences. The animation is first-rate, and the Corningware colors are soothing eye candy. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaAug 9, 2013
Planes modestly succeeds. Very modestly. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigAug 8, 2013
Essentially Cars in midair. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubAug 8, 2013
Airplane buffs are going to have a particularly good time; each of the planes seems to have an obscure real-life counterpart. And pop-culture junkies will appreciate a few sly nods as well. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanAug 8, 2013
Elementary school-age boys may well be delighted, but it offers not a scintilla of stimulation for anyone else. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 8, 2013
Planes has practically no visual distinction, it's a complete knockoff, but I think it'll get by with the kids. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenAug 7, 2013
While visually engaging, this production of Disneytoon Studios -- it was originally slated to go direct-to-DVD -- lacks the sort of character depth and dramatic scope normally associated with the Pixar brand. Read full review
43
Film.comWilliam GossAug 12, 2013
A visually colorful but otherwise vanilla continuation of the series. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 15, 2013
DisneyToon Studios have borrowed so much from Pixar here, and yet they seem to have learned almost nothing. Read full review
40
EmpireAngie ErrigoAug 12, 2013
A Pixney misfire. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichAug 9, 2013
The characters may soar, but viewers’ spirits stay grounded. Read full review
40
Total FilmEmma JohnstonAug 9, 2013
Little ones will love the bright action scenes, but the lack of wit and humanity that makes exec producer John Lasseter’s best work so special will leave grown-ups feeling frustratingly grounded. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerAug 8, 2013
Planes is for the most part content to imitate rather than innovate, presumably hoping to reap a respectable fraction of the box office numbers of “Cars” and “Cars 2,” which together made hundreds of millions of dollars (not to mention the ubiquitous product tie-ins). Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 8, 2013
On just about every other level other than visuals, Planes is dry, dry, dry. There's no verbal wit, no standout vocal performances. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 8, 2013
Planes was originally scheduled to be released straight to video. Although the smallest children might like bits and pieces of it, there’s nothing in the movie that suggests why Disney strayed from its original plan. Read full review
40
The DissolveTasha RobinsonAug 8, 2013
It’s a pleasant enough expression of a series of familiar story beats, but apart from a few brief action-sequence moments, it could hardly be more rote or vanilla. Read full review
40
VarietyJustin ChangAug 7, 2013
Diverting in bits and pieces, but absent the heart, soul and ingenuity one associates with the best of Disney animation, the endlessly merchandisable picture could very well soar at the box office, but it won’t stick the landing where word of mouth is concerned. Read full review
38
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreAug 8, 2013
Planes looks, sounds and feels like a direct-to-video project, which in an earlier age when people still bought DVDs it would have been. In theaters, it’s nothing more than a laughless 90 minute commercial for toys available at a retailer near you. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 7, 2013
Perhaps one of the two already-in-the-works Planes sequels will crack one of these unholy machines open. That’d be about the only reason to return to this nose-diving franchise. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Phil BrownAug 8, 2013
Despite gorgeous visuals from an army of Disney animators, the film is one of the weakest the studio has produced in years and deserved a bargain-bin DVD release. Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandAug 8, 2013
The animated film has all the hallmarks of a straight-to-DVD project - inferior plot, dull writing, cheap drawing. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundAug 7, 2013
The film feels second-rate in every sense, from the quality of its animation to its C-list voice cast. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 8, 2013
Little ones will stay engaged, but any kid old enough to fly unaccompanied will probably search for other in-flight entertainment. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 7, 2013
What a clunker. Read full review
20
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonAug 6, 2013
Can a plane jump a shark when it's already in the air? To Disney, that question is moot. It's so certain that Planes will make a mint in toys, if not in theaters, that it's already slated a sequel for next summer. Read full review
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