Planes (2013)

Planes, which is essentially Cars in the air, might be the first Pixar movie that isn't technically a Pixar movie. It's being released under the Disney banner, yet in essence it's the real Cars sequel — much more so than the shiny but exhaustingly frenetic Cars 2. This one carbon-copies the original Cars with too much predictability, but it's got the heart and soul that Cars 2 was missing, and it's every bit as dazzlingly animated. Dane Cook, who can be so unappealing in live-action roles, is touching and sharp as the voice of Dusty Crophopper, a crop-dusting propeller plane who dreams of being a fighter jet (despite the fact that he's scared of heights). Yes, there's a Mater-like sidekick (voiced by Brad Garrett), as well as a version of Paul Newman's broken-down old racer (Stacy Keach as a broken-down war jet with a secret). Yet what Planes lacks in novelty, it makes up for with eye-popping aerial sequences and a high-flying comic spirit. B