Rating: PG, for action and some peril.
The sequel to 2013’s Planes finds Dusty Crophopper (voiced again by Dane Cook), the cropduster-turned-racer, unable to compete anymore because of a faulty, outdated gearbox. Seeing the need for emergency support in town, he reinvents himself as a firefighting plane, traveling far away to train with a veteran team. He sees a ton of action, not all of which he’s ready for, and winds up in some danger. The forest fires he helps contain are intense and all-consuming; they ravage trees and send visitors to an historic lodge scurrying to safety. It’s also mentioned that not all firefighters make it out of these situations alive. So if that kind of peril troubles your kids, that might be something to consider beforehand. I took my son, who’s almost 5, and he had no problem with it. There’s also a handful of innocuous fire truck fart jokes.
Rating: G.
Sequel time again. The follow-up to the 2011 animated hit Rio is lively and colorful and enjoyable during the musical numbers, but a bit dull and overloaded when it comes to actual storytelling. This time, neurotic Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and energetic Jewel (Anne Hathaway) are the parents of three baby blue macaws, and they’re all enjoying domesticated bliss in the big city. But when they learn that other rare birds of their species still exist in the Amazon, they journey to find them, with a cadre of creatures and people on their tails with devious intentions. Nigel (Jemaine Clement), the evil cockatoo who villainously stole the show last time, can’t fly anymore so he’s more of a preening diva here. And there’s a subplot about illegal forestry that’ll go over young kids’ heads. Still, it’s all appropriate for the entire family.
