El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, CA is probably one of the friendliest places to see a movie. The cast members are exceptional and always make you feel welcomed. Attending the movie on a Tuesday afternoon was a lucky choice. The movie crowd was thin, allowing even the VIP ticket holders some elbow room in the theater. After all, one needs full dexterity to devour the included popcorn and soda, right?
Please be sure to make your way down to the lower level before you are seated to check out the exhibit. Items on display include fun facts, airplane models, photo ops and hands-on activities for the kiddos. Also please note that an 8:30 am breakfast with Mickey Mouse is offered for a fee, but only on selected days and only with the 10:00am showing.
If you enjoy a great cartoon, be sure to be seated in time for “Mickey‘s Fire Brigade“, a great few minutes of firefighting mayhem. It will start your viewing adventure off with a smile.
“Summer Beach Party“ is a pre-show which starts very promptly after a few movie previews are shown. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy don their best beach garb, and the cast have a great time interacting with them. The show was fun and well received by the little ones as a handful of kids were selected to come up on the stage for tambourine shaking and trying their best at limbo.
PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE hits all the nails on the head. There is action, adventure, emotion, friendship and discovery. The only drawback in my opinion are that some of the fire scenes are a tad too intense for the younger children. Some were audibly scared and one parent even had to remove her preschool aged son temporarily. All in all though, this movie is a much better ride than the first movie PLANES.
Dusty Crophopper (Dane Cook) learns that he has a gearbox defect that will prevent him from ever racing again unless a new one can be found. Unfortunately his is an old model and is no longer in production. An accident at Propwash Junction forces Dusty to slow down and train for a new profession as an aerial firefighter. He trains with veteran fire rescue guru Blade Ranger (Ed Harris) and after a few stubborn mistakes he eventually becomes certified to become one of the trusted airplane firefighters of Piston Peak National Park. Other members of the courageous aerial team include Dusty’s sort of love interest Dipper (Julie Bowen) and Windlifter (Wes Studi). The Smokejumpers also play an important part as these lively all-terrain vehicles must assist in clearing and containing the fire’s path at ground level.
The one liners spread throughout the script were entertaining and just laugh-out-loud funny. It doesn’t hurt that we are taught that it is possible to overcome a situation beyond your control and still find yourself relevant.
I give this movie four out of five popcorn buckets. It’s a must see!
PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE will be at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA through August 2nd.
