REEL DEAL: FX TEAM OF “PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE” FUELS `HOTTEST' ANIMATED FILM EVER

From the beginning, Disneytoon's “Planes: Fire & Rescue” was destined to break new ground. “Not only is it the biggest visual effects movie we’ve ever done here at Disneytoon Studios,” says producer Ferrell Barron, “nobody had ever really attempted to do an animated movie featuring fire of this magnitude before—the size, scope, scale and frequency of smoke and fire in this is really extraordinary. So the first thing we had to do is dig into the effects side of the film, because it was so important that we get fire right. It had to be real.”

John Patton was tapped as the effects animation lead for the film. “Out of 1224 total shots in the film, more than half feature some kind of effect: fire, smoke, water. And ‘fire’ is in the title of the film—it’s a key element in the story—we had to make sure we nailed it.”

REEL DEAL: The Characters of “PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE” Far From Plain, Simple Folks

It all begins when world-famous air racer Dusty Crophopper (voice of Dane Cook) returns to hometown Propwash Junction after another victorious racing season. The former crop duster revels in his new career success until a fateful training run changes his course with a career-ending injury. The incident sets into motion a series of events that threatens the future of Dusty’s hometown.

Forced to shift gears, he decides to train with the Aerial Fire Fighters at Piston Peak Air Attack Base as a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT). The heroic, often life-threatening efforts involved are admirable—but seemingly impossible to master—particularly if you’re a crop duster-turned-racer with an injury that can’t be ignored, in Disneytoon's new aerial adventure “Planes: Fire & Rescue.”

REEL DEAL: High-Flying Heroes Save The Day In “PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE”

Disneytoon Studios' “Planes: Fire & Rescue” is a new adventure-comedy about a dynamic crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting America's historic Piston Peak National Park from raging wildfire.

When world-famous air racer Dusty Crophopper learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of aerial firefighting. “It’s a movie about second chances,” says director Bobs Gannaway (“Secret of the Wings”). “Each character was something else before finding their current roles, and Dusty is a crop duster-turned-racer who can’t race any more. When we learned that historically, the very first air attack teams were crop dusters, it was clear that the plane was telling us where the story was going.”