Disney’s Planes is like Cars but with a Rocky undertone. The big theme is the underdog winning the race and the nice guy does not finish last.

Planes follows Dusty, a crop duster with big dreams, to enter the Wings Around the Globe air race and compete with the big wigs.

The problem is, the little plane that could spends his days spraying fertilizer on farm fields and is – wait for it – afraid of heights.

Carrying on from the success of Cars and Cars 2, Disney has created Planes characters that follow a similar breakdown – there’s the main character, the goofy friend, the romantic interest, the wise one and the villain.

In Planes, Dusty (Dane Cook) has a lot to prove;  Skipper (Stacy Keach) is the veteran warplane hero who coaches Dusty to improve his game; Chug, the fuel truck (Brad Garrett), and Dottie, the forklift (Teri Hatcher) give Dusty friendship and support; and Ripslinger (Roger Craig Smith) is the airplane to beat in the race and who will play dirty to win.

There is mucho romance in Planes revolving around a Mexican plane named El Chupacabra (Carlos Alazraqui) who is trying to win the heart of a Canadian plane named Rochelle (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Dusty also has his eye on Indian plane, Ishani  (Priyanka Chopra).

There were a few laughs but some of the humour would likely go over youngsters heads.

In Planes, it’s really the animation and 3D effects that make the movie. The visuals are amazing.

Although Disney’s formula is pretty predictable,  younger kids will enjoy the film. Kids will walk away with some important lessons in courage and conquering your fears, what friendship means and following your dreams.

Planes opens in theatres today, Friday, August 9, 2013.