Disclosure: Disney provided me with an expense paid trip to Los Angeles in exchange for my review of the events of the trip. No other compensation is given. As always, all opinions and experiences are my own. All images courtesy of Disney. #DisneyInHomeEvent #FireandRescue
Last week I shared my interview with the director and producer of Planes: Fire and Rescue. While at Disneytoon Studios, I also had a chance to talk to writer, Jeff Howard and director of creative development, Paul Gerard. They did a fantastic amount of research to get every detail right. They traveled throughout California and beyond to spend time with and studying firefighting experts. Even though the movie is about planes that can talk, they wanted every other aspect of the movie to be real. In fact they are very proud to hear actual firefighters say “If you want an accurate depiction of what this is like, watch ‘Planes: Fire and Rescue’. Today, I’m sharing a few interesting details I learned during our conversation.
They wanted Blade Ranger to be a super cool helicopter, so they brought in one of the coolest helicopter pilots in the world to consult. Chuck Aaron is one of only a few aerobatic helicopter pilots in the world and the only one the FAA has given a license to fly aerobatic helicopter flights. His helicopter is a heavy customized MMBB0105 that can do loops and barrels, things helicopters aren’t supposed to do.
They watched actual smoke jumpers practice and learned a lot about how they actually operate, like looking before they jump and throwing streamers to find a good landing site. Lots of real details like that made it into the film. They also strapped GoPro cameras to the plane and jumpers and some of that footage inspired the shots in the film.
Piston Peak National Park was inspired by both Yellowstone and Yosemite. From their hotels to their vistas and terrain, Piston Peak is an amalgamation of both parks. The iconic tour buses at Yellowstone National Park inspired Ol’ Jammer, they actually call them jammers.
About a year into the development of the first PLANES movie, they decided to start exploring a follow-up movie. They explored different arenas of aviation to see where the story cold go and aerial firefighting was a natural fit. They discovered that the first aerial firefighters were crop-dusting aircraft like Dusty. They put pontoons on them and let them scoop off the water; aerial firefighting was a natural extension for Dusty’s next adventure.
Neither would confirm or deny a 3rd movie being in the works but with the success of the first two Planes movies, it seems like a distinct possibility! I know two little boys would be be super excited if it did happen!
Don’t miss my fun Planes costumes made from cardboard box and duct tape
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