Fasten your seatbelts. It’s time to fly the friendly skies with Disney’s new film “Planes.” With the majority of the soundtrack composed by Grammy-Award winning composer and song writer Mark Mancina—who is best known for his work in “The Jetsons: The Movie” and the Disney film “Tarzan”—the soundtrack takes the audience on an aerial adventure of epic proportions. In this escapade, a crop duster named Dusty desires to race professionally alongside other airborne racers, proving that he is more than a crop duster.

Mark Holman’s “Nothing Can Stop Me Now,” Chris Classic and Alana D’s “You Don’t Stop NYC,” Jon Stevens’ “Fly,” and Mark Mancina’s “Planes” express Dusty’s longing to leave the cornfield and become something greater. “Crop Duster” reminds the audience of Dusty’s origin, but also cautions us not to focus on that one aspect of his original design, but of his capabilities and inner strength. “Last Contestant,” “Hello Lincoln/Sixth Place,” “Show Me What You Got,” “Dusty Steps into History,” “Start Your Engines,” and “Leg 2/Bulldog Thanks Dusty” describes Dusty’s journey into his racing future, giving the chance to show the racing community that he has what it takes to be a professional air racer. “Skipper Tries to Fly,” “Dusty & Ishani,” “The Tunnel,” Running on Fumes,” and “Get Above the Storm” give you hope that there is always a fighting chance that success is just around the corner and that anything is worth the struggle. “Skipper’s Story,” “You’re a Racer,” “Leg 7,” and “Skipper to the Rescue” illustrate the story of Skipper’s dark past to the restoration of faith and inspiration within Dusty to persevere through the race, regardless of the obstacles in his path.  “Dusty Soars,” “1^st Place,” “A True Victory,” “Skippers Theme” and “Honorary Jolly Wrench” demonstrate the success and respect Dusty earns as a professional flyer.

“Planes” co-star Carlos Alazraqui, musician Antonio Sol and voice actor Dave Wittenberg lend their voices to “Love Machine” and “Ein Crop Duster Can Race” respectively, which add to the comic relief of the film. “Armadillo” is the perfect way to end the soundtrack, adding a peaceful ending to such a thrilling movie.

“Planes” has quite a unique track that will whet the palate of every listener. You can never go wrong with a variety of sounds, and the “Planes” soundtrack certainly has that.

Final Grade: A

About The Author

Lauren Beverly

Music Reviewer

I love to write and have been doing so since the age of eight. Fictional stories have always been a favorite of mine, because it gives me a chance to be creative and to express myself in a multitude of ways. On more than one occasion, a song proved to be the inspiration to several stories I have written. Believe it or not, some of those songs were on soundtracks! That’s mostly what I listen to, aside from hits from the 1950’s up to the 1980’s. I’ve learned that anything can be the inspiration to a story, even a poster from the 1990’s or a DVD cover.

I’ve lived in Upper Marlboro all of my life and spent much of my childhood watching cartoons of all kinds, and listening to my older sister’s cassette tapes. Growing up, I listened to everything Jackson related, Paula Abdul, Elton John, and even the controversial group Milli Vanilli. As a teenager, I continued to listen to old-school hits and that was pretty much all I liked, aside from listening to all of Michael Jackson’s music. To this day, I still love old-school hits. That hasn’t changed.

I own a variety of CDs from artists such as Styx, The BeeGees, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, and many others. When a soundtrack comes out, there will always be one specific song from that album that I’ll love. It never fails.

I’ve graduated from Bowie State University in December 2013 with a B.A. degree in English.

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