Planes (2013)

Yes, this movie got terrible reviews and yes, it has a Disney plot that you have seen so many times before--be that as it may, I found it fun to watch in a diversionary kind of way (and while I no longer have young children, if I were to try to find a movie that a 5-year old would like that I would also enjoy, this would fit that bill as well).

The basic story is an underdog plane, a crop duster, no less, has ambitions to enter an international round-the-world race.  Improbably he manages to qualify for the race (despite sporting a very unaerodynamic spraying apparatus), and becomes the media darling.  The highly favored previous victor is the typical unsportsmanlike Disney villain who stoops to cheating and sabotage in order to stay in the lead and we the audience are all the while rooting for the underdog.

Pretty standard stuff--but I would like to make an argument for this movie on another level.  The characters in this movie have interracial and cross-cultural relationships (to the extent that planes can be said to have race and culture) and that is a good thing to model to young children.  There is a message for tolerance that I think is broader than some animated films--it does not included same gender relationships, but hopefully that will be coming soon.  In the meantime, I thought this had more social value than the more highly rated 'Turbo'.