Paper Planes (2014)

An imaginative children's film about a young Australian boy's passion for flight and his challenge to compete in the World Paper Plane Championships in Japan.

Director:

Robert Connolly

Writers:

Robert Connolly (screenplay by), Steve Worland (screenplay by)

Stars:

Sam Worthington, Ed Oxenbould, Deborah Mailman

6 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Worthington	...	Jack
Ed Oxenbould	...	Dylan
Deborah Mailman	...	Maureen
Ena Imai	...	Kimi
Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke	...	Jason
Julian Dennison	...	Kevin
Terry Norris	...	Grandpa
Peter Rowsthorn	...	Mr. Hickenlooper
David Wenham	...	Patrick
Alex Williams	...	Jethro
Prea Cunningham	...	Classmate
Talei Howell-Price	...	Headmistress
Daniel Holliday	...	Teacher
Caroline McKenzie	...	Grandpa's Lady Friend
Sally Sander	...	Grandpa's Lady Friend

Storyline

After an unexpected introduction to the world of competitive paper-plane throwing, the timid twelve-year-old, Dylan Weber, finally makes it to the Aussie Junior Championships in Sydney. However, with a resigned father living in the past, Dylan will have to use his resourcefulness to come up with a winning paper-plane model for the World Junior Paper Plane Championship in Tokyo, to compete against skilful and very ambitious contestants. Clearly, at the end of Dylan's great adventure, the only important thing is fighting for what matters in life--and even though winning is something--never giving up is everything.

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Plot Keywords:

2010s | resourcefulness | aussie | champ | elementary | 

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Taglines:

Calling all flyers

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Genres:

Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 2015 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Aviones de papel

Filming Locations:

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

ACTF, Arenamedia, Cameraquip Australia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The house used for Dylan and his Dad is in Baldivis, Western Australia

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Goofs

At the athletics track in Sydney, just after Kimi sees Dylan in the stand there is a shot of 5 people running. The sign on the outside of the track says 'Go Athletics WA'

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Quotes

Patrick: Hey! It's Dylan, right?
Dylan: Yeah. Yeah.
Patrick: Think you're gonna win tomorrow?
Dylan: I don't know. But I really, really want to.
Patrick: Yeah? Why is that?
Dylan: Well... You know, everyone loves a winner. Right? And if... if I go home a winner, maybe my dad... might want to hang out with me.
Patrick: Well, you know what? He's family, mate. And sometimes... Sometimes they take a little while to come good. But, uh, if you stick with them, they will, eventually.
Dylan: Well, I hope you're right. Thanks, Mr Jones.

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Connections

References Battle of Britain (1969)

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Soundtracks

Milkshake
Written by Chad Hugo (as Hugo) and Pharrell Williams (as Williams)
(Universal Music - Careers/Rayncahser Music
Administered by Universal Music Publishing Pty Ltd/
Native Tongue Music Publishing Pty Ltd
a/ba songs Music Publishing, LLC a/b/a Songs MP (BMI)/
© 2003 EMI Blackwood Music
Licensed by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd.)
Performed by Kelis
Under exclusive license to Virgin Records Ltd
Courtesy of Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd

User Reviews

An Australian gem that will lift the spirits

Paper planes, Australian landscapes and a cheeky grandpa, sounds like fun.

Popcorn and a large drink... roll the film... An Australian film about a paper planes contest? Cool, an original concept, but will the story get any lift or will it take a nose dive?

Kid's Korner rating: 3 stars Parent's Rating: 3.5 stars

One of the biggest challenges of teaching 12 year old students is keeping them interested and engaged. A similar challenge for the director of a children's film targeted at a modern audience. Dylan (Ed Oxenbould) comes into a class that is full of classmates who are focused on the latest technology and do not interact with one another. When his teacher asks for all of their phones and devices, then introduces a student teacher who challenges the class to fly paper planes. There is a tenuous moment of consideration by the class, but they take up the challenge with enthusiasm and a competitive spirit. After winning the class challenge, Dylan gets ready for the next levels of competition in the region and around the country. He is encouraged by his friends and teacher to learn about effective flying of paper planes and how to win the future competitions. Dylan must work through the recent loss of his mother and the inevitable mourning of his father (Sam Worthington). As the multiple layers of this statonary aviation tale unfold, the competitions are merely a backdrop to this unique and heartfelt film.

It may seem like an odd premise for a big budget film, but Paper Planes is a wonderful, laugh-out-loud film directed by Australian Robert Connolly. The Australian cast is a who's who of modern cinema, but the film was masterfully carried by Oxenbould. The light-hearted story has its share of plot holes, but the family centric adventure was a joy to experience. The strength of the story makes up for some of the less than believable components. Connolly puts forward a seemingly breezy theme that opens the door to an unexpectedly mature backstory of life and death. He fortunately manages to skirt past the after school special story line. Even though there is the stereotypical bully, the chubby friend and the cool grandpa, the slow unfolding of the story allows for an unexpected depth to the film. Connolly's film is a joy for the younger and the older audience members.

Dad asked the question on the ride home, 'What did we think of the film?' Simple story, but it was fun to the end. The bittersweet father/son relationship unfolds in a timely manner and does not get boring. It made us want to go out and buy a paper plane book and travel out to the country side of our beautiful homeland. Australia is beautiful and the film was pretty good, too.

Reel Dialogue: What are the bigger questions to consider from this film? 1. What does the Bible say about death of a loved one? (Psalm 34:18, Revelation 21:4) 2. Why is family important? (Nehemiah 4:14, Ephesians 5:25)

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Kid's Korner are shorter reviews written by Russell Matthews' kid's perspective and based on a five star rating system @ Russelling Reviews #russellingreviews