|

Paper Planes review

Check out our review of Paper Planes - a sweet, heart-warming film for all the family

Paper Planes poster

Paper Planes

Certificate: U

Starring: Ed Oxenbould, Sam Worthington, Julian Dennison

Release date: 2014

3 out of 5

3

Still grieving the loss of his mum, 12-year-old Dylan (Oxenbould) discovers a new distraction when a kind teacher introduces his class to the art of making and flying paper planes. While Dylan’s dad (Worthington) continues to mourn and barely leaves the safety of his sofa, his son realises that life does go on and decided to try competing in paper plane competitions – first in his local area in rural Australia, then nationally and finally at the world tournament in Japan.

A little charmer of a movie that is as much about dealing with grief and embracing family as it is about making paper planes, this rises above the average thanks to the central performances of Oxenbould, Worthington and Terry Norris as Dylan’s former war pilot Grandpa. There are nice supporting performances too, especially from Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke and David Wenham as obnoxious paper plane competitor Jason and his equally competitive dad respectively. With a nice and often funny script from director Robert Connolly and Steve Worland, this adds up to a sweet, heart-warming film for all the family.

Is Paper Planes suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...

Younger and sensitive viewers may be upset that Dylan’s mother has died, and also during a scene in which he is bullied by a class mate.

If you like this, why not try: October Sky, Old Yeller, Fly Away Home, Radio Flyer, Flight Of The Navigator,