Sickeningly Pro-American at the cost of..

I was considering to show this movie to my little boy. But as a good parent, I watch all movies before-hand to ensure they are of good suitability.

Had he watched this movie, I felt he would have left with the idea that achieving British independence and exceptionalism is not only a poor idea, but not possible. This is out of touch with the current reality in the UK of many voters and politicians alike rallying around the idea of British independence, nationalism & exceptionalism.

Firstly, the plane representing my sons country is portrayed in a very poor light. He is uppedy, cold and selfish. I feel this alone would have sent my son running out of the room crying. This stereotype goes against the good character of my father (my son's grandfather), who is very kind and generous.

Perhaps at this point I could have paused the movie, and explained that Americans just have ignorant generalisations about the world around them.

But this would have been of no use. When the race around the world starts, which plane is the first to experience failure and fall out of the sky? Of course! It's the British plane. This would have certainly incited fear into the mind of my son, seeing his country's plane about to plummet into the pits of the ocean.

Why is this even necessary in a movie which is supposed to be fun and light-hearted? Not only does it temporarily incite fear into his heart, but it also leaves him with the impression that British engineering is the worst - since this plane is the first (and the only one in the entire movie) to plummet. This is ironic, given the reputation of the US across the world for producing shoddy poorly-engineered goods while the UK has a rich tapestry of history and success across all areas.

I wish I could end this rant here. But the anti-British sentiment did not stop!
The next scene is the typical Disney "princess falling into the prince's arms" scene, where the British plane is the princess. She has to be saved by the American prince! Is this writer calling the British plane a girl? My son is a boy, and he does not want to think of his country as a girl.

Also, if I did want my son to think of Britain as being a princess requiring an American prince - how would I explain all the other princesses this prince has in the movie?

It is a prevalent theme in the movie that the US does favours for other countries in exchange for "unquestioning" loyalty (as in the case of the Mexican plane who donates an expensive piece to Dusty with mention of US doing something for Mexico in the past), and that everybody should be nice to the US - just in case they need a favour one day. As in the case of the British plane, who learned the hard way. Throughout the rest of the movie, he had to be nice & less selfish to the American plane. The only "examples" needed to be made out of the UK are positive ones.

So to conclude, if you are a citizen of the US - this is a great movie to instil pride in your child and their country. If you're anywhere else though, frankly - it is a propaganda piece espousing American exceptionalism at the cost of alienating every other country in the world (with the UK bearing quite a brunt).
This may explain the poor sales here in the UK.

Hopefully this will send a message to Disney to mind what it's communicating in its storylines - since not everybody watching this movie is a US citizen.