Ned and Zed are the secondary antagonists of the 2013 Disneytoon Studios animated feature film, Planes. They are Ripslinger's sidekicks, who help him try to disqualify Dusty from the Wings Around the Globe competition.
Background[]
Official Bio[]
"Team Ripslinger's bombastic racers Ned and Zed specialize in sabotage. Lacking the skills to actually outrace the competition, they simply eliminate it, propelling boss Ripslinger to victory every single time. Zed, a rowdy and reckless flier, and Ned, a strange bird himself, may not be the sharpest props in the hangar, but they have figured out how to draft off Ripslinger’s fame."[1]
Appearances[]
Planes[]
As Dusty flies to the Lincoln Airport, Ned and Zed are first seen introducing Ripslinger to the audience while Dusty introduces the Twin Turbos by name to his friends Dottie and Chug while Dusty describes them as world-class racers. Later as Dusty tries to claim himself to be Strut Jetstream, Ripslinger, Ned, and Zed, comment about a crop duster plane entering the race. During the Wings Around the Globe event, Ned, Zed, and the rest of the racers prepare for the race for the competition to which all the planes begin to take off, flying from JFK Airport in New York to Iceland. Arriving at Iceland, Ripslinger and his allies rudely comment on a shivering Dusty who enters the hangar. Later after Dusty saves Bulldog due to his engine malfunctioned, Ned, Zed, and Ripslinger approach Dusty, appreciating what Dusty did to Bulldog. Later, after flying from Germany to India, Ripslinger devises a devious plan for his two henchplanes to take revenge against Dusty Crophopper and stop him from winning against him in order to prevent him from winning.
Later, as the racers land in Nepal, Ripslinger tells Ned and Zed about what Dusty did to be in the first place. Later as the journey continues from Nepal to China, Ripslinger angrily smashes the duo's skyPad which shows the footage of Dusty's race, much to the duo's (mostly Zed's) sadness, though Ripslinger states that the new skyPad is being released in two weeks. Furthermore, Ripslinger then advises the duo to take revenge against Dusty once again. As Dusty is on his way from China to Mexico, Ned and Zed begin to attack him, causing him to lose his antenna to which the Jolly Wrenches manage to save him from falling into the ocean. Arriving at Mexico City, El Chupacabra and Ishani confront Ripslinger and the duo, indicating that Ripslinger has betrayed the racers about what he did to Dusty.
After Dusty is repaired, he approaches Ripslinger, Ned, and Zed, planning to stop Dusty so that Ripslinger can win the trophy. As the race resumes again, Ripslinger, Ned, and Zed chase Dusty across a desert in North America as Dusty plans to evade the two. Dusty manages to avoid the duo, causing them to be trapped between the canyon walls.
Trivia[]
- The first letters of their names N and Z make up the initials of the name of their home country of New Zealand.
- During the scene where the racers arrive at India, Ned and Zed were making story references to Rocky, David and Goliath from the Bible and Old Yeller. Those mentions imply that they may have been vehicle-I died versions of those stories in the Cars universe.
- Ned and Zed's designs are based on the Extra EA-300 aerobatic planes, but with the cockpit windows in a different shape.
- Both are brothers from New Zealand, while the movie shows the US flags on their names.
- Their wingspans are 20.3 feet (6.2 meters).
- Their flying styles are aggressive and dangerous.
- They are nicknamed the "Twin Turbos".
- Both their Sky Slycer Mark Five propellers are single two-bladed props.
- Ned's Micro Drifters release incorrectly labels him as Zed.
- Ned and Zed are similar to Pain and Panic from Hercules. Ned & Zed and Pain & Panic were frequently abused by Ripslinger and Hades while Ripslinger and Hades acted nice to Ishani and Megara.
- Ned and Zed act as saboteurs for Ripslinger, ensuring his victory in every race by eliminating the competition. As a result, they don't need to win races, but presumably come in top 3 positions such as 2nd or 3rd.
- As stated, they could've been the ones that sabotaged Bulldog's propeller so the oil can force him to go blind and crash as a result, though he is saved by Dusty afterwards.
Gallery[]
References[]
