Georgia Woman Voices Pinecone in Disney’s ‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’

Georgia native Corri English and her one-year-old son, Radley, walked the red carpet premiere of Disney’s “Planes: Fire & Rescue” in Los Angeles Tuesday.

English, 36, of New York and formerly of Lilburn, Ga., in Gwinnett County, pays tribute to her Southern roots as the voice actor for Pinecone, an “easygoing, Southern soul.” The character is one of the smokejumpers who parachute out of planes and fight fires.

“It was a little bit of a dream come true because I grew up on Disney movies,” English told Patch. “To be the voice of a Disney character was a little bit surreal. With Disney animation, they want versions of real people. They don’t go for super-over-the-top cartoon voices. They draw out pictures of your own personality. Even during the audition process, I loved the fact that she was Southern.”

English has been acting since she was a child. She traveled the world as a child reporter for Turner’s “Feed Your Mind.” She has also appeared in “Runaway Jury,” and episodes of “Dawson’s Creek,” “One Tree Hill,” “NCIS,” “CSI: Miami” and “House M.D.”

One of the highlights of the new “Planes” movie is the message about overcoming challenges, English says.

“It’s about getting back up,” she said. “You face a challenge, you can get back up. It puts a spotlight on firefighters and their heroism.”

While “Planes: Fire & Rescue” is an animated feature, English says a lot of the humor found in the banter between characters is for the adults and parents in the theater.

But English isn’t just the voice of Pinecone in the movie. She also voices a toy version of Pinecone, which she said was almost just as great as voicing her in the movie.

English’s son, Radley, can be seen in a video, playing with the toy.

“First he was scared of it,” English said. “He was like, ‘Why is mom’s voice coming out of my truck?’ Once he figured out that he was making it talk, then he loved it.”

Disney’s “Planes: Fire & Rescue” premieres in theaters across the country on Friday.