The trailer announces “From above the world of Cars…Disney’s Planes.”
Now that Disney owns Pixar, the calculated blending of brand identities has begun. Note, however, that Pixar’s name isn’t mentioned in the trailer—even though Planes is rooted in their style and creative universe. There’s a reason for that: nothing in the Planes trailer suggests the originality or artistry associated with the Pixar brand. To be fair though, quality filmmaking appears to have hardly been the motivation for this licensing and merchandising money grab.
The film, directed by TV vet Klay Hall (King of the Hill, Father of the Pride), will be released theatrically on August 9. Here’s the synopsis:
Add a CommentFrom high above the world of Cars, flies Planes, Disney’s upcoming animated action-packed comedic adventure starring Dusty (voiced by Dane Cook), a big-hearted, fast-flying crop duster who dreams of competing in the most exhilarating around-the-world air race in history. There’s only a couple of not-so-small problems—Dusty is not exactly built for racing and he also happens to be afraid of heights.
Despite his fear and with encouragement from his mentor, a naval aviator named Skipper, Dusty narrowly qualifies for the big competition. Dusty’s sportsmanship and speed begin to rattle the defending champ of the race circuit, Ripslinger, who will stop at nothing to see Dusty fail. When disaster strikes during the climax of the final race, Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test. With the support of friends old and new, Dusty reaches heights he never dreamed possible and in the process, gives a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.
In the second book in her post Apocalyptic trilogy, Hunter takes us once more into the world of Thorn St. Croix, a mage who, after living among humans for a decade, has been outed to the city she lives in. The Kirk Elders call her before the tribunal to answer charges waged against her. Of course, this is all horribly ironic since Thorn actually protects the city and has never done anything whore-like or otherwise. She is found innocent, but many in the town still do not trust her or her abilities. Meanwhile, devil spawn have been creeping into town and Thorn may have a bigger problem to deal with than angry villagers. A Major Darkness wants Thorn and is creating an army to get her. Fearful for Mineral City and her friends, Thorn must travel down into a hellhole to stop the insanity or die trying.
Faith Hunter takes readers on a journey into a bleak future with a glimmer of hope. The apocalypse has come and gone, but angels (seraphs in this book) and demons still battle. There is no winner, but many losers. The world has been stripped of most of its technology and a few surprises have risen up out of the battles. Seraphs taking humans as lovers and creating kylen. Mages who are not human nor seraph and who can control the creation magic. All are feared by humans and so when Thorn St. Croix escapes from the Enclave where all mages are held, she decides to live as a human. After 10 years her secret is about to be reveale. Events are suddenly shifting and it seems that Thorn is in the middle of them. She will have a bigger destiny than she realizes. The world Hunter creates is terrifying, but still filled with hope. This book is very clearly the set-up for the next two and if they are even half as gripping as this one they will have me reading late into the night. 
