When I first saw the preview for Bolt, I honestly didn’t see that much that made me want to go to this. But it didn’t look like it would be bad either so I checked it out. This was Disney without the aid of Pixar, doing 3D so at very least I would see what they came up with on their own. I was overwhelmingly impressed.
A cute little dog named Bolt (voice of John Travolta) and his loving tween-girl owner, Penny (voice of Disney It Girl Miley Cyrus), are the stars of a hit action TV show about a small white German shepherd with superpowers. The producers of the show believe the program's success stems from Bolt's realistic "acting," so to that end, they never let the canine star in on the fact that he's on a TV show, hiding all the cameras and crew so that Bolt grows up thinking he really does have heat vision, a super bark, and the ability to stop trucks with his head.
One day, thanks to a series of misunderstandings and misfortunes, Bolt accidentally gets mailed to New York City, sending him on an adventure-filled cross-country journey back to Penny in Hollywood. During his trek, Bolt learns the truth about himself, and makes new friends in the form of a streetwise alley cat and an overly enthusiastic hamster.
Holy crap the effects in this movie were staggering. The opening of the movie brilliantly establishes the TV show's fictional world the one Bolt thinks is real with a superb ten-minute action sequence straight out of a family-friendly Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Bolt, with his super-speed, and Penny, atop her tricked-out scooter, evade helicopters, motorcyclists, and a ticking time bomb, all while speeding along a busy California freeway. There is a kinetic pop to the whole scene, especially when the occasional slow-mo shot lets you see exactly how much time is left before the bomb explodes.
But there’s a beautiful core to the film, too, which revolves around how Bolt learns to lose his delusions and cope with the real world including getting back to Penny with the help of Mittens and her grounded cynicism... but also how she learns to temper her cynicism and cope with a world that doesn’t have to be as rough as the hand she’d been dealt.
If as, you know, there were a happy middle ground where we can all shed the delusions that hinder us. It all swings beautifully from lovely to silly to lovely again in a way that’s perfectly realized and utterly unique.
It was a great entertaining flick with jokes for the grownups and lots of fun for kids to get a kick out of. Animation was spectacular, the characters were all very enjoyable. The wit of their lines was sharp and laugh inducing. Go see this movie. Even if you don’t have a kid to make it look like you have to. Seriously.
I gave this movie 4 star out of 5.
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