Bolt began as the brainchild of Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch). The story involved a dog (the star of a hit TV show) getting lost in the Nevada desert with a one-eyed cat and a mutant rabbit. Sanders left the project after butting heads with Pixar CEO John Lasseter, now in charge of creative for Disney Animation. The final product definitely has touches of the Pixar brand, but doesn’t reach the heights of their last two efforts, Ratatouille and Wall-E.
The eponymous lead character, Bolt, remains the same, a white German Shepherd who believes he has superpowers and everything on his show is real. He’s accidentally shipped to New York City and must make his way back to L.A. in order to rescue his "person," Penny (voiced by teenybopper sensation Miley Cyrus). Along the way, he picks up a sassy street-smart cat, Mittens, played by Susie Essman, best known as the foul-mouthed wife of Jeff Garlin on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She’s essentially a G-rated version of that character. Rounding out the group is a tubby hamster named Rhino who’s even more delusional than Bolt.
The film opens up with a rousing action sequence, a chase through the streets of L.A. It’s wonderfully paced and animated, the type of sequence you might find in a Jerry Bruckheimer production. The rest of the film is derivative of other pictures such as The Truman Show, Incredible Journey, and even Toy Story 2. The cute animals eventually make their way home and Bolt learns he doesn’t need extraordinary abilities to be special. We learn that good old-fashioned, Midwest values are better than those found in gaudy, superficial Hollywood.
Still, Bolt is both entertaining and heartwarming. Unlike the majority of generic CG animated movies, Bolt isn’t relying on snarky pop culture references and stunt casting in its celebrity voice actors. Kids will definitely enjoy themselves and so will the parents and older audience members.
It’s been approximately a decade and a half since Disney’s modern-era glory days of Aladdin, Lion King, Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. Bolt seems like a step in the right direction and an indication that the House of Mouse is on an upswing. It’s a refreshing treat after the stale taste of flops like Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons. Hopefully, we’ll see more films like this and less of the awful, needless direct-to-video sequels.
Rating: ***
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