Bolt
Lissa Coffey
Grade: C
| Bolt is an animated feature film from the Walt Disney Studioos and done in digital animation, produced by John Lasseter, who has been so instrumental in Pixar’s success. Unfortunately, Bolt doesn’t have the charm of a Pixar movie. The story is a little cynical. We meet a cute puppy who is adopted by a cute little girl. Then it’s 5 years later, and the two star in a Hollywood TV show where Bolt, which is the dog’s name now, is a kind of super-hero dog who saves the girl on a regular basis. But the dog doesn’t know it’s all a show, he thinks it’s all real, and he is sheltered from having any knowledge otherwise. Because of this, he can’t be a “real dog.”
At one point, the girl is kidnapped on the TV show, and Bolt thinks it happened in real life, and as he’s trying to save her, he ends up getting accidentally shipped to New York City. So the bulk of the story is Bolt finding his way back to the girl, and discovering his true identity. He has the help of two side-kicks, a street-savvy cat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino. Cute buddy-flick moments. Bolt is voiced by John Travolta. The little girl is voiced by Miley Cyrus. The story is a negative reflection on Hollywood – and a little mean-spirited. Not sure if kids are going to understand, or just like the little dog. Nothing special or new, but some clever lines. Wait for the DVD. |