Bolt: barking up the right tree

By David W. Shelton | November 22, 2008 |

Walt Disney’s Bolt fills the need for a fun family film over the Thanksgiving holiday perfectly, and manages to provide solid entertainment for young and old. Imagine a film that’s a mix of The Truman Show (1998), Underdog (2007), and a little bit of Cats & Dogs (2001), and you pretty much have the plot for this new pound of pixelated puppy pleasure.

Bolt, directed by the dual team of Byron Howard and Chris Williams, tells the story of the title pooch who lives in a world where he actually believes that he is a super-powered dog with a constantly endangered master named Penny (Miley Cyrus), a girl whose father is kidnapped by the deliciously evil Dr. Calico (love those evil kitty references, especially when they’re voiced by Malcolm McDowell).

In true Disney style, all of the animals can talk when they’re not around humans, so Bolt ( voiced by John Travolta) is able to share verbal jabs with his feline nemeses (who are in on the act — they love to taunt their co-star, even though it’s all a TV show).

Penny longs to share her real world with Bolt, but her agent (Diedrich Bader) won’t have any of it. He insists that Bolt lives in his imaginary world where he really has those wicked cool superpowers. No one, it seems, is willing to risk their hit show on the chance that Bolt will figure out that he is really just a regular ol’ dog.

When Penny is “kidnapped” on the show, leaving Bolt barking in frustration, the story begins a by-the-numbers, but effective journey where Bolt must discover not only the world around him, but the reality of his “powers” as well. He manages to have himself shipped to the corner of Broadway and 42nd street in New York City, which is a world as foreign as it is staggering to the naive star.

Along the way, he meets a few pigeons (a few of the brightest points of the film), who then lead him to their own nemesis, a lanky kitty terror named Mittens (Susie Essman). Bolt, convinced that she is in the evil gang run by Dr. Calico, strong-arms her into a U-Haul truck to begin the long trek across the states. Eventually, they’re joined by a big-mouthed, and even bigger-bellied hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton).

Bolt’s journey is not only to find his master, but also to find that he doesn’t really need superpowers to be a hero, culminating in a fiery climax where the danger is as real as his love for his favorite human.

While the story itself is a little simplistic and formulaic, Williams and co-writer Dan Fogelman have crafted a film that does reaches its target audience without talking down to them, and manages to keep adults entertained at the same time. Yes, it’s a good film, and even borders on “great,” just not quite.

One of the film’s strengths is that the 3D projection is stellar, and doesn’t treat the 3D as a gimmick, but allows it to enhance the storytelling. It’s one of the few times in recent years where the story does not rely on the 3D. If you have a chance to see the film in 3D, then don’t miss the opportunity.

Bolt does answer one telling question, though: What happens when Disney makes a film without Pixar? Well, here it is. Like Meet the Robinsons (2007), Bolt falls short of even Pixar’s worst films (but for the life of me, I can’t think of any of their movies that could be called average, let alone bad. It’s a little like saying that a round diamond is less glamorous than a faceted one). Suffice to say that it’s certainly no Pixar film, and lacks that magic touch that’s so often seen in films like Toy Story, Ratatouille, Wall-E and Monsters, Inc.

Suffice to say that Bolt is much better than Madagascar 2, and certainly provides a great time at the movies. Kids everywhere will enjoy it, and will rightfully find its place on DVD shelves all across the country in a few months. Until then, it’ll be a perfect excuse to make another trip to the megaplex this holiday season.

About David W. Shelton

Sections

Topics

© 2009 Clarksville, TN Online is owned and operated by residents of Clarksville Tennessee.
» We are Hosted by Compu-Net Enterprises; In Partnership with Discover Clarksville and Discover Paris