BOLT (2008)

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"Families should “Bolt“ to the theater to watch this movie."

Going into this weekend, I knew there were two movies my daughters were going to "force" me to take them to. One was some vampire movie with some romance in it that everyone is talking about (wink wink)... the other was this one. I can officially say I was NOT disappointed.

Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is a dog that stars on a hit tv show where he saves his "person", Penny, (voiced by Miley Cyrus) from danger and the evil Dr. Calico on a daily basis. Unfortunately for Bolt, he is never let off the set and the star thinks all the danger and action is real. The young canine actually believes he has heat ray vision, super speed, and the ever famous "super bark". Through a series of events, however, Bolt is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City. This is where he begins his biggest adventure yet: a cross-country journey through the real world to get back to Penny. Reality eventually sets in as he realizes he doesn't have super powers, but then discovers he doesn't need them to be a "real" hero.

Bolt" is a story that works on both the level of entertaining the kids with jokes, and keeping the parents watching with a touching character-based story. I wasn't bored once. The movie's premise, however, may sound a little familiar. It seems that "Bolt" borrowed a bit from "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2".

A character who thinks he's something extraordinary when he's really not, may sound like a rehash of Buzz Lightyear's situation in"Toy Story". This may be true, but in "Toy Story," Buzz's ignorance was self-induced, while in this movie Bolt's ignorance is the fault of the studio, who keeps him this way for the sake of making a more convincing show. In "Toy Story 2" we also had a toy named Jesse, the Yodeling Cowgirl who felt her "owner" didn't want her and discarded her. In "Bolt", we are introduced to a cat named Mittens, who believes her "person" didn't want her either so she resorted to becoming an alley cat when she was abandoned. Similar premises, but let me tell you, the story is completely different and actually has some feel of originality. Don't ask me why... it just does. Now, even though the story revolves around Bolt, Penny, and Mittens, it's a fourth character that will make you laugh uncontrollably. Rhino, the little hyperactive TV-obsessed hamster who has no idea how small he is, steals the show. Almost everything that he does will make you laugh.

The first 30 minutes of the movie will absolutely excite both kids and adults as it showcases the lightning-fast action scenes that Bolt thinks are real, and the tender moments between Penny and Bolt. However, I think it does fizzle a bit in the middle. The scenes where Bolt actually learns he is not a super dog , then has to cope with it, were not really written well. It seemed he coped with it rather quickly from the moment of realization to the moment of acceptance. I think it was too fast. The film becomes great again toward the end when Bolt realizes he can still be a hero without his superpowers. A great rescue sequence and a powerful heartfelt scene at the end of the film will allow you to leave the theater very satisfied with the movie.

One thing I will recommend is that you see this movie in 3D if possible. The visuals are great and the story is that much better if you see the film with those crazy brainiac glasses. Although the visuals are not spectacular (as my daughters felt there were not enough objects propelling off the screen with the 3D), it really DOES allow you to enjoy the story better. The animation is good and the story is so well told that my daughter asked me for another dog for Christmas. Yikes. When a movie can inspire a child to request its contents for Christmas... not a copy of the movie, mind you, but an actual dog... you know it did its job. So "Bolt" to the theater to watch this movie. Its really a very good one.