Just in time for the school holidays comes the Disney 3D animated adventure Bolt. To be released on January 1, Bolt tells the story of a super-dog, a canine star of a hit TV show.
Voiced by John Travolta, Bolt is one tough little pooch, truly believing that the special effects on the show are proof of his amazing powers. Like a doggy version of The Truman Show, Bolt lives his entire life on set, committed to protecting his owner and TV co-star Penny, voiced by Miley Cyrus.
When he is accidentally shipped off the soundstage when looking for Penny, Bolt ends up in New York City. And here begins his biggest adventure yet – a good ol’ fashioned road trip. Along the way he teams up with a sardonic cat named Mittens (voiced by Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Susie Essman), and a chubby TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino.
Of course no road movie is complete without an accompanying inner journey for the lead character. Bolt has to learn that he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero.
This is a surprisingly entertaining film which I’m sure would be even better in 3D (not available in the session we saw). A chorus of wise-cracking birds provide witty banter for the grown-ups while kids will enjoy the hijinks of the animal trio trying to find their way back to LA. Rhino (voiced by Mark Walton) is particularly entertaining and gets all the best lines. The relationship between Bolt and Mittens is endearing, and there is a lovely scene where the wise ol’ kitty teaches Bolt how to act like a real puppy – showing him the delights of hanging out of a car window with his tongue flapping in the breeze.
A warning for parents of younger children – the opening scenes of Bolt’s TV adventures are quite loud and scary for the under 8s. Perhaps the director had a Michael Bay fetish as the scores of fiery helicopter crashes seemed slightly out of place in a family flick.
The film does manage to redeem itself with an emotional finish featuring the climactic reunion of Bolt and Penny.
Bolt has been nominated for two Golden Globe awards, for best animated feature and best song for the country-tinged Miley Cyrus tune “I thought I Lost You”.
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