Bolt, fast as lightning and out twice as quick
Bolt is an interesting concept. When a dog stars in a high-octane television show, which gets super ratings, he is bound to engulf himself into character. How much engulfing? Well, the producers, his owner and agent have convinced this dog that the show itself is actually reality, thus he never breaks character. When he finds himself accidentally shipped off to New York City, his journey between reality and actual reality begin to fuzz just a bit. Bolt must make his way back to California in hopes of saving his owner Penny (also his real-life owner) from impending doom (the last time he saw Penny was when she was getting kidnapped in the set).
The movie has one of the best opening scenes that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. I would even compare the action to the beginning of Casino Royale when Bond is chasing the terrorist. Unlike Casino Royale, Bolt quickly loses its steam after that. What Walt Disney Studios does to make up for that loss is try to fill it with humor and playing off the idea that the dog thinks the show is real. It’s an awkward transition and at times you don’t see Bolt as the hero because of this. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of funny moments in the movie that keep your brain occupied from realizing the main character is a lame duck, but if you look hard enough you can see that story is extremely shallow. Is this harsh? Well, some might think that, but even Meet the Robinsons had an emotional payoff with not so much of an emotional dip in the story. Even the hamster in the ball cannot make up for the lack of drive from our main character in Bolt.
So are there good things about the film? The animation is spot on with Dreamworks and Pixar. Walt Disney Studios seems to be doing a better job with each movie it releases. I think Bolt is creeping towards a new bar for them and rightfully so. For every animated film a studio produces it should always look better than the first. I know that each animated film has its own style to it, but it certainly should concentrate on details (like fur on the dog and its reaction to the environment or movement). There should always be room for improvement in this genre of films, and Walt Disney Studios doesn’t disappoint.
Having a very shiny HD coat
I always imagined animation hitting a wall when it came to HD, but Bolt certainly doesn’t disappoint. Much like recently released animated films on Blu-ray, the colors are so rich and the lighting (while clearly artificial) looks remarkable in this type of environment. I’ve been more than impressed with the HD version of this film versus the DVD. Even more impressive is the sound, which arrives in 5.1 HD quality. It sounds beautiful, especially the first 10 minutes of the film (during the chase scene).
As for features, here’s what to expect:
– Super Rhino (short)
– In Session with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus
– Music Video
– A New Breed of Directors: A Filmmaker’s Journey
– Deleted Scenes
– Act, Speak! The Voices of Bolt
– Creating the World of Bolt
– Bolt’s Be-Awesome Mission Game
– Bolt Art Gallery
This is half geared towards kid and it’s half geared towards adults, which makes it great all around. You get some good insight and behind the scenes footage in the features. It’s always a joy to see Travolta doing voices and readily loving every minute of it. The game itself is good, but again it’s more kids than adults. All-around, I would say these are some solid features that really outshine the feature film to an extent.