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Bolt
Bolt is a film that has been given a certain significance by movie critics. It is often heralded as the one that led the way to what many refer to as the 'Disney Revival' due to it being the first Walt Disney Studios animated film Pixar director John Lasseter worked on (he was executive producer on Bolt, later given creative control in 2009).
It's clear when watching the film that John Lasseter had a lot of involvement in production of the animated feature. The visuals represent more of a Pixar look than the Disney animation used in other 3D Disney animated movies. For example, compare this:
to this:
The latter looks much more visually pleasing; a lot more pleasant to look at. With Meet The Robinsons, everything resembles more of a Saturday morning cartoon whereas Bolt actually looks like a modern day animated feature. This is a massive improvement over modern day Disney animation and shows the beginning of an upwards spiral from Bolt to the visual aesthetics of Zootopia (which I haven't seen but the visuals in the trailer look stunning).
As for the story itself, Bolt has an interesting premise; it tells the story of a dog (John Travolta) who believes he is the character he plays in a TV show. When he is seperated from his owner Penny (Miley Cirus), he must find his way home with the help of number one fan Rhino (Mark Walton) and Mittens (Susie Essman). Unfortunately, the premise doesn't quite follow through and a lot of the film tends to drag. It's generally not very well-paced, especially when compared to the Walt Disney Classics. The most interesting sequence is at the beginning of the film when Bolt is in the middle of filming on his TV show leading up to his attempt to rescue Penny when he wrongly believes she has actually been kidnapped by the villain (hence his becoming lost and having to find his way home).
It doesn't help that some of it feels it has been done before, especially Bolt believing he is actually the super-dog Bolt from the TV show. We've already seen it with Buzz Lightyear; that was his exact character arc. We don't need to see it again. Similarly, how Bolt is mentored by Mittens on how to beg carries shades of Bambi where Thumper pretty much acted as Bambi's mentor. Thankfully Rhino offers plenty of humour to occasionally distract from the blatant similarities though and Bolt makes for one of Disney's most loveable protagonists.
That is partly helped by John Travolta's brilliant voice acting. John Travolta is a brilliant casting choice; he feels totally right for the role. As does Miley Cirus as Penny, who seemed like an odd choice at the time but soon won me over when I saw this film at the cinema in 2008. Mark Walton is by far my favourite as Rhino though; he provides a lot of the comedy relief and is brilliantly funny in the role. Susan Essman is alright as Mittens but not very memorable. As for the 3D, the 3D effects are not the greatest but they still add something to the film. You never feel like you're watching a 2D movie but the 3D never feels essential either. It's just there.
Overall, Bolt is a very average film with average 3D effects that suffers from including ideas that have been used before. It has some great voice acting though, as well as an interesting premise and amazing animation. Bolt is not an essential watch but it is an enjoyable film nonetheless.
Bolt is a film that has been given a certain significance by movie critics. It is often heralded as the one that led the way to what many refer to as the 'Disney Revival' due to it being the first Walt Disney Studios animated film Pixar director John Lasseter worked on (he was executive producer on Bolt, later given creative control in 2009).
It's clear when watching the film that John Lasseter had a lot of involvement in production of the animated feature. The visuals represent more of a Pixar look than the Disney animation used in other 3D Disney animated movies. For example, compare this:
to this:
The latter looks much more visually pleasing; a lot more pleasant to look at. With Meet The Robinsons, everything resembles more of a Saturday morning cartoon whereas Bolt actually looks like a modern day animated feature. This is a massive improvement over modern day Disney animation and shows the beginning of an upwards spiral from Bolt to the visual aesthetics of Zootopia (which I haven't seen but the visuals in the trailer look stunning).
As for the story itself, Bolt has an interesting premise; it tells the story of a dog (John Travolta) who believes he is the character he plays in a TV show. When he is seperated from his owner Penny (Miley Cirus), he must find his way home with the help of number one fan Rhino (Mark Walton) and Mittens (Susie Essman). Unfortunately, the premise doesn't quite follow through and a lot of the film tends to drag. It's generally not very well-paced, especially when compared to the Walt Disney Classics. The most interesting sequence is at the beginning of the film when Bolt is in the middle of filming on his TV show leading up to his attempt to rescue Penny when he wrongly believes she has actually been kidnapped by the villain (hence his becoming lost and having to find his way home).
It doesn't help that some of it feels it has been done before, especially Bolt believing he is actually the super-dog Bolt from the TV show. We've already seen it with Buzz Lightyear; that was his exact character arc. We don't need to see it again. Similarly, how Bolt is mentored by Mittens on how to beg carries shades of Bambi where Thumper pretty much acted as Bambi's mentor. Thankfully Rhino offers plenty of humour to occasionally distract from the blatant similarities though and Bolt makes for one of Disney's most loveable protagonists.
That is partly helped by John Travolta's brilliant voice acting. John Travolta is a brilliant casting choice; he feels totally right for the role. As does Miley Cirus as Penny, who seemed like an odd choice at the time but soon won me over when I saw this film at the cinema in 2008. Mark Walton is by far my favourite as Rhino though; he provides a lot of the comedy relief and is brilliantly funny in the role. Susan Essman is alright as Mittens but not very memorable. As for the 3D, the 3D effects are not the greatest but they still add something to the film. You never feel like you're watching a 2D movie but the 3D never feels essential either. It's just there.
Overall, Bolt is a very average film with average 3D effects that suffers from including ideas that have been used before. It has some great voice acting though, as well as an interesting premise and amazing animation. Bolt is not an essential watch but it is an enjoyable film nonetheless.