Bolt: Movie Review

Bolt: Movie Review

Voices: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell.
Director:Bryon Howard, Chris Williams
Rating:6/10 (8/10 if you watch it in 3D)
Disney's latest offering to the world of animation is the solid, if unspectacular, Bolt.
John Travolta lends his voice as the eponymous hero Bolt who is the star in an all-action children's TV programme, regularly saving his owner Penny (Cyrus) from the evil clutches of Dr Calico (McDowell).
He uses super-dog powers to protect Penny; the only problem is he believes that he actually IS a super-dog and not just an actor in a show. The producers and other actors, including Penny, conspire to make Bolt believe he can perform all the heroics.
The problems start when Bolt escapes from his studio and winds up thousands of miles from Hollywood.
There he takes a cat for hostage (as cats are in league with Dr Calico and, of course, are mortal enemies of dogs) and attempts to find Penny and his home.
This is a fairly standard Disney fare featuring a hero who isn't really one, who realises after a while he is just like everyone else, has doubts about himself and his place in the world but ends up saving the day and becoming the hero in a true sense of the word...original this isn't.
The film opens with a brilliant piece of action animation as we are transported into the "fake" world of Bolt but sadly the brakes are applied too quickly to the story line after that as Bolt goes on his voyage of self discovery. This is very much a movie for the kids and some adults may be stifling yawns in parts.
Things pick up significantly by the introduction of Rhino the hamster (Walton) who is Bolt's number one fan. He believes that Bolt is the real thing and as such is in awe of him. Rhino also gets the best lines in the movie.

Overall it's a good movie but I would highly recommend watching it on 3D if possible. The technology used is very impressive and should keep even the most impatient child happy.