Aw, puppies and kitties and hamsters in a ball. But are they cuter than a robot? I'm writing this review having seen WALL-E and Bolt back to back, so I couldn't help but compare the two. Beautiful animation, adorable for the kiddies, and certainly a fun ride, but does it measure up? I'm never a big fan of animal films and I admit it's because, though I am by no means a crier, pets losing their friends or getting lost gets me all choked up. Frankly, it's embarrassing. But if you can make me sniffle, you've won me over. Bolt...sniff...does.
It opens with one of the cutest animated puppies I've ever seen. He's romping, playing with his squeaky carrot and chasing his tail. A little girl named Penny (Miley Cyrus) chooses him, names him Bolt (John Travolta) and tells him that he's her good boy, smooching him on the nose. And then we abruptly cut to an action scene. Penny's dad has been kidnapped, but, wait! He's genetically enhanced Bolt, who now has superpowers. He's got laser beam eyes, lightning fast speed and the dreaded super bark, which can blow down tanks and helicopters. He and Penny run away from bad guys in what can only be described as a doggie parkour. And when they get back to the trailer? Bolt is an actor, and it's all a show...and Bolt has no idea. Penny, the actress, misses playing with her dog and begs her smarmy agent (Greg Germann, one of the funnier performances in the film) to let her take Bolt home for the weekend, to no avail. What we find out is that if the dog ever realized that he wasn't really protecting Penny, he'd stop acting, or the world would end, or something that is never quite explained. When the studio execs decide that the show needs more drama, and Penny is kidnapped right before they yell, "cut", Bolt breaks out and begins an adventure across the country to save his person.
Along the way, he meets a few helpful pigeons (so obviously ripped off from the Goodfeathers segment on Animaniacs that I'm wondering if there will be a lawsuit) and the Mafia cat who reigns over them named Mittens. (Susie Essmen...again, uncannily similar to the Bernadette Peters-voiced cat Rita in Animaniacs...I had to double check the credits) Believing all cats are in with the brute who kidnapped his friend Penny, he ties his leash to her and dangles her over a bridge until she agrees to help.
It's a very cute premise and though the Mafia animals and bitter alley cat have been done to death, there are quite a few bright spots here. Rhino the hamster, (Mark Walton, surprisingly a relative newcomer to voice acting) whom Bolt and Mittens meet while begging for food at a camp ground, is obsessed with Bolt's show and is the best take on a "fanboy" I've seen in a long time. This seemingly (and I know this is just wrong to say in a review of a children's film) coked-out rodent in his plastic ball is capable of dragging ladders, balancing on a moving train and, while part of a rescue at an animal shelter, sacrificing himself to distract the dogs. Watching him roll into the dog room and hearing them all perk up with, "Ball? Ball...ball, ball ball?" was...well, it was exactly what happened to me at the dog park today.
I certainly laughed and watching it a second time was just as funny. I honestly believe it was the casting that kept me from falling completely in love with Bolt the way I did with WALL-E. The animation was incredible, the story was well done. I just do not buy Travolta as cute and cuddly. Funny, sure. Excellent dancer? Absolutely. He's just not a puppy. Cyrus, though she wasn't awful by any means, is a bit overdone and in certain scenes, I could practically see her phoning it in. Voice work is not for everyone. Still, she's young and she seems to be taking over the universe of anyone under 13...at least until Twilight comes out, so I'm not writing her off yet.
And then there's the 3D. I should mention here that I saw the film in 3D a month or so ago but this particular screening was in 2D. I know it's the wave of the future and all. I know the next hundred years or so of animated films will probably have me sporting hideous glasses. And really, what I saw of it was incredibly cool. It's impressive how far 3D has come. I still remember sitting in my den with my paper glasses from Pizza Hut and watching old horror movies that relied on the occasional poke at the audience with a stick. This is far, far better. But I had a terrible headache afterwards. I wish I could say otherwise. It may have been the glasses though, so I'm willing to give it another shot. I just don't know that it added anything beyond the "wow" factor. The animation was really well done and there were moments while looking at Mitten's head (particularly in the scene where Bolt is dangling her off a bridge) where I felt I could have pet her and had it feel no different than petting my own cat. People we still have to work on, but animals? Very, very impressed.
Sure, it didn't make me go running for my huggables like WALL-E, but the end is very sweet and I did come home, kiss my dog and tell him that he's my good boy. Sniff.
Release Date: November 21st, 2008 (3D limited)
Director: Chris Williams, Dan Fogelman
Cast: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Greg Germann, James Lipton
Direction: B
Writing: B
Performance: C
Visual Appeal: A-
Overall: B
