Running time: 103 minutes
Starring: (voices of) John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell
Rating 8 out of 10
If you're looking for an original, groundbreaking or edgy family animation, then Bolt (the latest film from Walt Disney Animation Studios) may not be for you. But if you're not adverse to one of those Hollywood rarities - a good story well told - then look no further; this feature will delight you and your kids alike.
The story premise is a kind of canine version of The Truman Show, whereby Bolt is the star of his own Hollywood action series - only he doesn't know it.
In the show, Bolt has superhero powers designed to protect his owner and co-star Penny (Miley Cyrus) from the forces of evil. In reality, he's a normal dog who's been tricked into believing this fantastical back-story to create more of a genuine screen presence (a kind of extreme method acting for dogs). Penny is hopelessly complicit in this dupe, manipulated into keeping her beloved pet in the dark by the studio and her obsequious agent alike.
When Bolt gets accidentally air-mailed to New York City, he has to try and make it back home to Penny with only a streetwise alley cat (Susie Essman) and his no.1 fan, an over-zealous TV addicted hamster for help. Needless to say his super-powered 'laser vision' and 'super-bark' are no help in the real world...
This is an entertaining romp; simple, skilled, big-hearted storytelling at its best with enough satire in there to keep parents amused - after all, this is a send-up of the Hollywood fiction machine made by a Hollywood fiction machine.
There's no doubt that the likes of Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo etc tower above this relatively small fish of Disney's (pardon the pun). But this back-to-basics, unpretentious film is a refreshing reminder that a story doesn't have to be great to be good.
Kate Coffey
The story premise is a kind of canine version of The Truman Show, whereby Bolt is the star of his own Hollywood action series - only he doesn't know it.
In the show, Bolt has superhero powers designed to protect his owner and co-star Penny (Miley Cyrus) from the forces of evil. In reality, he's a normal dog who's been tricked into believing this fantastical back-story to create more of a genuine screen presence (a kind of extreme method acting for dogs). Penny is hopelessly complicit in this dupe, manipulated into keeping her beloved pet in the dark by the studio and her obsequious agent alike.
When Bolt gets accidentally air-mailed to New York City, he has to try and make it back home to Penny with only a streetwise alley cat (Susie Essman) and his no.1 fan, an over-zealous TV addicted hamster for help. Needless to say his super-powered 'laser vision' and 'super-bark' are no help in the real world...
This is an entertaining romp; simple, skilled, big-hearted storytelling at its best with enough satire in there to keep parents amused - after all, this is a send-up of the Hollywood fiction machine made by a Hollywood fiction machine.
There's no doubt that the likes of Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo etc tower above this relatively small fish of Disney's (pardon the pun). But this back-to-basics, unpretentious film is a refreshing reminder that a story doesn't have to be great to be good.
Kate Coffey
