A reminder of Disney's late 2000s reset button

Rating: 7/10 (30 September 2017)

This film in my watchlist happened to be on Amazon Video on our brand new television set, so I decided to knock it out given its obscurity in the Disney animation canon. It isn't as appreciable as Meet The Robinsons from my experience, but then again, I did view this when I was feeling somewhat fatigued. While the story and writing are comprised of some things that aren't necessarily original, the animation is highly fluid (which surprised me, to be honest) and highly complements the assortment of action scenes, especially in the "movie within a movie" that is the Bolt series. Bolt himself is not just likable because of the cuteness factor exploited in the introduction; I appreciated his general steadfastness towards Penny, contributing to the movie's highly effective heart. Penny is especially relatable to the common child actress, who often develops bouts of negativity as their career continues, to the point that it affects their work. It was really painful (in a good, and I don't mean masochistic, way) to witness Bolt's recasting given the character and "character within a character"'s relationship with movie and MWAM Penny. The other characters are generally less essential, but do contribute more to this movie's message of cooperation and perseverance that prove especially important to audiences involved in cinema. As I said, it isn't as original in execution as it is in concept compared to Meet The Robinsons, but it still shows that Disney had come a long way from Chicken Little even before the dawn of the Neo-Renaissance. If you appreciate dogs, movies within movies, or Disney, then I expect that this movie will please you. It's fine for most others as well.