Oddly - Gripping

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2009)

Lovely film. I'm odd as I'm 18 years old and still cry at movies like this. It's a touching piece of cinema. Bolt has tons of character, as does Mittins the cat. I actually hadn't heard of this film at all but gave it a shot anyway. And I'm glad I did.
The story itself is brilliant, and brilliantly told too. Bolt - who thinks he has superpowers is lost and sent to New York, he finds out his superpowers were fake (all part of a TV show) and does a road trip back to Hollywood. I wasn't expecting the story to be so good.
In terms of art style I wouldn't rank it too highly as it seems every animated film is capable of this type of stuff, but the points where the characters aren't talking still shine. Bolt is a hyperactive dog, and this is a hyperactive movie. It works well.
The voice acting is superb. Unlike Madagascar, the voices fit with their characters, John Travolta does a superb job of Bolt and Susie Essman does a great job with mittens. They're subtle performances and don't stand out too much like they do in other animated films (aka Madagascar, where none of the voice actors are particularly good).
There are a few points in this movie that are really funny. Namely the bits with Rhino and the Pidgeons. Again... All superb voices. The bits that are funny surpass the competition. Ice Age (2 and 3), for example, are no where near as funny or touching as this movie.
The ending (no spoilers) is lovely. Well worth watching. Again and again. I'm off to find a BluRay copy!