Bolted to a good rating.

Rating: 8/10 (28 August 2015)

After the very good Meet the Robinsons, I tried not to have too much high expectations for Bolt, as two good ones in a role for Disney animated movies in the 2000s were rare. However, after watching it, I was also pleasantly surprised! It's an interesting story about Bolt, an American white shepherd, who is the star of a fictional TV show, but has lived his whole life on the set and believes he really has superpowers. When separated from the studio by accident and believing his co-star, Penny, really got captured, he sets off on a journey to rescue her. Along the way, he meets Mittens the Cat and Rhino the Hamster and learns the truth about himself.
This movie started very heavily on the sci-fi stuff and seemed like a copycat of the motion picture, The Truman Show. In addition, some of the characters including the movie agent and the studio manager acted too superficial. However, what ultimately resulted was more than just typical Hollywood superfluous stuff and cliché action heroes; there were actual meaningful adventures and drama, from Bolt lost in the city when trying to find Penny to him learning the truth about himself and life in general. I've also found that the character Mittens was witty and humorous, especially when she appeared oblivious when Bolt actually thought she was partly responsible for Penny's disappearance. The growing friendship and teamwork that the animal characters eventually formed were also meaningful and gave the movie heart.
The CGI animation is colorful and detailed (I especially liked the various cities), and the direction is well-paced - it makes you eager to find out how everything will unfold at the end. Like Meet the Robinsons, it's one of the better Disney animated films from the 2000s.
Grade B