A Fantastic Animated Film that Will Appeal to Adults

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2015)

Last night I watched Disney's "Bolt" animated feature from 2008. I knew very little about the movie going into it, and I imagined that since I had heard less about "Bolt" than I had about some of the other animated features in recent years ("Brave"; "Big Hero 6"; etc.) that perhaps the movie would be a flop. I must say that I found myself pleasantly surprised with the film, and it made such a good impression on me that I've given it 9/10 stars.
The movie follows the story of a dog named "Bolt" who happens to be a television star in Hollywood. Bolt's adventure takes him across the country before working his way back to Hollywood where he's trying to reunite with his "person" (i.e. owner), Penny. Bolt is voiced by John Travolta and Penny is voiced by Miley Cyrus, both of whom do great jobs in this movie.
If I had any one word of criticism for "Bolt", it would be the way in which the film portrays the dog as a movie star and shows behind the scenes footage of his career. For example, you see producers and agents talking with the show's cast, and you see graphics people working at computers to edit the show for production. For me, there was a bit of an uncomfortable vibe there, inasmuch as the way that it's done takes away from the magic of the movie a bit. I felt bad for kids in the audience, many of whom might be seeing a movie for the first time, and who were seeing that movies and TV shows in general are all sort of fake. That in and of itself takes away from the film a bit, but then you throw in the fact that the way in which it was handled might be a bit hard for some younger children to really "get", and that raises questions as to whether or not the script for this movie was very well thought out.
But, no sooner than I say that, I have to admit that if you can get past the whole "behind the scenes" thing that is featured in the movie and just take it for what it is, the film itself is outstanding. This is why I say that the movie will appeal to adults just as much as it does older kids who won't have a problem comprehending the behind-the-scenes technique. Once you're able to forget about whether or not your four year old is going to understand what's happening on the screen and enjoy the movie just for yourself, you'll probably really enjoy this movie.
Last but not least, I'd just quickly remark about how amazing the CGI effects are in this film. That's nothing out of the ordinary for computer animation these days, with lots of other movies using similar techniques to offer up stunning computer generated visuals in feature films, i.e. "Shrek", "Monsters Inc.", "Toy Story" and the like. But as someone who has only seen a handful of those movies that are becoming more and more plentiful, "Bolt" reminded me of what a fantastic age we live in in which animation can be so incredibly sharp, detailed and defined.
All that said, if you're watching this movie as an adult or if your child is old enough to understand the somewhat awkward behind-the-scenes technique of the script of this film, then I imagine that you'll find yourself loving "Bolt". It's a neat film with great graphics and an engaging story that you may enjoy as much if not more so than your kids.