Lasseter goes to Disney

Rating: Null/10 (16 April 2010)

"The Truman Show" meets "Toy Story", "Bolt" is a fun animated film about a dog who, believing himself to be a superhero, goes on a quest to rescue his owner from exploitative Hollywood pencil pushers. It's a fast paced, fun little flick, more entertaining than Pixar's "Up", but lacking the sense of adventure and wonder that made "Toy Story" so memorable.
This project was started by Disney, but then taken over by Pixar chiefs who reworked the story to better fit the "Pixar Formula", which is really just Campbell's "Hero's Journey" (some hero leaves his protective environment and discovers a bigger world outside his familiar surroundings) with a Pixar twist. That twist is, the hero chooses to return to the smaller world after learning some message of personal growth or societal revolution. Here the message template is "Finding Nemo", the dog learning that he can survive out there in the real world (ocean) and be a hero without having to rely on movie special effects (daddy). It's corny moralising, probably even damaging, but it affects audiences on a primal level all the same.
7.9/10 – More fun than "Up", though I can't see this holding up with repeated viewings.