Bolt

Plot synopsis:
In the prologue, a puppy named Bolt (John Travolta) is adopted by a seven-year-old girl named Penny (Miley Cyrus).
Five years later, they star on a hit adventurous television series called Bolt in which the titular character has various superpowers and must constantly thwart the evil plans of the nefarious Doctor Calico (Malcolm McDowell). To gain a more realistic performance, the TV show's producers have deceived Bolt his entire life, arranging the filming in such a way that Bolt believes the television show is real and that he really has superpowers, including a powerful sonic scream-like "superbark". Mistakenly believing Penny has been kidnapped by the villain, Bolt escapes from his on-set trailer in Hollywood but knocks himself unconscious trying to break through a window and falls into a box of foam peanuts and unknown to the film company is accidentally shipped to New York City. In New York, Bolt eventually comes round, and starts to notice that his "superpowers" aren't working, and rationalizes this is the effect that styrofoam has on his body. He then meets Mittens (Susie Essman), a female alley cat who bullies pigeons out of their food. Bolt (believing she's one of Calico's minions) forces Mittens to help him get back to Penny, and after Bolt ends up knocking Mittens unconscious into a letter box, the two start their epic journey westward on a truck. In Hollywood, Penny is deeply saddened over Bolt's disappearance but is convinced by the studio to continue filming with a Bolt lookalike.
Surprised at his first feelings of hunger, Bolt is shown by Mittens how to act like a cute, but needy dog, and is rewarded by food for the both of them at a nearby RV park in Elmwood Place, Ohio. Here, they meet Rhino (Mark Walton), a fearless, TV-obsessed hamster and Bolt fan who joins their team. Rhino’s unwavering faith in Bolt substantiates the dog’s illusions about his superpowers, but Mittens, who has learned that Bolt is from a television show, tries to convince Bolt that his superpowers aren't real. Bolt refuses to listen to Mittens, and instead becomes frustrated and attempts to "superbark" her repeatedly. The noise attracts Animal Control, who captures them both and transports them to an animal shelter. After being freed en route by Rhino, Bolt finally realizes that he is just a normal dog, but regains his confidence after Rhino (oblivious to this revelation) gives him a pep talk. They rescue Mittens from the shelter and escape, allowing them to continue their journey. Along the way, Mittens helps Bolt through his identity crisis by teaching him typical dog activities (such as hanging his head out car windows and chasing sticks), but Mittens refuses to go farther than Las Vegas. She tells Bolt that his Hollywood life is fake and there is no real love for him there. Her emotional rant reveals that she was once a house cat, but was abandoned by her previous owner and left to brave the harsh streets alone and declawed. Bolt refuses to believe that Penny doesn't love him, and continues on alone, wishing Mittens the best. Rhino, learning of Bolt's departure, convinces Mittens that they must help him, and the two set off to find Bolt once again.
Bolt reaches the studio and finds Penny embracing his lookalike. Unaware that Penny still misses him and that her affection for the lookalike is only a part of a rehearsal for the show, he leaves, brokenhearted. Mittens, on a gantry in the studio, sees what Bolt does not: Penny telling her mother how much she misses Bolt. Realizing that Penny truly does love Bolt, Mittens follows Bolt and explains. At the same time, the Bolt-lookalike panics during the show's filming and accidentally knocks over some flaming torches, setting the sound stage on fire with Penny trapped inside. Bolt arrives and reunites with Penny inside the burning studio, but are unable to escape before Penny begins to suffocate from the smoke. Bolt refuses to leave Penny, and with the strength he has left, Bolt uses his "superbark" through the building's air vent. Hearing the noise, the firefighters rescue them before they both succumb to smoke inhalation.
Penny and her mother subsequently quit when their overeager agent attempts to exploit the incident for publicity purposes. The show continues with a replacement "Bolt" and "Penny" – "Penny's" new appearance being explained in the show as being serious injuries necessitating her undergoing facial reconstruction surgery, and adopting a new storyline that involves alien abduction. Penny herself adopts Mittens and Rhino, and she and her family move to a rural home to enjoy a simpler, happy lifestyle with Bolt and her new pets. The epilogue scenes during the credits show Bolt, Penny, her mother, Mittens, and Rhino enjoying their new life together.

Tags: comedy, alternate reality, cute

Review:
Standing out in the crowd is not always the easiest thing to accomplish for an animated film, but above what you may expect, against WALL∙E's heart, and Kung Fu Panda's slapstick hilarity, Disney's Bolt jumps forward as simply the most fun.
Coupled with the expectedly bright crisp animation and stellar voice work, makes Bolt better yet, and a sure contender for best animated film at this years Oscars.
Bolt opens with a very entertaining action sequence in which Bolt (voiced to surprising effect by John Travolta) and his master Penny (Miley Cirus) are chased by well equipped super villains which plays out in the vein of The Incredibles.
Bolt is a wonderful movie with a good story and heart, something that Pixar has done well but Disney has struggled with.
With that said, I initially had some doubts about Bolt, despite hearing that it would be Disney Animation's first film supervised by Pixar founder John Lasseter.
That said, it still manages to feel like its own film, and with grace.With terrific animation, an incredibly heartwarming story, and some of the most endearing characters I've ever seen on film (animated or otherwise), Bolt has not only become my favorite Disney film (Pixar included), but perhaps my absolute favorite movie of all time.
It feels strange saying that, especially considering that I didn't even expect to like the film, but I simply can't think of a movie that I've loved more.
Bolt the "super" dog was full of funny and emotional characters the likes of which Disney has not produced in a while.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of animation and I loved recent films like WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda, but this one is without doubt the best animated film this year or the last.Bolt is a hilarious, funny, sometimes sad and incredibly enjoyable film.
The plot is clever, with several homages to earlier Disney films and will keep you engaged all the way through unlike in WALL-E or Kung Fu Panda, which are both brilliant (The latter more so) but have some scenes where you want to leave the cinema quickly and go buy more sweets until the good stuff comes back.WALL-E will beat this film in rating (Thought this one deserved to be better) for the simple reason that more people will pay attention to a film about a little lost robot, than a film about a dog who thinks he has superpowers.
The adorable characters and the action-packed sequences left your emotions going all over the place in this one of a kind animated adventure.The outline story is about a dog, but this dog is slightly different from the rest, he is a legend of the small screen as the star of his own TV show, Bolt; a super-dog that will do all it takes to protect his owner and best friend, Penny.
Along the way he 'captures' a cat (who he sees as a villain) called Mittens, and bumps into a rather hyper-active hamster (Rhino).The films has a mix of genres, and Rhino provides a lot of funny dialogue, which works really well.Another treat in this film is that you can see it in 3D, and it really makes it so much more realistic, I loved how the 3D made the action sequences so realistic.
But then it was a scene near the end that really did it for me, after all the action, the heart and determination of Bolt really did bring a tear to my eye, something I don't think any other animated film has ever done.
Bolt, I honestly don't know what to say about this film because honestly I feel bad about saying this, I love Disney so much, but this movie didn't do anything for me.
Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and the help of two unlikely traveling companions-a jaded, abandoned house cat named Mittens and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino -Bolt discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero.While I wasn't into this movie, I think it's a great family film, especially for the kids, it's a guaranteed fun time for them.
Bolt has the audience in the pad of his paw from beginning to end.A white American shepherd who plays a hit TV series' superdog hero, Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) leads a Truman Show life: he thinks his superpowers are real and believes that his sci-fi adventures with his person Penny (Miley Cyrus) are serious.
He gets into true-to-life troubles himself, encountering genuine characters along the way: a trio of pigeons, Mittens the alley cat (Susie Essman) and fan-hamster Rhino (Mark Walton).
personally i'am not a fan of animation movies but when i saw this movie i completely fell in love with this movie.the bolt character is so well innocently designed that u cant stop laughing at his innocence not only bolt but the rhyno and cat characters are also well placed,i assure u that this movie will definitely keep u into it till the end and it is one of the best animation movies i have ever seen.if u wana watch a movie worth it then i will definitely recommend you to watch this because it not only entertains the kids but also the elders so its a must watch go get it if u have still not watched it.
While it's far below the sophisticated narratives and well-drawn characters of Pixar classics such as "Toy Story," "The Incredibles" and this year's "Wall-E," "Bolt" nevertheless charms its way to the screen with its eager-to-please lead character and diverting visuals.Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is the canine star of a TV show where he plays a superdog whose lifelong mission is to protect his "person", Penny (Miley Cyrus), from the evil forces around them.
With the help of Mittens (Susie Essman), an alley cat who strangely knows more about dog ways than Bolt himself, and Bolt-fanatic hamster Rhino (Mark Walton), he goes on a long cross-country tripping to find his way back to Penny.Byron Howard and Chris Williams direct a calculated script by Williams and Dan Fogelman where nothing is terribly special, especially if you're not a dog-loving tween girl (I do love dogs, though), though it has enough sensitivity (that's Lasseter working) up its sleeve for some unashamedly touching moments.
Secondly Miley Cyrus proved to be an annoying choice for voicing one of the main characters, not only is she an ear-sore, but she struggles to express different emotions vocally, her voice feels fake and just detracts from the overall film.Luckily there's still plenty good in Bolt, it's definitely a great choice for a family friendly action comedy!.
What I liked most about this movie was that although the preview showed many laugh out loud moments, the movie had much more to offer, both comedic and touching.Also, the first thing I wanted to do when I got out of the theater was run home and give my dog a big hug.Definitely a must see--the kids will love it for the cuteness factor, the adults will love it for the wit AND the cuteness factor..
Bolt is Walt-Disney animation feature that tells the adventures of Bolt, a dog actor, and his quest to find his master after a series of events brings him to the other part of the USA.The story uses well-known traditional stories, a dog going back to his owner after traveling hundreds of miles, and the story of a character that believes the world that surrounds him is real and not built to make him believe so.
However, the ensemble is very good, and the dubbing helps tremendously to make the characters come to life.An lovely family film with great animation, entertaining plot, characters and soundtrack.
In fact, compared to previous Disney-produced CGI movies (other than those from the separate Pixar unit), BOLT is a significant improvement--both in story and in animation quality.
MEET THE ROBINSONS was a bit of an improvement, but with BOLT I could finally enjoy the movie along with my kids.Fun, well-animated and different.
at last he saves his person and a happy ending for all , I want to say that 7/10 for an animation movie is a very good mark so this is what i will rate Bolt with ...
Bolt is a great and funny film so , even if you are not a big fan to the animation world you won't regret it at all ..
The voice work is top notch, while John Travolta is suitably eloquent as the title character the real plaudits go to Susie Essman as the best character of the movie Mittens and Malcolm McDowell as Dr.Calico.In conclusion, a surprisingly enjoyable family movie and one of the better Disney efforts to come out so far in this millennium.
These are the avenues where 3D gets put to good use, but don't expect every aspect of the film to come flying toward you from the screen.Disney continues its fascination with the canines this year, having seen the likes of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, its collaboration with India in Roadside Romeo, and now, venturing into the 3D arena with Bolt the superdog.
Man's best friend probably never had so much cinematic exposure in the same year, and 2008 ends off with an American Shepherd being the star of the show.Like The Truman Show, Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is brought up as the unwitting star of a Hollywood television series, and is totally clueless to the world outside of its sound studio.
He gave Bolt a touch of Pixar that we all know and love but still separates it from other animated movies and giving it a distinct trait that we all knew and love in Disney classics like Snow White and Cinderella.
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 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.
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".
The problem is, this is the only world he's ever known, and when he accidentally gets shipped off in a crate cross-country, he thinks his powers are real and doesn't know how to function in the so-called "real world." He gets teamed up with a cat and hamster in his quest to reunite with his "person," Penny, and hilarious situations abound as he tries to enact his "superpowers." As you can imagine, towards the end, I won't reveal it, but he does wind up in a situation where he has to be the "hero." There are also situations I've seen in films like this.Overall, this was a funny and good movie with a great voice cast, including John Travolta as Bolt.
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.
Although not nearly as good as Wall-E, Bolt does deliver, it has energy, the story develops nicely and in the end, it's a very fun movie.It's pretty much like The Truman Show, except Truman accidentally got out, and THEN found out that the world in which he used to live in wasn't real.The vocal cast is very impressive.
Told repeatedly by a cat he picks up that humans do not really love animals, that a fine free life awaits him on his own, that Penny has replaced him by now and shorn of his powers, Bolt's relentless drive to return and save Penny from danger shines like a beacon on his cross-country voyage back to Hollywood and the girl he loves.Along the way, he picks up the hilarious Rhino the hamster, a big fan of his show.
In the end, Bolt is forced to deal with a very real danger without his powers and with only his hamster sidekick and his courage as allies.In sum, the movie offers great humor,excitement and a display of nobility of character you won't see often.
While it will not be a classic like Finding Nemo nor as good as one of my favorites, The Incredibles, it is a very enjoyable animation movie.Bolt has the right touches of heartwarming moments, action sequences, and funny scenes (some of Bolt's thunder were stolen by a hamster inside a ball named Rhino so watch out for them), and the concept was quite different in that the protagonist thinks he is an actual super dog.
So it was a pleasant surprise that there was something different to the plot, and that the funny moments were well placed.The movie may be less star studded compared to KFP or Madagascar 2; sometimes in the other movies, you can imagine the famous actor while he's delivering the funny line (say, Jack Black as Po or Chris Rock as the Zebra) so it's a little different with Bolt because neither John Travolta nor Miley Cyrus is as well known for their over-the-top comedic voicing, but I think that the casting was quite solid.The guy voicing Rhino was pretty good, especially considering the producers could have gone with one of those well known "big" comedy guys like James Belushi or Kevin James.
its funny has good characters, great animation for 2008 and has some heartfelt moments you know typical Disney stuff
I adore Rhino and if you do too, then you will love the animated short 'Rhino'.I think Miley Cyrus as Penny was a serious case of miscasting, but she isn't in most of the film so I can forgive and forget.If you're looking for a film to watch with the family, something to watch alone or to give to the little ones, then Bolt is a sure thing.
Disney is still trying to escape from the mediocrity which was on visually sumptuous but narratively very poor films like Atlantis : The Lost Empire,Treasure Planet and Brother Bear.After that failures,they thought 3D animation would save them,but craps like Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons left clear the most important thing is not the technique,but the story.Bolt is another false move from Disney and they back to prove they are miles away from getting the artistic quality of its "frenemy" Pixar.The main premise from this movie is moderately ingenious but the execution completely lacks of any energy and the action sequences and moments which should be funny or emotive,feel very forced.The voices also lack of any energy.The worst guilty of this is John Travolta,whose monotonous intonation totally lacks of dynamism.Sussie Essman results bland and Mark Walters tries to emulate the maniac intensity from Jack Black but he does not get it.I never try to analyze the logic of the screenplay and characters motivation on an animation movie too much,but that is not an excuse for an arbitrary screenplay which has action,humor and emotive moments as basic blocks from co-screenwriters Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams but which never feel natural.This movie does not feel like that because the screenplay uses clichés and arbitrary manipulations to get to an obligatory point...in other words,the story is not fluid.And this is something which I truly hated from this movie : the reason for which the dog Bolt believes to have powers is ridiculous and it results an insult for the spectator.It seems Fogelman and Williams do not have any respect for the spectators and that they thought : "It's a kids movie...they are not going to notice any absurd things".Bolt is another boring animation film.It's slightly better than Disney's previous efforts but that's not saying too much because the movie falls on the fatal mistake of being boring.And that's something impossible to excuse..
Quite reminiscent of films like Ice Age and Finding Nemo, parents wont mind seeing this, in fact they might chuckle as much as the little ones.Its about this dog (Bolt) that is made to believe he has super-powers in order to extract the best performance in a action-filled TV-show.
The opening sequence grabs you and Mittens and Rhino are reasonable kid's flick characters, but Bolt collapses under its own lack of logic.Put another way my 4 year old gets to watch a movie per week in 30-40 minute installments.
Bolt is another animated hit from Disney and features a dog, a cat, a hamster, and a sweet-hearted young actress.
Bolt is another animated hit from Disney and features a dog, a cat, a hamster, and a sweet-hearted young actress.
The little guy (whose voice is provided by John Travolta) is actually the star of a highly rated action show for kids, but the show's director is a believer of method acting, and wants the dog to think the things that happen to him on the show are real to get a more natural performance from him.
John Travolta pulls off the brave, big hearted Bolt with a passion that live action actors can't usually bring to an animated movie.
You knew his voice as soon as his character spoke.This is a great Disney film, but it is not as good as a lot of the other classics.
Bolt is a funny animation movie that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults that are kids at heart.