"Bolt" is an amusing family film loaded with hilarious characters that never wear out their welcome. This isn’t a groundbreaking feature like some of Pixar’s pictures, but it stacks up well against Disney’s other CG-animated efforts.
Bolt (2008, Blu-ray)
Directors: Byron Howard Chris Williams
Producers: Various
Writers: Dan Fogelman (screenplay) Chris Williams (screenplay)
Features: * Featurettes * Games * DVD Copy * Digital Copy * Music Video
Characters:
John Travolta ... Bolt (voice)
Miley Cyrus ... Penny (voice)
Susie Essman ... Mittens (voice)
Mark Walton ... Rhino (voice)
Malcolm McDowell ... Dr. Calico (voice)
James Lipton ... The Director (voice)
Greg Germann ... The Agent (voice)
Diedrich Bader ... Veteran Cat (voice)
Genre: Animation
Review:
Click on the image above to see a full-res 1900x1080 Blu-ray screengrab!
In a year riddled with dog-related pictures ("Marley and Me," "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Bolt"), something had to give. Sadly, of the three pictures, it was "Bolt." The film was successful, but it’s didn’t recoup its budget in U.S. dollars and had to rely on the overseas take instead. But now that the furry little adventure has come home, where hopefully it will gain a much stronger following -- it certainly deserves the recognition. It’s the best of the three films.
"Bolt" follows a small little dog named Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) who happens to think he’s a superhero of sorts, saving his "person," Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus) from peril on a weekly basis. As it turns out, he’s the star of a "Truman Show"-esqe action series. Everything is staged for Bolt’s benefit and when the cameras aren’t rolling, Bolt is penned up in a dressing room, mocked and ridiculed by the show’s other animals.
But, when the show’s director (James Lipton) insults a network executive, and the show’s future is threatened, the director decides to spice things up by having Bolt fail at capturing his "person." This causes Bolt to escape, searching for Penny. The only problem -- he still thinks he’s a super-dog. The shocking reality causes much distress for the little canine.
Thankfully, "Bolt" is not driven by pop-infused schmaltz like many non-Pixar animated pictures (only a few Miley Cyrus tracks peek into the film). Instead, "Bolt" is a character-driven adventure perfectly seasoned by colorful, and funny, supporting characters that steal away the show and make the mundane moments of the script feel poignant and heartfelt.
Bolt is paired with Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman who, for once, doesn’t use a certain four-letter word), a nasty black-and-white alley cat that we learn was abandoned by her owners. She’s grown angry and depressed and lashes out on other animals -- the colorfully dumb pigeons take the brunt of her anger. Thankfully her exploits aren’t as depressing as her backstory, particularly when Bolt suspects she’s "in one the kidnapping."
Also joining Bolt and Mittens is Rhino (Mark Walton), an over-stuffed, TV-obsessed, overweight hamster who lives inside a plastic bubble (how symbolic of the writers). Rhino steals the show with his goofball antics and silly dialogue. When he’s on-screen, the film’s somewhat lazy pace is mostly forgiven.
Unfortunately though, the film is bogged down slightly by one voice actor who doesn’t quite nab the tone of the film in a way that works to the picture’s advantage. Miley Cyrus is given a boring two-dimensional character that blindly pines for Bolt when he’s away. It certainly doesn’t help that Cyrus delivers her dialogue with virtually no inflection or emotion. During her scenes, you can almost see Cyrus sitting in a sound booth, headphones on, conveying the awkwardness of the experience in her quivered voice and uncomfortable demeanor. Perhaps a talented voice actress should have nabbed the role instead of a cheeky pop star. It’s not like she was needed to fill a certain demographic -- it’s a family film about animals. I think it’s a safe assumption that kids will come.
Beyond the minor flaws, this is an expert Disney production laced with comedy for all ages and a great story to compliment it. "Bolt" is a bit too violent, perhaps, for little ones, but young adults and adults alike will find something to love about this goofy animated adventure.
Film Report Card:
Entertainment Value: A
Film Value: B+
Final Grade:
A-
HD REVIEW:
Video:
"Bolt" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a dual-layered BD50 disc. There’s not really a whole lot I can say about this flawless direct-to-digital transfer. This, folks, is a reference disc. Everything looks as it should. Colors, shadows, details and textures are perfect. The encode itself is perfect--no digital blemishes to speak of.
There’s never a moment where this film feels flawed in its visual design. This is one master that will test your system’s visual dynamics, pushing them to their limits. All it requires you to do is sit back and enjoy this reference transfer’s many wonders.
Audio:
Audio choices are English 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 with Spanish subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. While the box listed this as a 5.1 mix, my system outputted it as 6.1. This is a wonderfully elaborate track powered by a dynamically designed three-dimensional surround experience.
Center dialogue is perfect though some of the voices sound echoey and hollow (I’m looking at you Miley Cyrus). Surround placement is perfect. Bass and low-end elements are robust and room-shaking. Discrete effects are evenly balanced and extraordinarily aggressive. This, like the transfer, is quite awesome, but in this case, just shy of reference.
Extras:
This is a fairly lightweight three-disc set with most of the special features crammed onto the first disc. Oddly, there’s no audio commentary, documentary or PiP track. Extras include:
Disc One:
• Super Rhino Short Film (4 minutes, HD) -- An amusing short featuring the film’s best character, Rhino. If you love the film, you’re sure to enjoy this short. It plays almost like a funny post-credit cookie.
• In Session with John Travolta & Miley Cyrus Featurette (1 minute, HD) -- A rather short look at recording sessions with Travolta and Cyrus. This is nothing more than EPK fodder.
• Music Video (2 minutes, HD) -- The music video featuring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus.
• Act! Speak! The Voices of Bolt Featurette (10 minutes, HD) -- Another fluffy EPK featurette about the voice cast. Worth a look, but not very in-depth.
• A New Breed of Directors: A Filmmakers' Journey Featurette (4 minutes, HD) -- A short look at the filmmaking process, but far too brief to really be considered insightful.
• Creating the World of Bolt (7 minutes, HD) -- A look at how animators brought Bolt’s cinematic world to life.
• Deleted Scenes (7 minutes, HD) -- A few deleted moments here don’t add up to much but are worth a look.
HD Content:
Disc One:
• Bolt's Be-Awesome Mission Game -- A fairly decent interactive game for the kiddies.
• Bolt Art Gallery (HD) -- An extensive photo gallery loaded with storyboards and early concepts.
• BD-Live -- There are four features that use BD-Live. The first, and best feature, is in an online trivia game. The remaining features allow you to check your Disney mail, Rewards points and chat with friends while watching the film. Frankly, I don’t find much use for these features since they’re all a little clunky.
Disc Two:
• DVD Copy -- As a nice added bonus, Disney has included a DVD copy of the film. This is a nice addition for families with mobile DVD players for the kids. Now they don’t have to buy two versions of the film -- one for home and one for travel.
Disc Three
• Digital Copy -- A portable media version of the film is also available on a separate DVD.
Packaging:
The film is presented in a blue "Elite" case with a shiny cardboard slipcover. It’s pretty consistent with Disney’s other new releases.
Final Thoughts:
"Bolt" is an amusing family film loaded with hilarious characters that never wear out their welcome. This isn’t a groundbreaking feature like some of Pixar’s pictures, but it stacks up well against Disney’s other CG-animated efforts. It’s a shame it wasn’t a huge box office success. Hopefully it finds new life on home video. The Blu-ray disc is certainly a great way to see the film with a nearly flawless A/V presentation, but extras are a bit too thin. Still, this disc comes highly recommended.
Blu-ray Report Card:
Video: A+
Audio: A
Extras: C+
HD Content: C
Packaging: A
Recommendation: Well worth owning.
On Blu-ray and DVD: March 17, 2009.
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