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Ever since Pixar
took the reins as the Grand Masters of all
things computer animated, there has been
a glut of animated films coming out. Some
are great, some are good… some are
not so good. Disney’s House of Mouse
hits us again this month with a new Blu-ray
release of “Bolt.” Oddly enough,
“Bolt” is not a Pixar/Disney
film. But so much of it seems like one.
Though it is not officially a Pixar film,
you can tell that John Lasseter (who is
also the head of Disney Animation) had a
hand in it.
“Bolt” is the canine star of
a popular super hero TV show, and as such
believes all the hype that comes with the
territory. So much so, that he actually
thinks he can do all of the things he does
in his show. He loves ‘his person’
Penny (Miley Cyrus) and the cushy life he
has earned. But then everything comes crashing
down when he finds himself lost in New York
City.
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Alone and confused all he wants to do is get
back to Penny and the life he knows. He meets
up with Mittens, and alley cat (Susie Essman)
and Rhino, a hamster in a hamster ball (Mark Walton)
and together they try to get Bolt back home.
I’m pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed
“Bolt,” much more than I expected
to. I’m not a huge Miley Cyrus fan (though
my little girl is…), but she actually did
a fairly good job of voice work as Penny. John
Travolta steps into the paws of Bolt and does
a wonderful job giving us a character that is
sure that his loss of super powers is only temporary,
while providing just the right amount of sadness
as the realization that he never really had powers
sinks in. It is a wonderful vocal performance.
But, as is the case with most animated films,
it is the ‘funny sidekick’ who steals
the show. As Rhino, Mark Walton delivers a terrifically
spastic performance as the hamster that hero worships
Bolt.
Once again, Disney is packaging their kid’s
Blu-rays in way that should appease most parents.
They are continuing with the ‘combo’
package, which gives consumers a Blu-ray copy
for the living room (for that perfect picture
and sound) as well as a DVD copy for the kid’s
rooms (since they usually don’t have Blu-ray
players… yet). Then for you people on-the-go,
you can download a copy of the movie to watch
on your Ipod. It’s a great 3-fer that I
hope they continue with until Blu-ray totally
takes over.
This set comes at you with a ton of special features.
Disney is rarely known to skimp here, and “Bolt”
is no different. Rhino is featured in his own
animated short, which was a great idea. Don’t
miss this. “A New Breed of Directors”
introduces us to Chris Williams and Byron Howard
who talk about their first directorial effort.
It is fairly short, but substantial. They follow
up with a feature on why they opted to use painted
backgrounds in the movie instead of it being all
computer animated. You will also find two deleted
scenes in storyboard format.
“Act, Speak! The Voices of Bolt”
was my favorite feature. I love seeing behind
the scenes footage of actors performing their
roles in an animated movie. A lot of times this
is not added, but Disney did put it here. Running
a little under 1o minutes, it gives viewers a
chance to see Travolta, Cyrus, Essman, Walton
and interviewer James Lipton (who is parodied
in the movie) in action. There is a music video
for the song “I Thought I Lost You”,
which features a duet between Travolta and Cyrus,
as well as a minute long feature where they discuss
recording the song. If you opt to get either the
Blu-ray release of the Combo Pack, you’ll
also get a “Bolt” arcade game and
an art gallery.
I was very surprised by “Bolt.” Generally
I’m a Pixar kind of guy, where everything
else pales in comparison. But this movie had heart
and soul, a great blend of painted and computer
animation and offered a very entertaining hour
and a half.
Directed by: Chris Williams, Bryon Howard
Starring (the voices of): John Travolta, Miley
Cyrus, Mark Walton, Malcom MacDowell, Susie Essman
Extras: Super Rhino Short, In Session with John
Travolta and Miley Cyrus, Music Video, A New Breed
of Directors, Deleted Scenes, The Voices of Bolt,
Creating the World of Bolt, Bolt’s Be-awesome
Mission Game, Bolt Art Gallery, Digital Copy
Specifications: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 (1.78:1), English
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit),
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Studio: Disney
Release Date: 3/22/2009
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
http://www.disneybluray.com
We'll give Bolt a B.
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