Go ahead and watch the opening 2 minutes of Bolt.
Really cute, right?
Bolt was released in 2008 and features the voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus. I was dreading watching this movie. I had confused it with the similarly titled animated film Balto from 1995. I’m glad I watched it, though. When it was over, I couldn’t believe I had never heard about it. It was released the
same year as Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda, so that probably had something to do with it. Bolt isn’t just a really really ridiculously cute movie, though. There is an interesting plot, well-developed characters and themes about friendship and love.
So what is Bolt about? Bolt is like the dog version of Truman from The Truman Show. Bolt is the star of a popular TV series where he plays a dog with superpowers. He has no idea that his life is scripted, and when he finds out, he has to reevaluate his life and wonders where his owner, Penny, fits in.
Bolt even manages to make a mangy alley cat named Mittens into an endearing and surprising character.
Here is another great scene where Mittens the cat teaches Bolt how to beg for food.
If you have never seen Bolt, I recommend it as a film for both kids and adults to enjoy.
It's an amazing movie, but sadly, extremely underrated. Bolt recieved precious little buzz and I blame poor marketing, because a smart, good and well-reviewed movie like this should not perform poorly in box office, but it did.
ReplyDeleteStill, it seems like the film has reached almost cult-status within some communities, and as a major dog-lover myself, it's on my list of animated films I'll probably force to watch my kids at some point.