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Rhino (Mark Walton) and Mittens (Susie Essman)

What makes all these characters work is the incredible balance the animators have struck between carefully observed animal behaviour—the way Mittens licks her paws, the way the pigeons keep jerking their necks and shedding their feathers—and basic human emotions. The facial expressions are particularly striking in this regard; in one scene, Bolt, who has been deeply, suddenly saddened by something, sinks back into the shadows, and though he has the posture of a dog, his eyes transcend any distinction we might make between canine and human.

The film has a few problems, not least of which is the fact that you have to swallow some major plot holes before you can lose yourself in the story. The first time we see Bolt, he's just a pup who has been picked from the animal rescue shelter by Penny. Then the movie jumps ahead five years, into the middle of an episode from their TV show. How old is the show? At what point in Bolt's life did it begin? Surely such an action-packed show could not have started with a mere puppy—it would have needed a grown-up dog who was ready to defend his master against strangers and enemies alike—but then, what sort of life did Bolt have with Penny before the show began? And at what point did Penny become a child star, anyway? The movie suggests repeatedly that her mother (Grey DeLisle) might not be on quite the same page as the agents and producers who control Penny's career—but if she isn't the typical showbiz mom, then what is her daughter doing here in the first place?

The co-stars run for their lives

And while I wouldn't want to press this point too strongly, there is always a whiff of condescension around high-profile Hollywood movies that go on and on about the soul-crushing vacuous-ness of the entertainment industry—the heartless agents, the meaningless talk-show engagements, the press junkets, the merchandising, the strangers who desperately pitch their ideas to passing celebrities—and the virtues of a life lived far, far away from that environment. This is all the more ironic when one of the main characters is played by a heavily-merchandized child star (i.e. Cyrus) who was brought into the business by her own country-music star father.

But the children who are this film's main audience are probably as oblivious to those issues as Bolt is to the fact that he's starring in a TV show. And as entertainment, Bolt does deliver. It's funny, charming, and a feast for the eyes—especially if you see it in 3-D. It is also quite probably the best animated film made by Disney in years—and we can only hope it's a sign of even better things to come.

Talk About It

1. When have you believed something to be true but found out you were wrong? (Think, for example, of Santa Claus.) How did that affect you?
   
   
2. How does the TV show embolden characters like Rhino to be better people? How is Bolt himself emboldened to become more heroic? Is he a bigger hero at the beginning of the film, or at the end? Why?
   
   
3. Does something have to be "true" to inspire us? Why or why not? Are there different kinds of "truth"? (Factual, thematic, etc.)
   
   
4. What do each of the characters learn about themselves in this story?
   
   

The Family Corner

Bolt is rated PG for some mild action and peril. The TV show-within-the-movie includes superheroic, James Bondian stuff like exploding helicopters and cars flipping in the air, while the rest of the movie has less violent but similarly dangerous scenes of animals jumping off bridges and onto moving trains because they think they are superheroic. A brief reference is made to the fact that Bolt is bleeding after he jumps out of a moving vehicle at high speed, but the blood is never shown. Rhino, a huge fan of the TV show, talks pompously about beating up security guards and snapping one man's neck, but since he's only a hamster, he's harmless.

Photos © Copyright Walt Disney Studios

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