Publications
Partners
The animated characters of Bolt
What it's about:
Canine TV star Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) believes his fictional superpowers are real. When his sci-fi action series changes course and his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) is "kidnapped", Bolt is convinced he can use his powers to rescue her, and embarks on a cross country mission to find her.
What we thought of it:
Animated movies have evolved from moving drawings to wondrous works of genius employing fancy gadgets and effects that leave us gasping "How’d they do that?". The characters have also gone from cute, uncomplicated mice to fish with personality disorders. Such progress...
And then we have this sickly sweet dog, Bolt. It’s one giant leap backwards for animation-kind. Bolt goes from being a dog who thinks he has superpowers to a dog who knows he doesn’t. Where’s the character development? Okay, maybe kids like sweet dogs but I bet they think a fat panda with an inferiority complex and robots with hearts are WAY cooler.
Bolt meets two friends along his journey to find Penny - Mittens, an alley cat with an attitude problem and Rhino, a hamster who is Bolt’s biggest fan. These characters add some desperately needed comedy and dimension to the storyline. But that’s where the humour begins and ends. Clichéd montages of the furry friends playing in meadows and cuddling up together at night are a bit gag-inducing.
If you’re considering trekking far from home to see the 3D version, don’t waste the petrol. The 3D effects are just a lame attempt at elevating this one dimensional character out of an even flatter story. The only time you might find yourself whispering 'oooh' is during the TV show scenes where super-powered scooters and jet-packed villains look fantastical in 3D. But the irritating glasses aren’t worth it.
In Hollywood you have to keep up with the pack. But this movie is just a carcass of a script that they’ve tried to flog to life with 3D effects for the Christmas season. Bolt is about as electrifying as a penlight battery.
