Film: A-
Lassie meets The Truman Show in Bolt, and offers us a taste of things to come from Disney Animation studios. Picked up from the pound, Bolt (John Travolta) was raised on the lot of Hollywood, never understanding what life is really like without some fabricated world around him. He stars in his own prime time television show as Bolt, the super-dog who has heat vision, a sonic bark, and leap hundreds of feet and battles the evil Dr. Calico (Malcolm McDowell) week after week. But wait, it’s all in his head, like the rest of Hollywood, fake and plastic; don’t tell Bolt that. His person, Penny (Miley Cyrus) is the other star of the TV show and has been with him since he was a pup but as a child actor, she can’t take him out of the illusion and treat him like he’s just a normal dog.

So when the two become accidentally separated, Bolt finds himself in a box shipped to New York City confused of the world around him. Determined to find his way back to Penny, he relies on his dog skills and super powers to track her down, but there are no special effects crew to make him as incredible as he thinks he is. He meets an alley cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) who is forced to help him and the film makes a major turn from being an action film, to a road adventure across middle America as Bolt realizes the reality of his lack of abilities and what it’s like to be a real dog in the real world.

The harsh and cruel world of the Hollywood machine is satirized throughout Bolt. The excess, the lack of warmth, and the lack of real connection between people in Los Angeles is not far from many people’s experiences. James Lipton (Inside the Actor’s Studio) plays the director of the show, whose grip on reality is questionable at best and Mark Walton, a storyboard artist was chosen to voice Rhino, is inspired as the chubby gerbil Bolt and Mittens meet when they make a stop in Ohio, and he steals every single scene he’s in. From the performances to the work of the animators, Bolt satisfies everything you want in a movie.

Since the merge with Pixar there’s been some speculation of what the films will be like now that the animation houses have combined for the long road. Bolt gives us a hybrid of those classic cogs of the Disney machine and all of the ground-breaking technical achievements of Pixar. The affect of Monsters Inc. continues to live on as the detail of the animal hair is frighteningly accurate, and how animators are able to move a dogs face so that it convey the emotion of a person creates that magic of an animated feature film. The most striking thing about Bolt though is the painted backgrounds. Still a trademark, this new division of Disney blended computer animation with the painterly scenery giving the overall look a life-like stamp other studios will surely try to one-up.

Yet despite all this gushing about the animators, the bottom line is will the kids like it? Most definitely. Will the parents like it who have to see/hear it, oh several dozen times? You bet. Sounds like the old Disney to me.

Video: A+
I’m a film purist when it comes to having that thin veil of grain on my blu-rays, but every time an animated feature comes along, especially as good as Bolt, I can’t wait to see it in high definition. Bolt does not disappoint. Colors explode on the screen with complete clarity and appear crisp like fresh lettuce. Gradient color is seamless and band-less and the only time things look out of focus or fuzzy is when animators purposely created that to mimic what a camera would do. The transfer is in 1080p and 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is a magnificent example of reference material.

Audio: A+
The first 10 minutes of the film is jam packed with action that will keep your entire home theater very active with zipping sounds, helicopters rumbling through your room, and big LFE to wake up your subwoofer with something fierce. After that it calms down with some occasional music and atmospheric noise before the next big action sequence. Everything culminates to a big action ending, but the sound stage of the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track accurately places you in the scene. Directional audio is exceptional whether the sound is traveling left to right or front to back. Dialogue is mixed at a fine level, balanced with the remaining big audio. Technically, this is one of the best titles to come out in recent months and I challenge anyone to find something wrong with the video or the audio.

Extras: B-
If you’re a film buff, then there might not be enough here to satisfy you, as far as lengthy documentaries or picture-in-picture commentaries which I’ve really enjoyed with some recent animated features of late, however, there’s still plenty to dive into and for creative viewers and aspiring animators will enjoy everything that is on the disc.

There are three discs in all, but everything is on the blu-ray. The second disc is the wonderful inclusion of the standard DVD of the movie, for taking in the car or plane, and the third disc is the Digital Copy Disc for portable media and computer viewing.

New Breed of Directors: A Filmakers’ Journey HD- (4:34) looks behind the new division of Disney Animation under Pixar’s John Lasseter. The new blood looks to take their own approach and although brief, they make a great advertisement for the animation market, because where else can you get paid to run around in a human hamster wheel and get paid for it.

Super Rhino HD (4:27) – Rhino gets his own feature film that unfortunately for him is on the short side.

Deleted Scenes HD (6:38) – Two scenes storyboarded out with audio reveal Bolt’s lack of superpowers much earlier in the script; with introductions by directors, Chris Williams and Byron Howard.

Act, Speak! The Voices of Bolt HD (9:48) – Actors and animators talk about working together and the challenges each side presents. I think it’s always fun to see who’s behind the acting and seeing them in action. If you’re the same, you’ll love watching who plays Rhino.

Creating the World of Bolt HD (6:45) – Probably one of the best extras on the disc, this reveals Bolt’s crew discussing the painterly look of the film mixed with 3-D animation; also capturing the look of middle Ohio, the vast and open desert of Las Vegas, and the diffused lighting of New York City.

Bolt’s Be Awesome Mission - A cool extra exclusive to blu-ray is this three level video game of simple but fun shoot-and-duck gameplay enabling you to get better acquainted with the other buttons on your blu-ray remote.

Art Galleries – Lots to explore on the animation side of things in Character Design, Color Script, Storyboard Art and Visual Development galleries. Nearly 250 in all, this collection of the creative process often says more than what any little interview can say. Take a good look at the Color Scripts especially.

“I thought I lost You” Music Video HD MPEG-2 (1:47) – A bright but thankfully brief music video performed by Travolta and Cyrus. I’m sure the young girls would love this.

In Session with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus HD (0:59) - Lasting about as long as a sneeze, this sidebar interview with the film’s star voice talent glances over their recording the above song together.

Sneak Peeks Monsters, Inc., Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Disney XD, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition, The Princess and the Frog and Bedtime Stories.

Overall Shock Value: A
Unique and familiar, Disney’s Bolt is a hybrid of Pixar animation and something completely different. It is just a blast to see Disney forge ahead and take the great assets that are available to them (Lasseter) but also begin to redefine themselves apart from Pixar while retaining an all-ages story that’s been the trademark of Disney for decades. It’s a technical masterpiece that has to be seen and heard in high definition. The extras will leave you wanting some more but that shouldn’t sway you from picking up the Bolt Blu-Ray/DVD Combo. Highly recommended!

Ernie Estrella