Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageBolt (2008)
Director: Byron Howard, Chris Williams
Movie review
From Time Out London
Disney’s first 3D animation, made under new head John Lasseter, is a likeable, dynamic and seductively characterised family entertainment. Directed by newcomers Byron Howard and Chris Williams, it’s a romantic tale of the sentimental education of the titular dog, which is graphically inspired by the larger American shepherd and modestly voiced by John Travolta. In ‘Truman Show’ fashion, Bolt is the deluded super-hero star of a hit live-action children’s television show, replete with a snazzy lightning logo emblazoned on his flank. As Bolt is separated by accident from ‘his person’, the equally innocent child-star Penny (Miley Cyrus), and joined by an alley-cat (a sassy, touching Susie Essman) and couch-potato Hamster (a cherishable star-turn by animator Mark Walton), he learns to be ‘a real dog’.One of the pleasures of ‘Bolt’ is how, without taking itself too seriously, it combines adventure with ideas and how the thoughtful, sympathetic script has fun with the reality/fantasy divide in a way that makes perfect sense to small kids, while still providing engagement and amusement for older siblings and adults in tow. Visually, it’s clever and stimulating: there are some excellent eye-level 3D effects, a nice pastiche of ‘bullet-time’ (part of a running theme throughout the film ‘discussing’ the relationship of live-action to CGI) and – elatingly – a pair of beautiful ‘helicopter’ shots. Borrowing a practice from Pixar, the main feature is prefaced by a short film, one of car-dealer’s son Lasseter’s own CGI spin-offs from ‘Cars’, the lovely, Japanese-accented ‘Tokyo Mater’, which charmingly combines petrol-head nostalgia with ‘Speed Racer’-esque kineticism.
Author: Wally Hammond
Time Out London Issue 2007, 5 - 11 Feb, 2009
User reviews of this film
-
- olivia whos 12 now said...
- Posted on Apr 27 2009 19:48 sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fantastic i want to see it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- mazza said...
- Posted on Apr 11 2009 12:21 I thought the film was fab.By the way whats wrong with Miley.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- pp said...
- Posted on Mar 31 2009 07:50 i am going to see the on Sunday I HOPE IT ISN'T BORIN
- Report as inappropriate
-
- JIM said...
- Posted on Mar 30 2009 10:36 I have seen this 5 times so far. Bolt is so lovable epecially with his head tilted and ears down. Rhino the hamster is a hoot lol,epecially when he talks as all the human can hear in the film is him sqeekin lol. Then come the Pigeons they are so on the mark and really funny, so well done, the manerisms are spot on. It has a VERY FEEL GOOD feeling.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- The Truth said...
-
Posted on Mar 24 2009 13:28
Rich, do you think your youth club would approve of you rating films before seeing them? No, i didn't think so?
Perhaps you'd like to rate the back of my hand before you are struck with it?! - Report as inappropriate
-
- miley hater said...
- Posted on Mar 21 2009 21:59 absolute rubbish... bring back cinderella not this garbage
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Paula said...
- Posted on Mar 09 2009 17:28 I have seen this film not in 3D but is the 3D version any good?
- Report as inappropriate
-
- caitlin said...
- Posted on Mar 02 2009 16:55 wot r the 3D effects like?
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Cabury CoCo Bean said...
-
Posted on Mar 01 2009 10:50
I cried like a baby from start to finish even at the sad bits I was crying tears of joy!!!
So... if your a women that likes sensitive guys call me!
If your a woman the likes tuff guys then... GET STUFFED!!!
love you all! (yes, even the men!) - Report as inappropriate
-
- StuckMelon said...
-
Posted on Feb 28 2009 17:27
This film is pretty good. Not quite as captivating as toy story 1 or shrek 1. but up there in the top 5. The Hamster (part wolverine lol!) is genius. it's not just him though, there are so many catchphrases in there i don't know where to start. My kids and me say them all the time. agree with some other poster that the film can get a bit boring; the dog is not a strong enough lead character, and the cat can be irritating at times, but theres so much morre to the film that you can overlook these things.
I say watch it, if you're a kid at heart you'll love it. - Report as inappropriate
-
- sophie said...
- Posted on Feb 28 2009 15:37 it is good
- Report as inappropriate
-
- gill said...
- Posted on Feb 27 2009 23:03 thank goodness for the hamster otherwise it would have been sooo boring
- Report as inappropriate
-
- emily said...
- Posted on Feb 27 2009 16:31 i cant wait to go and seee the film with my boyfriend and im only 10!!!!!!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Rich said...
- Posted on Feb 25 2009 19:04 I'm probably going to see the film tomorrow but that depends if youth club is cancelled, If not i may see it Friday but don't know cos Fridays I like to hang out in town. Anyway, I'd definitely like to see the film at some point.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- clair said...
- Posted on Feb 23 2009 16:58 great film, the hamster is just a amazing the best character in the film and the humour is outstanding
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Byron Howard, Chris Williams
Rated: PG
Duration: 103 mins
UK Release: Feb 6 2009
US Release: Nov 21 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now