During Bolt's first frantic action sequence, we see the cute widdle doggie outrun a squadron of motorcycle-dropping helicopters while towing his human owner on a scooter at almost 200 kilometres per hour over a busy highway. Finally, the heroic pup unleashes a sonic super-bark that flattens an entire army of electrified-claw goons.
If you are a kid, you are thinking “Man, why isn't every movie like this?” Some of the adults are thinking this as well.
Then, the director yells “Cut!” and the fake debris is gently carried away by a film crew, while the “bad guys” get up and dust themselves off, congratulating one another on a good day's filming. We are on the set of Bolt, a popular TV show about the adventures of the eponymous superpowered mutt (voiced by John Travolta) and his loving owner, Penny (Miley Cyrus). The actors all relax, except for little Bolt, who is still a barking, wagging little bundle of energy, determined to protect his human owner from diabolical super-villains. Bolt, you see, doesn't know that he's in a TV show. As far as Bolt's concerned, the only thing keeping Penny out of the clutches of the evil Dr. Calico is Bolt's courage, super-strength and laser eyeballs.
After wrapping up an episode with a cliffhanger ending, Penny leaves the set, and Bolt is convinced that she's been kidnapped. Escaping into the “real world” for the first time, Bolt starts a frenzied cross-country search for his friend, and wonders why his superpowers don't seem to work anymore. Along the way, he enlists a deceitful alley cat and an overconfident hamster to aid in his search.
The first half of Bolt is everything a kids-movie audience could ask for. It's action-packed, funny and filled with adorable animals, clever lines and likable characters. Once Bolt finally clues in to what's actually happening, the story loses momentum, and we realize that the whole delusional superhero storyline was done more skillfully in Toy Story (1995). Still, by then the movie has built up enough good will to satisfy both children and adults through to the end credits.
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