Special coverage | Disney's 'Bolt'

Bolt, the latest animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios, hits theatre screens across North America tomorrow.

Not being a Pixar production, the choice not to cover the film every step of the way was easy to make. Still, Bolt does boast strong connections to ‘Emeryville’. In his ex officio role as chief creative officer of WDAS, Pixar creative chief John Lasseter was exceptionally engaged in his role as executive producer of the film, guiding the production (including talented directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard) right from the start —a first since the Disney-Pixar merger.

Bolt marks the first time in nearly two years that WDAS has put out a picture. Having seen the film, Bolt more importantly appears to mark the beginning of the revitalization of Walt Disney Animation.

Story

Bolt (left) with Mittens and Rhino

The movie follows its star, a naïve canine actor who's been led at all costs to believe that he’s a "superdog", scientifically engineered to have amazing powers —the plot of his TV show.

After the filming of a cliffhanger episode (a first for the series) where Penny his human co-star and owner is abducted by the nasty character Dr. Calico, aka "the Green-eyed Man", Bolt escapes to "save" her and is accidentally shipped from the studio lot in Hollywood to New York City.

Once in New York, Bolt finds that he's "lost" all his powers. Thoroughly delusional, Bolt teams up (or, more precisely, holds hostage) Mittens, a sarcastic, abandoned, pigeon-victimizing cat who he believes is in cahoots with Calico due to her being a cat —Calico's big on cats.

On route to California, Bolt and Mittens encounter Rhino, an excitable, neurotic hamster who offers to be of assistance to Bolt in saving Penny, he too believing that what happens on the show is real.

Needless to say, adventure ensues...

History

'American Dog' concept art

As is widely known, Bolt’s origins lie in a project titled "American Dog". In the director’s seat was Chris Sanders, who helmed Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. After the merger with Pixar brought Lasseter to the lead oversight position he now occupies at WDAS, ‘Dog’ —Sanders’ project— came up for review.

After Sanders reportedly clashed with Lasseter, rejecting his suggestions and those of the Pixar "Brain Trust" members brought in to help improve the story, Lasseter relived him of his duties. Sanders thereafter defected to Disney/Pixar archrival DreamWorks Animation SKG stating that he believes that they are taking the art of animation to "new places".

Only the very basic core ideas of the original plot stayed; Bolt is essentially a completely different movie than ‘Dog’ would have been. To quote Pixar/WDAS president Ed Catmull: "The roughest concept was kept, but the look was different, the characters were different." In fact, the official Bolt press kit makes no mention of American Dog or Chris Sanders.

Cast

Several well-known names add their talent to Bolt's voice cast. First up is actor John Travolta who voices the lead role —a first for him.

"I had never done an animated feature [before] but when I got the call from [Walt Disney Studios chairman] Dick Cook and he told me that this character really suited my personality, I decided that it was a territory worth investigating," Travolta is quoted as saying in the press kit for the film.

Joining Travolta for the main roles are Disney sensation Miley Cyrus (voices Penny), actress Susie Essman (Mittens), Disney storyman/visual development artist Mark Walton (Rhino), actor Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Calico), and Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton (the director).

Production

Directors Chris Williams (left) and Byron Howard

Facts:

• The animation team was given only a year and a half to complete the movie, much less than the usual for a CG animated picture.

• One of the biggest animation challenges was Rhino, due to the problems presented by the translucency of his hamster ball. Says supervising animator Clay Kaytis: "Every shot required calculating which way the ball would move if he shifted his weight."

• The film's backgrounds feature an original, unique hand-painted look. This was acheived using new technology developed and patented by Disney.

Presentation

In addition to its traditional presentation in regular theatres, Bolt is also being screened in stereoscopic Disney Digital 3-D (Disney’s branding of Real D Cinema) in selected theatres equipped for 3-D digital projection.

Unlike Disney's previous movies released in digital 3-D —Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons— which were converted into the format by an outside company (ILM) using a post-production process, Bolt is Disney’s first feature to be made with 3-D specifically in mind, all 3-D effects being created in-house.

"As a result", says producer Clark Spencer, "we can actually influence the storytelling through the 3-D process in terms of what’s happening emotionally in the film. Rather than over-using the technique, we’re able to do something much more subtle and satisfying to the audience."

My Review

Let’s me start this way: I liked Bolt. It’s an enjoyable movie and it’s definitely better than anything from Walt Disney Animation in about the last decade. The story and characters are entertaining, the character design is very well done (very Pixaresque), and, to my surprise, the voice acting really fit. An hour and a half well spent. That said, I did have a couple of problems with the movie that I want to discuss here.

My main problem with Bolt is that the last animated picture I saw in the theatre was Pixar's WALL-E. WALL-E is one tough act to follow. Possibly because of this, at least in part, Bolt's storyline seemed too simple and un-complex, at least for my taste, and predictable at times. No philosophical overtones like in WALL-E or Toy Story.

Another issue is Bolt himself (the dog). Even though he’s supposed to be the main character, he doesn’t drive the story at all. After the really moving opening scene where he's adopted from the puppy shelter by Penny, nearly everything else in the movie overpowers his role. For instance, Rhino is the real (hilarious) star of the show, right from the moment he appears on screen —to great benefit.

In the end, though, my biggest issue with the movie isn't really about the movie. I tend to believe that WDAS should focus on traditional animation, rather than the 3D, computer generated variety pioneered by Pixar. Makes sense: Two feature animation studios at Disney; one focusing on the traditional form of the art, the other on computer animation. Bolt would certainly have been just as good if traditionally animated. And that would certainly help ease the confusion that now exists. (I’ve read in no less than half-a-dozen places Bolt described as being from Pixar.)

Putting it simply, there's a lot of good things about Bolt, but also some room for improvement. As I wrote: "Bolt ...appears to mark the beginning of the revitalization of Walt Disney Animation." That's exactly it.

Your thoughts?