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osprey_archerI saw Bolt in theaters when it came out, and my recollection is that I found it quite lackluster… so I was very surprised to enjoy it a lot on my rewatch! Maybe going in with rock bottom expectations helped? It often does, I’ve found.
Bolt stars John Travolta as the titular Bolt, a dog who is the star in a children’s spy show… only he doesn’t realize it’s a TV show and earnestly believes that he is saving his beloved human, Penny (Miley Cyrus), from grievous harm every week. (It seems like a wasted opportunity that Disney cast John Travolta and Miley Cyrus in the same movie and then didn’t have them sing at all, except over the end credits.) When one episode ends on a cliffhanger, Bolt flies into such a frenzy that he escapes his trailer and rushes out into the streets of Manhattan, determined to find Penny and save her from the nefarious Green-Eyed Man and his cat minions.
Instead, Bolt finds three pigeons, who see an opportunity to rid themselves of the dominion of Mittens, a cat who runs the local pigeons like a Mafia boss. They assure Bolt that Mittens will lead him to Penny… and so Bolt kidnaps Mittens, and they set out on a cross-country tour to find Penny in Hollywood!
Bolt’s belief in his own superpowers becomes a hilarious running gag, as does his belief that Styrofoam is his kryptonite. (You see, he fell into a box full of packing peanuts during his escape from the studio, after which his powers mysteriously vanished!) There’s a wonderful scene where Mittens threatens Bolt with a stray packing peanut, while Bolt fulminates at her perfidy. (Bolt talks in perfect Noble TV Superhero; he’d fit right into a 1960s Batman episode, which to be clear I mean as high praise.) Then Bolt cunningly distracts her and knocks the dangerous packing peanut away!
Along their route, Bolt also discovers hunger (“Have you poisoned me?” he demands of Mittens, having never experienced this sensation as a pampered studio dog), and they pick up a delightful hamster sidekick. “I watch you on the magic box!” the hamster informs Bolt, thrilled to meet his idol; and then a light goes off in Mittens’ brain. This is why Bolt’s so weird! He’s a very confused TV star who really believes he’s a superdog!
It’s good, frothy fun. I especially enjoyed the road trip aspect after so much staying in the same place for the past two years.
Bolt stars John Travolta as the titular Bolt, a dog who is the star in a children’s spy show… only he doesn’t realize it’s a TV show and earnestly believes that he is saving his beloved human, Penny (Miley Cyrus), from grievous harm every week. (It seems like a wasted opportunity that Disney cast John Travolta and Miley Cyrus in the same movie and then didn’t have them sing at all, except over the end credits.) When one episode ends on a cliffhanger, Bolt flies into such a frenzy that he escapes his trailer and rushes out into the streets of Manhattan, determined to find Penny and save her from the nefarious Green-Eyed Man and his cat minions.
Instead, Bolt finds three pigeons, who see an opportunity to rid themselves of the dominion of Mittens, a cat who runs the local pigeons like a Mafia boss. They assure Bolt that Mittens will lead him to Penny… and so Bolt kidnaps Mittens, and they set out on a cross-country tour to find Penny in Hollywood!
Bolt’s belief in his own superpowers becomes a hilarious running gag, as does his belief that Styrofoam is his kryptonite. (You see, he fell into a box full of packing peanuts during his escape from the studio, after which his powers mysteriously vanished!) There’s a wonderful scene where Mittens threatens Bolt with a stray packing peanut, while Bolt fulminates at her perfidy. (Bolt talks in perfect Noble TV Superhero; he’d fit right into a 1960s Batman episode, which to be clear I mean as high praise.) Then Bolt cunningly distracts her and knocks the dangerous packing peanut away!
Along their route, Bolt also discovers hunger (“Have you poisoned me?” he demands of Mittens, having never experienced this sensation as a pampered studio dog), and they pick up a delightful hamster sidekick. “I watch you on the magic box!” the hamster informs Bolt, thrilled to meet his idol; and then a light goes off in Mittens’ brain. This is why Bolt’s so weird! He’s a very confused TV star who really believes he’s a superdog!
It’s good, frothy fun. I especially enjoyed the road trip aspect after so much staying in the same place for the past two years.
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Date: 2022-01-30 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2022-01-30 11:10 pm (UTC)I enjoyed it, but I went in with low expectations - basically, "this will be a fun silly film that will divert me while I rest from my chronic illness"
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