Bolt
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Bolt is the star of the biggest show in Hollywood. The only problem is, he thinks it's real. After he's accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt must harness all his "super powers" to find a way home.
What critics thought
Critics broadly found Bolt a warm and competent Disney comeback — smarter than its familiar premise suggested, with a hamster stealing the film from its titular dog. The gap between critics who saw a genuine step forward for Walt Disney Animation and those who found it witty-but-thin is real: a minority felt it was stingy with jokes and short on memorable characters, while the majority landed somewhere between 'solid' and 'surprisingly charming.' Nobody called it Pixar.
“a real movie[,] not a great one, perhaps, but a more organic and thought-out piece of work than the usual animated hodgepodge that lures antsy children and their dutiful parents into the multiplexes. It has its sentimental strains, but it doesn't push them too hard, or resort to the crude, pandering humor of, say, the Shrek franchise.”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“an OK Disney animated entry enhanced by nifty 3-D projection”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“felt abandoned just watching it. It's a seriously withholding action comedy, stingy on the wit, charm, jokes, narrative satisfactions and animals with personalities sharp enough for the big screen, either in 2-D or 3-D.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“I did not find Bolt lovable. Likable, yes, and occasionally endearing -- yet the best parts involve a hamster in a plastic ball.”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“Bolt is the studio's first film since Lilo & Stitch that feels like it's trying to recapture the old Disney instead of aggressively shedding it in favor of something slick and new. And yet it comes with a healthy cutting-edge Pixar flavor as well.”
Tasha Robinson·The A.V. Club
Accolades
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Cast & Crew
Chris WilliamsDirector
Byron HowardDirector
John TravoltaBolt (voice)
Miley CyrusPenny (voice)
Susie EssmanMittens (voice)
Mark WaltonRhino (voice)
Malcolm McDowellDr. Calico (voice)
James LiptonThe Director (voice)
Greg GermannThe Agent (voice)
Diedrich BaderVeteran Cat (voice)
Nick SwardsonBlake (voice)
J.P. ManouxTom (voice)
Dan FogelmanBilly (voice)
Kari WahlgrenMindy Parker (voice)
John PowellComposerDan FogelmanWriterFrom the studio
Bolt
Bolt is the star of the biggest show in Hollywood. The only problem is, he thinks it's real. After he's accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt must harness all his "super powers" to find a way home.
What critics thought
Critics broadly found Bolt a warm and competent Disney comeback — smarter than its familiar premise suggested, with a hamster stealing the film from its titular dog. The gap between critics who saw a genuine step forward for Walt Disney Animation and those who found it witty-but-thin is real: a minority felt it was stingy with jokes and short on memorable characters, while the majority landed somewhere between 'solid' and 'surprisingly charming.' Nobody called it Pixar.
“a real movie[,] not a great one, perhaps, but a more organic and thought-out piece of work than the usual animated hodgepodge that lures antsy children and their dutiful parents into the multiplexes. It has its sentimental strains, but it doesn't push them too hard, or resort to the crude, pandering humor of, say, the Shrek franchise.”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“an OK Disney animated entry enhanced by nifty 3-D projection”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“felt abandoned just watching it. It's a seriously withholding action comedy, stingy on the wit, charm, jokes, narrative satisfactions and animals with personalities sharp enough for the big screen, either in 2-D or 3-D.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“I did not find Bolt lovable. Likable, yes, and occasionally endearing -- yet the best parts involve a hamster in a plastic ball.”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“Bolt is the studio's first film since Lilo & Stitch that feels like it's trying to recapture the old Disney instead of aggressively shedding it in favor of something slick and new. And yet it comes with a healthy cutting-edge Pixar flavor as well.”
Tasha Robinson·The A.V. Club
Accolades
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Cast & Crew
Chris WilliamsDirectorByron HowardDirectorJohn TravoltaBolt (voice)Miley CyrusPenny (voice)Susie EssmanMittens (voice)Mark WaltonRhino (voice)Malcolm McDowellDr. Calico (voice)James LiptonThe Director (voice)Greg GermannThe Agent (voice)Diedrich BaderVeteran Cat (voice)Nick SwardsonBlake (voice)J.P. ManouxTom (voice)Dan FogelmanBilly (voice)Kari WahlgrenMindy Parker (voice)John PowellComposerDan FogelmanWriterFrom the studio
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Rent & Buy