In the opening sequences of the computer-animated film Bolt,"" a superhero learns the villain he is seeking has fled to Bolivia. He sets off in a harrowing chase, soaring down a highway, pursued by motorcycles and low-flying helicopters that look like dragonflies. There are explosions, slow-motion jumps, narrow escapes and heart-stopping action.
In fact, it's the kind of thrilling stunt that once marked the beginning of the James Bond films, where the action hero also survives an opening chase sequence and a rescue mission in Bolivia. This coincidence is not lost on Disney writers and fits right into the culture of ""Bolt,"" a movie that is in many ways about the entertainment business.
""Bolt"" is about a white German shepherd (voiced by John Travolta) who plays a superhero on his own TV show. For reasons of animal psychology and, perhaps, method acting, Bolt begins to think that his TV persona is real and that he can actually smash through walls and destroy buildings with his super bark - like his director says, ""If the dog believes it, the audience believes it."" When Bolt is separated from his co-star and best friend Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus), he winds up in New York City and has to make his way back to Hollywood as an actor lost in the delusion that his character is real.
Bolt picks up Rhino the hamster (voiced by Mark Walton), as well as a skinny alley cat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman), in his trek back to Penny. Their adventures combine the perils of the road movie, lessons in what it means to be a real dog - watch Bolt's look when Mittens explains about drinking out of the toilet - and the clever in-jokes of the film-within-the-TV show conceit of the script.
""Bolt"" doesn't have the emotional connections of classic Disney animations - ""Bambi"" or ""Dumbo,"" say - and it doesn't match the intricate worlds of the best Pixar films like the ""Toy Story"" movies. But it is technically superb and there are many good comic moments, most of them involving Rhino (""I'll snap his neck,"" he threatens, looking ferociously out of his plastic ball).
Walton steals the show, but Travolta also has a good mix of the intrepid and the naive, a combination that has marked many of his film roles, and Miley Cyrus creates a believable child actress but, of course, that's what she is. In the movie's meta-fictional world, it makes you wonder: if ""Bolt"" is a hit, can a TV show be far behind?
Grade: AB
