Bolt is a Great Film for the Holiday Season

Written by Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams

With the voice of John Travolta as Bolt, you would not expect this delightful animated film to be a winner. I had apprehension about the quality of Bolt when I went in to the theater. Let's face it. John Travolta has made a lot of mistakes over the years. He's the main star of Battlefield Earth, a film that many people consider one of the worst ever made. But Travolta turns out to be perfect for capturing Bolt's innocence and blind ambition. He's a white dog. He's the star of an adventure series on TV. Bolt loves his "human", Penny so much so that he can't see past his nose, so to speak.

The humans in charge of the Bolt TV show have done everything in their power to make the dog, Bolt believe that everything in the show is real. In doing so, they get the greatest performance imaginable out of Bolt. No one seems to realize until later in the film that what they're doing or what they've done to Bolt may be wrong. Bolt will continue to protect his human, Penny even while they're not on set. The other animal stars of the series, a pair of mischievous felines taunt and make fun of Bolt.

The producers of the TV show decide that they should kidnap Penny to increase their ratings. The young actress, played by Miley Cyrus is refused access to Bolt, leaving him alone in their trailer. Bolt thinks that he must do something to save his human, and escapes. He accidentally winds up in a shipping box. Then Bolt gets shipped off to New York City.

In New York, Bolt discovers an alley cat that looks a lot like one of those mischievous feline's back home. Her name is Mittens and she's played by Susie Essman. Together, Bolt and Mittens set off to Hollywood, hitching rides on any vehicle they can get their paws on. Mittens is the voice of reason or "sanity", trying not to get killed in the clutches of the delusional Bolt. Along the way, Bolt and Mittens run into a wild and crazy hampster by the name of Rhino (Mark Walton). The three colorful characters provide the audience with a great perspective on the importance of family, the differences between what's real and what's not, and a lot of laughs.

Bolt is the perfect animated film for the holiday season. As much as I loved Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E, neither film really felt as wholesome in spirit to me as Bolt did. The holidays really are all about being with family. Bolt shows us how great having a family can be. Even if its from the perspective of a dog, a cat and a hampster. I highly recommend Bolt to anyone. And despite what you might think after watchng the trailers, Bolt is not just for kids. Together with Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda, I expect Bolt to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year's Academy Awards. If it isn't nominated, it would be a real shame.

More of the principle cast

Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Calico

James Lipton as The Director

Greg Germann as The Agent

Diedrich Bader as Veteran Cat