Bolt [Blu-ray]

Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is the star of the biggest show in Hollywood. The only problem is, he thinks the whole thing is real. When the super dog is accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus), his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt springs into action to find his way home. Together with his hilarious new sidekicks Rhino (voiced by Mark Walton) – Bolt’s #1 Fan – and a street-smart cat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman), Bolt sets off on an amazing journey where he discovers he doesn’t need super powers to be a hero.

Disney is right on the mark with this movie. The story is fun and action packed while also keeping the audience on the edge of their seat with suspense and action. Disney also has a way of getting positive messages to its young and impressionable viewers and you have a heart-warming feeling after watching Bolt.

Bolt is a TV star dog who thinks all of his adventures with Penny, his owner and also co-star, are real because nobody lets Bolt ever see the cameras or lets him know that it is all make believe. He believes he has super powers and when a TV executive tells the director of the show to end with a cliffhanger. Bolt gets caught up in the action and thinks Penny is in real trouble and he believes he needs to come to her aid. Unfortunately for Bolt, he winds up getting stuffed in a box accidentally and shipped across the country. As he makes his way back to save Penny, he winds up making friends with a cat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino. He also learns the he really doesn’t have super powers and that the whole things is make believe. He doesn’t let this alter his attempts to get home to Penny. Bolt continues to stay focused and doesn’t let not having super powers slow him down.

Seeing Bolt in Blu-ray is truly an experience. The picture quality is amazing. You will find yourself getting caught up looking at the detail rather than following the story. I suggest you keep the remote in your hand as you will be going back to watch scenes over. The sound doesn’t disappoint either. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack will keep your speakers and subwoofer working over time with all of the action sequences. The voices are clearly audible and quite detailed. I had been impressed by titles that have come before this and thought they were reference quality but, after seeing and hearing Bolt, the standard for animated movies has definitely been raised. There are some bonus features that are fun to check out and there is a standard definition disk that accompanies this version and makes purchasing the Blu-ray a great value so that the kids can pop the movie into a regular DVD player and have more choices than always having to make the production of setting up the home theater.

One thing that I am a bit disappointed about is that when Bolt was at the theaters, you could have seen it in 3D on IMAX screens. I think it would really be cool to be able to see it packaged so that you could watch it in 3D if you so desired. Hopefully Disney and the other studios will take advantage of the Blu-ray quality and offer the 3D versions for home viewing.

INTERVIEWS:

• Interview with John Travolta (Voice of Bolt)
• Interview with Miley Cyrus
• Interview with Mark Walton (Voice of Rhino)
• Interview with Byron Howard (Director)
• Interview with John Lasseter (Executive Producer)

BONUS FEATURES

• (HD) Bonus short: Super Rhino – 4 minutes offered in 5.1 surround sound
• (HD) 2 Deleted scenes with optional Directors Introduction – Storyboard drawings
• (HD) In session with John Travolta & Miley Cyrus – 1 minute
• (HD) “I thought I lost you” music video
• Bolt’s Be Awesome Mission – Interactive game
• (HD) A new breed of Directors: A filmmaker’s journey – 4 minute documentary on 1st time directors Byron Howard & Chris Williams
• (HD) Act, Speak!: The voices of Bolt – 9 minute featurette
• (HD) Creating the world of Bolt – 6 minute featurette
• Bolt art galleries
  1. Character design
  2. Color script
  3. Storyboard art
  4. Visual development
• Disney File Digital Copy Bonus Disc – Contains a standard definition version of the film that can be downloaded from a compatible PC to a portable playback device
• BD-Live enabled – includes Movie Chat, Movie Mall, Movie Challenge and Movie Rewards
• Standard Definition bonus copy of Bolt DVD

I hope Disney will make a franchise out of Bolt and bring back the gang for a sequel. The characters are quite loveable and they each fit the story well. I grew up liking John Travolta for his role in Grease and my son will grow up with him as the voice to his favorite cartoon character. Make sure you “Bolt” out to the nearest store and pick a Blu-ray copy of Bolt. If you don’t already own a Blu-ray player, this is the movie that will make you want to get one.