Bolt [movies]  

If PIXAR never existed, Bolt would be an instant classic...which is ironic, because if PIXAR never existed, Bolt would've never been made. When Disney announced that PIXAR's John Lasseter would be chief creative officer of its 3D animation dept., it was all but assured that Disney would throw its hat into the Dreamworks vs. PIXAR computer graphics ring, and with Lasseter's experience (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Cars), you'd think everything would go smoothly. Not so fast, folks.... If you know the backstory, Lasseter took the reins from Chris Andrews (Lilo and Stitch) after he consistently refused to take notes from the studio and finished the movie shooting on an 18 month schedule. Critics and industry analysts were positive the movie would suffer, but Lasseter and Disney unbelievably crafted a movie that not only looks incredible, but is pretty damn great in its own right. The only thing keeping it from becoming a classic is the fact that it's just not as phenomenal as a PIXAR film....see what I meant?

The story opens with a puppy in a pet store getting bought by a young girl, who immediately puts a collar on him with the name "Bolt" dangling from the charm. Cut to 5 years later, and we're shown the girl and the dog on the run, being chased by men in robotic suits and helicopters as the girl, Penny, tries to rescue her father from the evil "Green eyed man." That's when the cameras cut, as we find out that Bolt is a superpowered dog on a TV show who's been raised his whole life as if the show were real. When the show's creators decide to have Penny captured, Bolt escapes from his self-contained home to search for Penny and ends up shipped across the country, where he meets an alleycat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino, as they acclimate Bolt into life in the real world and try to get him back to Hollywood.

I'll say this much...this isn't a PIXAR movie, and I don't mean that in a bad way. The comedic beats, pacing, and action sequences in Bolt mimic the classic 2-D Disney films more than they do any PIXAR film, and you get the feeling that the creators never aspired to make Bolt into a deep, meaningful movie. It's a Disney movie through and through, and I was actually pretty surprised how much I've MISSED these kinds of films. The breezy pace and simplistic lessons of Bolt made for an immensely enjoyable watch, with a bit of nostalgia making this just an awesome watching experience. True, there's some recycled storylines, a bit of Toy Story (character who believes he's a hero, character who's abandoned), even a joke or two calling back to one of Lasseter's former films..and y'know what? I'll forgive it...the movie was all but assumed dead on the cutting room floor, and what you get is a movie that's fun as hell to watch that looks gorgeous (the non-photorealistic rendering is flat out incredible). And for the first time in forever, I was watching a movie that didn't insult my intelligence that I didn't need to pull apart...it was enough just to lay back and enjoy myself for 90 minutes. And to reiterate, I've missed that.

In the end, Bolt isn't so much about the individual elements, the meticulous aspects that make PIXAR films so incredible. Bolt is simpler, quicker, and more conventional, but it's never lazy. It's a nice return to form for Disney that doesn't require me waxing philosophically or overanalyzing anything. It's a great lil' movie with enough action, emotion, and technical savvy to make it well worth your time. I highly recommend it.