Director: Chris Williams, Byron Howard
Production Company: Disney Pixar
Cast: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton
Rating: PG for some mild action and peril
By Gregg Tubbs
UMC.org—With its new animated feature, Bolt, Disney/Pixar has once again served up a sumptuous two-course movie meal. If Wall-E was the soulful, satisfying main course, Bolt is a sweet and frothy dessert. That’s not to say Bolt is slight or simplistic. Wrapped up in tons of humor, heart and pure fun are questions of almost existential nature. What is reality and what is fantasy? What if everything you believe has been a sham? Does belief alone make it true? Heavy thoughts for anyone, but especially for a dog who, since he was a puppy, has believed that he was a superhero named Bolt.
Disney’s Bolt sports an impressive pedigree. John Travolta provides the jaunty voice of super-dog Bolt, and Miley Cyrus voices his faithful human Penny. The film marks an important animation milestone as the first animated Disney feature to be conceived and produced under the supervision of John Lasseter, who is now chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Lasseter, the Academy Award winning director of Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, has brought to Bolt a potent team whose credits include Cars, Mulan and last year’s Meet the Robinsons, which like Bolt, was created for theatres equipped with 3D.
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Penny (Miley Cyrus) is missing and Bolt's (John Travolta) only help comes from Mittens (Susie Essman), a cynical, scraggly alley cat, and Rhino (Mark Walton), a hamster and manically devoted “Bolt” fan. Copyright © 2008 Disney/PIXAR.
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Bolt’s days are filled with danger and excitement, and he wouldn’t want it any other way. As a genetically enhanced super-dog, Bolt’s mission in life is to protect his human Penny from the evil Dr. Calico, who has already captured Penny’s brilliant scientist dad. Bolt’s life is one adrenalin rush after another. Each perilous predicament is neatly wrapped up by day’s end with the help of his amazing powers—super speed and strength, heat vision and a devastating super bark.
Little does Bolt know that when he and Penny retire to their house trailer after their latest adventure, a small army is scurrying about outside, preparing for Bolt’s next adventure. Bolt is actually a TV star, but doesn’t know it. Much like the Jim Carrey film The Truman Show, Bolt’s entire life—from the time he was picked out by Penny (an actress) as a puppy—has been an elaborately staged reality show, with everyone in on the ruse but the star. The key to the success of “Bolt” the show is the incredible performance of Bolt the star, and the key to the performance is Bolt’s belief that it’s all real. Yet, the only thing that is real is the bond between Penny and Bolt.
Bolt’s greatest challenge comes when he accidentally finds himself outside the TV studio and in the real world—a world where his super powers are gone, Penny is missing and his only help comes from Mittens, a cynical, scraggly alley cat, and Rhino, a hamster and manically devoted “Bolt” fan. The interaction between the three characters is delightful and often touching, as Mittens, the voice of reason, tries to convince Bolt that he is just a regular dog, while Rhino insists that Bolt, his idol, really is the super hero he’s always believed and is being neutralized by some form of canine Kryptonite. By defending Bolt’s “awesomeness,” Rhino also defends his own belief in Bolt.
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Bolt’s (Travolta) fearless, protective devotion to Penny (Cyrus) is both
bracing and heartwarming.
Copyright © 2008 Disney/PIXAR.
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The theme of belief plays a central role in
Bolt. In particular, the film explores how the main characters respond when their deeply-held beliefs are challenged. Bolt finds himself rocked by a double-whammy: the realization that he is not a superhero and the resulting feeling that he is incapable of saving Penny whom he believes is in danger. Walt Disney believed that for every laugh there should be a tear. In other words, a memorable film has to have heart, and Bolt has plenty. Lasseter says, “The heart in ‘Bolt’ comes from the emotional journey and the change that happens along the way.” Bolt learns to overcome the emotional shock and crisis of faith, while learning to believe in the abilities he does have. He also learns that you don’t need to be “super” to be a hero and discovers that the victories won through grit, courage and sweat are always the sweetest.
Much of Bolt’s heart also centers on the idea of devotion. Bolt’s fearless, protective devotion to Penny is both bracing and heartwarming, and it’s doubly touching to see Penny's equal devotion to Bolt. She pines to have him back, not as co-star, but as her beloved dog. By Walt Disney’s definition, Bolt is a memorable film with laughs and heart to spare, and a sweet, inspiring message about devotion and the belief that everyone possesses untapped greatness
Study Questions
- Do you think Bolt was better off at the beginning of the film or the end? Why? Can losing one thing help you gain something else?
- How important was it to Rhino to believe in Bolt? Have you ever had a hero that you looked up to?
- The director says “If the dog believes it, the audience believes it.” What did he mean? Is belief “contagious“? Do you find it easier to believe in something if someone else does?
- How important is the idea of belief to the film? Do you think we all need something to believe in?
- Have you ever had a belief questioned or even shattered? What did you do?
- What did Bolt mean when he said that Penny was “his person"? How important is the theme of devotion to the story?
- In what way is devotion different from “possession”? Does Bolt possess Penny or is his connection something different? Did he dedicate himself to her welfare?
- Can you relate this to when God refers to “my people”? Is God devoted? (See Jeremiah 24:5-7, 31:31-34; Zechariah 8:7-9; Hebrew 8:10.)
- Did Bolt suffer a crisis of faith? How does he regain his faith in himself? Was Bolt’s final victory greater than those things he accomplished when he was “super”?
- How did Mittens change over the course of the film? Was she as cynical at the end? What was the source of her transformation?
Resources
Official Bolt site
Theatrical Trailer
