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xiayun
Extraordinary
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:41 pm Posts: 25109 Location: San Mateo, CA
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Bolt
BoltQuote: Bolt is a 2008 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and is its forty-eighth animated feature. It is the first film directed by Chris Williams (who previously worked on Mulan and The Emperor's New Groove) and Byron Howard (who previously worked on Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear). The film stars the voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell, Diedrich Bader, Nick Swardson, Greg Germann, Susie Essman and Mark Walton. The film's plot centers on a small white dog named Bolt who, having spent his entire life on the set of a television series, thinks that he has super powers. When he believes that his human, Penny, has been kidnapped, he sets out on a cross-country journey to "rescue" her.
As with earlier CGI Disney films, such as Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons, Bolt was also distributed in Disney Digital 3-D in the theaters equipped for it. The movie was nominated for a series of awards, one of which being the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature which was, however, lost to WALL-E.
_________________Recent watched movies: American Hustle - B+ Inside Llewyn Davis - B Before Midnight - A 12 Years a Slave - A- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - A- My thoughts on box office
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Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:13 am |
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Malcolm
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Re: Bolt
I saw this last night and was completely pleasantly surprised.
It started off a little iffy for me with the Bolt TV show, as I just wanted to get to the actually story part, and the showrunner/writer/whatever vs the network exec was extremely uninteresting but once Bolt escaped from the studio the movie turned pretty great.
I'd go as far as saying that if the opening 15-20mins were more solid this would really be one of my favorite movies of the year so far. The animation was very appealing but more importantly the characters were extremely enjoyable and well done. The whole of Bolt/Mittens/Rhino travelling cross country was wonderful and also very touching at points. The different personalities of the pigeons from around the US was hilarious as was Mittens teaching Bolt how to beg for food. Good stuff.
If I had kids this is the kind of thing I'd want them to grow up on, not Hannah Montana or the endless pop-culture fests that are the Shrek movies.
This would be one of those "fun for the whole family" movies I always hear about but never actually come across, and I usually fucking hate family entertainment.
Solid B+, maybe A- material with a repeat viewing.
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Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:52 pm |
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Bradley Witherberry
Extraordinary
Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 1:13 pm Posts: 15197 Location: Planet Xatar
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Re: Bolt
Great main characters, pristine 3D animation, and a solid story concept are sabotaged by bloated story editing. The 96 minute running time felt like forever - - a sharper editor's knife could have made this good movie into a great one at around the 75 minute mark...
4 out of 5.
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Sun Nov 30, 2008 3:50 pm |
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Mr. Lobotomy
Well I'm not stoned, I'm just fucked up - I got so high I can't stand up
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:21 am Posts: 993
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Re: Bolt
Saw it in 3D after seeing The Boy In The Striped Pajamas last Friday. It was fun and the characters were great.
B
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Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:12 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Bolt
Super-cute movie. Loved the main trio of characters, especially the hamster. The story is extremely conventional (road trip to a reunion, Homeward Bound-style), but it didn't bother me very much.
Very colorful and fun.
A-
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:14 pm |
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snack
Extraordinary
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:18 pm Posts: 12159
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Re: Bolt
well it started off surprisingly strong, but grew increasingly trite throughout the remainder of its running time. I saw it in old-fashioned, humdrum two dimensionality, but I did like that, while it was quite obvious where the 3D effects were intended, they didn't seem completely gratuitous as to ruin the movie when seen without the extra dimension. the animation was occasionally beautiful, also. was fun, not worth going out of your way to see, but fine to bring a little sister to. the story is basically ripped from the first toy story btw (bolt = buzz lightyear).
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Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:57 pm |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: Bolt
7/10 -> B-
A funny movie with a charming lead. It falls between Pixar's more serious approach of storytelling and Dreamworks' lighter tones. And yet it manages to sustain that Disney spirit.
Animation is great at times, really wonderful. The story goes from great to boring. I agree that a better editor would've done wonders here.
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Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:41 pm |
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Gulli
Jordan Mugen-Honda
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 9:53 am Posts: 13400
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Re: Bolt
Its fun and harmless, the best bit is the "fake" beginning after that it was standard but solid fare.
It passed time but nothing more.
_________________ Rosberg was reminded of the fuel regulations by his wheel's ceasing to turn. The hollow noise from the fuel tank and needle reading zero had failed to convay this message
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Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:00 pm |
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jmovies
Let's Call It A Bromance
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:22 pm Posts: 12333
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Re: Bolt
Animation has taken a huge spike in the past few years with two studios battling each other for the top spot. Those two studios are Dreamworks Animation and Pixar Studios. Dreamworks may be known mostly for their Shrek franchise and their latest hits Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens. Pixar on the other hand has been around for years with their hits that range from Toy Story to Wall-E. However, it is rare now to find a gem outside of these two dominant studios. Well, Bolt is this exception. Released under the Disney name this latest animated flick is not a Pixar offering (even though a good bit of the team worked on it) but an original hit from the Mouse.
Bolt centers on a canine named Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) who is the biggest animal star in Hollywood that stars in a sci-fi/action piece. He stars alongside his owner in real life, Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus) in the show. The producers of the show have gotten it into Bolt's mind that everything going on in the series is actually happening in real life. Well during one taping, the show takes a direction where Penny is kidnapped. Bolt thinking she actually has been taken escapes from the set and tries to find Penny taking in the advice of a cat named Mittens (Susie Essman), and a hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton). The trio then goes on a trip across the country in search of Penny.
It is reffered to in society that dog is man's best friend. Well in this film that is obvious with the relationship of Penny and Bolt. Even with all the struggles Penny tries to take for Bolt to come home with her during breaks, the studio refuses it. This just builds the relationship stronger and gives the watcher a greater connection between the two characters. The film also provides great laughs especially through Rhino who provides most of them and many funny one-liners (including Bolt's fear of pink styrofoam). The animation is top notch and feels like that just out of a Pixar flick. Overall, Bolt is a rich, fun story with a great voice cast and characters. One of the best non-Dreamworks, non-Pixar films of this decade.
****1/2/***** (A)
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Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:18 pm |
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Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am Posts: 6245
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Re: Bolt
A very solid animated flick with more than enough heart and humor to overwhelm some minor flaws like an irritating supporting character (the cat) and some very cliched dialogue, at certain moments. It's not the best animated flick in 2008, or the second, but it certainly is a very solid effort by a studio that just doesn't do it like they used to. 8/10
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
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Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:01 pm |
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MGKC
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Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:42 pm Posts: 11808 Location: Kansas City, Kansas
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Re: Bolt
Disney surprised me with this one. It's got strong characters and a heartwarming story, everything you'd want from an animated film. The visuals rival Pixar in some points. The action sequences reminded me of The Incredibles with how fast-paced and clever they were. I loved it!
Grade: A-
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Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:14 pm |
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roo
invading your spaces
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:44 pm Posts: 6194
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Re: Bolt
Not awful, but not noteworthy. Disliked all of the voice acting except for the gerbil and the Hollywood pidgeons.
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Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:42 pm |
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Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am Posts: 6245
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Re: Bolt
roo wrote: Not awful, but not noteworthy. Disliked all of the voice acting except for the gerbil and the Hollywood pidgeons. GASP! It is to noteworthy, you....you.....YOU DOG HATER!
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
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Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:53 pm |
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Groucho
Extraordinary
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:30 pm Posts: 12096 Location: Stroudsburg, PA
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Re: Bolt
MG Casey wrote: Disney surprised me with this one. It's got strong characters and a heartwarming story, everything you'd want from an animated film. The visuals rival Pixar in some points. The action sequences reminded me of The Incredibles with how fast-paced and clever they were. I loved it!
Grade: A- This was the first Disney film overseen by John Lasseter of Pixar, and apparently once he took it over he did a complete revamp to make the story more Pixar-like and better. Good for him! While it never reached Pixar level, it was certainly the best Disney animation in years. I give it a solid B after just watching the DVD.
_________________Buy my books! http://michaelaventrella.com
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Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:03 pm |
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MGKC
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Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:42 pm Posts: 11808 Location: Kansas City, Kansas
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Re: Bolt
Groucho wrote: This was the first Disney film overseen by John Lasseter of Pixar, and apparently once he took it over he did a complete revamp to make the story more Pixar-like and better. Good for him! While it never reached Pixar level, it was certainly the best Disney animation in years.
I give it a solid B after just watching the DVD. Ah, how interesting! And here I was giving Disney all the credit. Got to watch it again on DVD, not as great as it was in the theater, but still a fantastic movie!
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Thu May 07, 2009 10:19 pm |
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getluv
i break the rules, so i don't care
Joined: Sun May 15, 2005 4:28 pm Posts: 20411
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Re: Bolt
B-
Nothing fantastic, but still enjoyable
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:53 am |
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Michael.
No Wire Tampons!
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2005 12:27 am Posts: 23283
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Re: Bolt
B+ Such a sweet surprise! really loved it
_________________ I'm out.
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Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:50 pm |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20370 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: Bolt
I preferred Meet the Robinsons of the early pre Revival CG Disney flicks, but this one is also better than I remember. The films humor is lacking, but the main trio of characters is good, and the animation is a huge step up from Meet the Robinsons. I wish it had stronger side characters and a better villain, but for a dog movie it’s pretty good.
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Fri Oct 16, 2020 5:53 pm |
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Jack Sparrow
KJ's Leading Idiot
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm Posts: 36923
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Re: Bolt
The animation is gorgeous and voice cast is great here with some wonderful songs and few heartfelt moments and cool super-dog action. Despite all these it feels very pedestrian specially because the central relation is not explored enough and the generic road trip which goes on for a little too long here. It also feels like so many similar themed dog movies which brought down the overall experience.
B
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Tue Feb 02, 2021 11:55 pm |
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