When Disney and Pixar appeared that they were breaking up a few years back, Bolt was born. The fear of losing top-notch digital animation led Disney to develop their own film. At the time, I dismissed news of Bolt as a lame Disney attempt to copy Pixar but then the two sides made up. All of a sudden you had the Pixar folks coming over to help out the Disney folks. Of course the only proof on paper is the executive producer title that John Lassiter receives but if you see Bolt, you see the Pixar stamp all over the screen.
Bolt follows the Pixar formula in a couple of ways. First the voice casting is spot on. John Travolta disappears behind the white westie fur of Bolt, which was a shock to me. Susie Essman brings her trademark vulgar sass to Mittens the cat but without the actual vulgarity. The character design also mimics Pixar especially in the humans. The network head and Penny (Bolt’s person) are particularly identifiable.
So if it sounds like a Pixar and looks like a Pixar then is it as good as a Pixar? Thankfully for my post turkey addled brain, the answer was a resounding yes. I’m a little biased as I have my own Bolt at home but with that said this is a classic animated tale. The wacky cast of characters making a long journey. Thankfully there are no musical numbers and the adult winks are plentiful. While it’s no Incredibles or Wall-E, Bolt is great escapism and pretty to look at as well (do yourself a favor and spring for the extra bucks to see it in 3D).
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