Opinions of a Wolf

Summary:
Bolt is the star of a weekly tv action show in which he protects the little girl he loves from evil masterminds using his super doggy powers such as the super bark.  The producers, however, have worked hard to make sure Bolt doesn’t know it’s not real, so when he accidentally gets shipped to NYC, he’s in for a bit of a surprise.  Lucky for him along the way he teams up with an alley cat and a hamster who help him truly become a super dog.

Review:
Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing for talking animal movies.  It’s probably got something to do with the fact that in the imagination land that is my head, I tend to create my own soundtrack for the animals around me, so when dogs in a movie see a ball and we hear them saying “ball!  ball! ball!” instead of barking….yeah, I’m hooked.

That said, I wasn’t intrigued by the preview at all.  It all seemed so contrived, that I went into it expecting not to like it.  I was, however, pleasantly surprised.  The story manages to be cute and believable enough.  Bolt isn’t egotistic.  He’s intensely loyal in a way only dogs can be.  He’s been led to believe he can shoot lasers with his eyes, and it’s kind of adorable when he tries to melt iron in the real world.

The characters he meets along the way are the best of what we’ve come to expect from animated movies.  From the bad-ass alley cat to the over-exuberant hamster to the gangster pigeons they all work together to make Bolt’s non-television world the vibrant place it becomes.

The overall message of Bolt is actually quite delightful, and a surprise coming from Disney.  Only when Bolt comes to accept that over-the-top superpowers are fake can he come to be the best dog he can be in the real world.

I would definitely show this to kids, but anyone who enjoys animated movies without shout-outs to adults watching will enjoy this film.

4 out of 5 stars

Source: Netflix

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