Bionic Bunny - Movie Review - Bolt

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the wrap party for Disney's new feature animation film, BOLT, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. As a lot of you know, I get to go to these things every couple of years because Mr. bunny! works for Walt Disney Animation Studios in the technology dept., so this review might be a teeny bit biased:

Bolt (John Travolta),who is the star of his own t.v. show along with his beloved Penny (Miley Cyrus), has been raised to believe that his super-hero life on-screen is all true. He's never experienced real life in any way, and the show's producers go out of their way to shield him from cameras, crew, and special effects. So as long as bolt is kept in the dark, he believes he has super powers, and that all his and Penny's adventures are real.

One day the producers go too far, and as a result, Bolt is accidently shipped to New York. Trying to get home, he teams up with pessimistic alley cat Mittens (Susie Essman) and Rhino (Mark Walton), a television addicted hamster, who just happens to be a huge fan of our hero, Bolt. Helped along the way by flocks of pigeons (also scene stealers), they slowly work their way back to Hollywood.

Okay, granted I got to watch this in a theatre filled with the people that made this movie. been there, done that. There's a different feel to this one. The characters are sympathetic without being too preachy. The action is tremendous (warning-- the first few minutes might be a little loud for very little ones), and it really doesn't drag much. And yes, the hamster steals the show. One of the guys brought his son, I'm guessing he must have been around 14. I asked him what he thought of it-- he told me the trailers didn't do it justice, and I agree.

What really grabbed me was the CG work. There's some new, ground-breaking stuff (patent pending!) that is just truly amazing! The textures look hand painted, which is a huge step forward. and lighting: reflections on glass, Rhino's ball, animal fur... and the effects! I don't want to give anything away, but i was blown away by some of the action scenes! The "jailbreak" scene with hamster Rhino is so realistically slathered in drool I had to say "eueeeew!!"!

Trying to be non-biased and non-technical, I still have to say BOLT is going to give PIXAR a run for it's money. The story moves at a brisk pace, and even when being formulaic, manages to throw in a couple of surprises. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, and even the main theme song is a toe-tapper. Another plus--( a pet peeve of mine, because i've got a good ear for voices), I'm often distracted by popular actors in voice over roles, but I have to give Travolta credit, he only slipped through once or twice in quiet moments, otherwise you'd never have known.
BOLT, the movie, opens nationwide on November 21st, nationwide, rated PG.
As a movie goer, i'd say this is great entertainment for all ages, even dad.

As a Disney wife, I'd like to hope that this movie is FINALLY the movie they've been aiming for for the past 10 years. There was a good vibe in the room, and even in the after-party.

Buffet was catered by Wolfgang Puck catering, a CLEAR step up from the past few years! the food was very tasty, no rubber chicken and green beans for this happy crowd! The open bars were numerous, the live band was quite good, and the view was great (the hooker in the elevator was an interesting coda to the evening... we decided to take the escalator after that brief encounter!) security was really tight, but friendly.There where "gaming tables" (no money involved), blackjack, roulette, poker, craps, and an interesting room set-up. Everyone was happy, optimistic, well dressed (sorry, enty, the only velvet i saw was on the ladies!) No celebs, except for "new celeb" Mark Walton (voice of Rhino), who is actually a Disney employee who was thrilled to get the part, but that's another story. The lines were way too long to snap photos with the characters, sorry, guys!

Thanks for letting me "review" this... i WOULD recommend this one, even if you don't have kids, seriously. And I want to see a counter-review from whoever sees it first.