"Bolt"

[tongodeon]

No spoilers: I'm not a dog person, I'm not even a pet person. I don't have kids, I don't generally like kids' movies, or Disney movies. I'm not a fan of John Travolta or Miley Cyrus. And yet I thought that "Bolt" was a very good movie for all the reasons that make movies good. The story was strong, the characters were compelling, it was visually

Comments

[tongodeon]

So I thought about this a little on the drive to work. There are definite similarities between Buzz and Bolt, but there are some important differences. The biggest difference is that Buzz is a bit of a stooge while Bolt is a much more sympathetic character. Buzz is a hero out of pride - he's a heroic star who resists the truth because his ego can't stand being crushed by the realization that he's just a toy. Bolt is a hero out of love for Penny. His raison d'étre is to protect her from Doctor Calico and he resists the truth out of love and concern for her. He's worried that he can't protect her if he doesn't have superpowers. Buzz is an egotistical idiot who the other toys are trying to talk some sense into. Bolt is no less deluded, but he's not stupid or misguided either. In this sense Bolt is a much better representation of the true believer than Buzz is. True believers aren't usually misguided idiots, they're usually well-intentioned people whose self-delusion is motivated by concern and protection for their friends and family. And

[bax]

I agree with every word you've written here. Bolt was awesome... somehow more awesome than it should have been.

[scothen_krau]

Saw it just the other week, actually, my sister made the family sit down and watch it. I was also struck by the theme (I went lowbrow, and called it "a superhero origin story in reverse") but the rationality vs. fantasy is a great way of looking at it.

And Rhino is, in his own words, awesome. He is also representative of about a third of all the the sci-fi/comic geeks I know, which makes him more awesome.

[tongodeon]

Rhino is, in his own words, awesome

I'm not sure if you saw the bonus material on the DVD, but the voice actor for Rhino was just one of the guys in the story department. They had him read Rhino's lines as a temporary measure while they searched for celebrity talent and he ended up doing such a good job that they left him in there.

Rhino was the reason why I rented the movie in the first place. They showed the destiny scene at the VES Awards and I thought the clip was hilarious enough that I should check out the full feature.

[matrushkaka]

That hamster is the best part of the movie.

[epileptikitty]

Your commute is too long.