'Bolt': A Nice Zap of Energy in a Dog-Tired Genre 

By Martha Brockenbrough
MSN Cinemama

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In any other week, a movie starring Miley Cyrus (well, her voice, anyway) would ride the tween gravy train all the way to box office glory.

But this isn't any week. It's the week "Twilight" comes out, and it's likely that the vampire flick will suck away some of the young audience for "Bolt."

If that happens, it's a shame. "Bolt" is adorable. We've seen plenty of lame dog movies lately; "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Underdog" come to mind. "Bolt" deserves anything but the doghouse.

The Disney release is like "The Truman Show" crossed with "The Incredible Journey" with a hamster sidekick thrown in for laughs. It's funny and Hollywood self-referential, but not in an annoying way.

Bolt (John Travolta) doesn't know he's a TV star. He thinks he's really saving his human, Penny, from the electrified clutches of an evil, green-eyed man. Bolt really thinks he has laser-beam eyes and an earth-shattering Super Bark.

Penny, meanwhile, wants her co-star to have a normal doggie life -- time away from his trailer on weekends, for starters. But the director of the show (James Lipton's voice with the face of Willem Dafoe) won't let this happen because he might not be able to get such authentic emotion from his canine star.

A misunderstanding that comes from a ratings stunt means Bolt finds himself in New York instead of Hollywood. He teams up with a cat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino, and tries to make his way back to Hollywood to save Penny and to learn the truth about his life and limitations.

It's not a particularly original or quirky story line, so it doesn't quite reach the heights of "Kung Fu Panda" or "WALL-E," but it's still solidly entertaining for kids and their parents. It's rated PG for mild action scenes and some peril to the characters.

Some theaters are playing the movie in 3-D, so take your motion-sickness pills if you're prone to the queasies.

What's in It for Kids

This is not a good movie choice for kids who get nervous watching high-speed chase scenes with lots of explosions and wipeouts. "Bolt" has plenty of these. They're bloodless, but this sort of stimulation isn't for all children.

For kids who can take fast-moving scenes, "Bolt" will be a hit.

The beginning might confuse some younger viewers, though. We go from Bolt's adoption at an animal shelter directly to a dramatic chase scene set five years later. If kids don't know in advance that Bolt is a TV star, they're likely to be confused when that bit is revealed.

Otherwise, the story is told in a way that kids will follow. The narrative switches back and forth in simple fashion from Bolt's homeward journey to Penny's reluctant decision to continue her acting job with another dog.

What's more, the characters are great, even the minor ones. Kids will definitely love Rhino (Mark Walton). He gets some great lines, and he makes good use of his plastic ball as a dramatic device. They'll also adore the evil cat voiced by Diedrich Bader.

The movie has a nice message for kids, too: Love packs more of a wallop than superpowers, and other things are more important than stardom. Though it's not going to make your kids cry like you did in "E.T.," it wouldn't surprise me a bit if they shed a tear or two at the end.

Next page: What's in 'Bolt' for adults?