www.theredrighthand.co.uk
| The Red Right Hand www.theredrighthand.co.uk |
|
|
|
|
|
BOLT Byron Howard Chris Williams Starring John Travolta Miley Cyrus Susie Essman Mark Walton Disney haven't exactly had a great track-record since their split with Pixar. 2005's Chicken Little was pretty poor and the following year's Meet The Robinsons had its moments but wound up a fairly so-so release. So now we have this film about a talking dog who has to track down his desperately loving owner; the whole thing screams Disney cliché and yet Bolt genuinely surprised me. Just to quickly clarify, Kung-Fu Panda was another genuinely surprising, hilarious release; what I had originally labelled as mediocre family adventure turned out to be an amazing animated film. Bolt isn't that good, it's just better than I had originally anticipated. As stated, the plot follows method acting pup, Bolt [Travolta] who believes with every fibre of his being that the events that take place on his TV show are 100% real. As such, when ratings begin to slip, his owner, Penny [Cyrus], is supposedly kidnapped. Wracked with fear and frustration, Bolt breaks out and begins his hunt for the dastardly mastermind responsible. There you have it, Truman Show dog escapes to the real world, gets shipped to New York then heads back to Hollywood and learns crap; standard archetypal Disney plot... sort of. On his arrival in New York, he is a little distressed to discover that his 'super powers' no longer work and as such interrogates his only connection to 'the green-eyed man' - in this case, cats. The cat in question is a skinny alley cat, named Mittens [Essman], who terrorises the local pigeons. With his feline prisoner in tow, Bolt makes his way West, back to Hollywood. We're about thirty/forty minutes into the film and to be honest, I was getting a tad bored. Everything was interesting enough and the animation wasn't bad but I just couldn't greatly care and then the two animals find themselves in an RV park in Ohio and the film completely turned around. I know people always say that the comic-relief support characters can be the funniest part of a film but in this case, that could not be more true. With the bulk of their journey ahead of them, Bolt and Mittens somehow recruit ultimate fanboy, Rhino [Walton] the hamster (see Highlighted Character section below for more). At times the story can be very paint-by-numbers and you know exactly where everything is going and the eventual predetermined outcome but it's a Disney film so for some reason we offer it a fair amount of leeway. I must confess that after watching Wall-E and Kung-Fu Panda the animation here simply wasn't up to par. I realise Disney Animation Studios were aiming for style over realism but in doing so they have created a very interesting looking film that looks like it could/should have been released a few years ago. I imagine that's why they chose to release it in 3D. Unfortunately for me, the screening I attended was not in 3D and as such, I slapped the score down. Throughout the film I kept muttering, "That would have been brilliant in 3D!" but no, no such joy for me. Having said that, I have another screening for the 3D version in a few days time, so perhaps I will change my mind; keep an eye on the Ratings pages people! So the animation grates a little and the story is exceptionally cheesy but it's also a very silly, entertaining film for young viewers that will no doubt do very well. I don't entirely agree with its Oscar nomination but that's just personal opinion, I suppose. Then there's the vocal talent. The relatively unknown Essman was rather good, as was Travolta but I couldn't get along with Miley Cyrus. I know she only had a minimal speaking part but I just couldn't stop thinking 'stupid Smiley Myrus!' There were also surprise offerings from Malcolm McDowell and James Lipton but their characters were never really afforded enough on-screen time. To its credit, Bolt is a very Disney-esque film, littered with the usual doses of wholesome (if somewhat saccharine) family values that this company has prided itself on for nearly a century. However, this is also to its detriment as many of us have moved on from choking on their two dimensional moral code. It's certainly a valiant effort but I hardly think this is the spearhead of Disney's hoped-for third Golden Age. Release Date: 6th February 2009 The Scene To Look Out For: Aside from the tragically heart-warming crud that sticks to you like some sort of invisible bacterial agent, many hamster-orientated moments come to mind - there's a sentence I never thought I would type. So let's go for something negative. I've seen my fair share of the United States and I've got to say... not overly impressed with the South. I would even go so far as to say, I will never set foot in California or Texas again for love nor money... nor food nor film (the first two I don't have an exceptional wealth of these days but the last two are paramount!). So when our leads are hitching their way through the Southern states in a montage with a warbling woman belting out some ridiculous country tune about your home being your home because it's your home or some shit, I did sit there and think, "God damn this is shit. They've shut the hamster up and replaced him with Jenny fucking Lewis." Notable Characters: What can be said about Rhino that cannot be displayed in the film itself? I will wholeheartedly recommend this release and furthermore buy the Blu-Ray just for that bloody hamster! He was legendary! As stated, it's very difficult to describe how a fat little hamster in a ball could be completely engrossing and utterly hilarious but he was and I couldn't help but laugh like a little girl - tee hee hee, that's how they laugh. I know, I used to see them at school when I was a kid. I'm not sure how the film would have turned out without this character but Mark Walton did an exceptional job and stole each and every scene he was in. Highlighted Quote: "Spicy eyes!" In A Few Words: "A vast improvement over Meet The Robinsons and Chicken Little but Disney still have a lot of catching up to do" Total Score: 
6/10Matthew Stogdon |
