Bolt is being hailed as a return to form for Disney’s animation wing. And sure enough, the stocky doggie hero voiced by John Travolta, cocks a leg against its lacklustre immediate predecessors.
Meet The Robinsons, anyone? Thought not.
Being better than Chicken Little is not much to crow about, but Bolt – though hardly in the Pixar weight division – is a genuinely delightful all-ages entertainment.
The set-up – makers of Madagascar – Escape 2 Africa please take note – is nice and uncluttered. Our eponymous TV superhero canine believes that his onscreen adventures with beloved owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) are entirely real. He is, therefore, ill-equipped to deal with a genuine crisis and totally lost when a shipping related mishap delivers him to other side of the continent. Aided and abetted by a sarcastic alley cat (Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman) and a tremendously funny, completely delusional hamster (Mark Walton), Bolt traverses the USA in the time-honoured tradition of The Incredible Journey; picture Sheila Burnford’s critters on amphetamines and you’re practically there.
Dreamworks beware. The House of Mouse is back. And they just got cool.