We have reached the end of the Post-Renaissance Era which was quite the adventure to blog about. This era featured an interesting cast of films. I had only watched Bolt once or twice before and I had definitely forgotten how emotional it was. I shed a few tears (or cried my eyes out while I hugged my own dog, one of the two.)
Premiered on: November 17, 2008 at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood
Directed by:
Chris Williams
Byron Howard
Produced by:
Clark Spencer
John Lasseter
Based on: original story
Sequels: none
Cast:
John Travolta – Bolt
Susie Essman – Mittens
Mark Walton – Rhino
Miley Cyrus – Penny
Malcolm McDowell – Dr. Calico
Nick Swardson – Blake
J.P. Manoux – Tom
Kari Wahlgren – Mindy Parker
Diedrich Bader – Veteran Cat
Grey DeLisle – Penny’s mother
Greg Germann – The Agent
James Lipton – The Director
Supervising Animators:
Mark Anthony Austin
Lino DiSalvo
Renato Dos Anjos
Clay Kaytis
Mark Mitchell
Wayne Unten
Music by: John Powell
Songs:
“I Thought I Lost You”
“Barking at the Moon”
Academy Awards: Best Animated Film (nomination)
The Story:
Bolt begins at the Silverlake Animal Rescue which is opening up for the day. A puppy awakes and is very excited to pounce on his toys. The other puppies are excitedly watching people come into the shelter. The puppy sees a little girl come in and wags his tail to greet her before chasing his tail. The girl says that he is the one and gives the puppy a big hug. She puts a collar on him with the name Bolt engraved on a tag.
A caption reads “5 Years Later.” Penny gets a phone call from her dad who tells her that he hasn’t much time. He says that something has come up at work and he won’t be home for a while. The scene is very intense. He tells Penny that she won’t be alone because she has Bolt. Bolt is shown undergoing some experiments as her dad says that he has altered Bolt so he can protect her. A lightning bolt appears on his side. The title card is shown.
Penny and Bolt are on top of a building. Penny takes out her x-ray binoculars and looks into the next building. She sees Dr. Calico who has her father tied up. Her dad says that he will never talk. Dr. Calico asks his henchman if his package has been picked up and the henchman says that an agent is on the way to get it. Dr. Calico wants that package brought to him on the next flight. The agent is leaving the building. Penny and Bolt follow him into a dark alley. The agent disappears and suddenly a car appears. Dr. Calico is on a screen inside and tells the driver that he only needs the girl alive. The car zooms towards them. Bolt meets the car head on and stops it with his head. The car flips upside down and Penny knocks on the window to ask the driver where Dr. Calico is. The driver says that he will never talk.
Bolt holds the car out off a bridge and the driver screams that Dr. Calico is in Bolivia. Suddenly helicopters appear heading towards them. Penny takes off on her high-tech scooter with Bolt running beside her. She calls up “Bolivia” on her high-tech glasses and learns that a flight is leaving for there in ten minutes. Motorcycles drop out of the helicopter and chase them. Bolt then starts to drag Penny and he runs even faster. They go through a warehouse and Bolt crashes through a wall. One of the henchmen throws a bomb that lands on a truck by a school bus and Bolt fetches it through the traffic to save the children. He shoots his laser eyes at one of the helicopters. He then races back to Penny and puts the bomb on one of the motorcycles along the way. The henchman takes the bomb and throws it into the air, blowing up a helicopter in the process.
Penny and Bolt almost make it to the airport but are soon surrounded by dozens of henchmen in cars and helicopters. Penny tells Bolt to speak and he lets out a superbark. This takes out all of the cars and helicopters. Penny tells Bolt that they accomplished the mission and she snaps a photo of them. She picks up Bolt and they walk through the wreckage though Bolt is still barking. Penny tells him that it is alright because he saved the day again.
They walk into a trailer labelled “Bolt.” Once the door is shut, a bell rings and someone yells cut. The cast all get up from the wreckage and the crew walks onto the set. The background screens are pulled up and it is revealed that they are all on a soundstage.
The director and some of the crew are watching footage and he sees that there was a boom mic in the shot when Bolt is about to superbark. The director is very upset because the dog could have seen that. A lady asks who cares if the dog sees a boom mic and the director wants to know who she is. She says she is Mindy Parker from the network and the director asks what she sees as he points to a still shot of Bolt. She answers “the dog” and wants to know what she is missing. The director explains that he sees an animal who believes with every fiber of his being that the girl he loves is in mortal danger. He says that they never reshoot because if the dog believes it is all real, the audience will. Mindy says that the show is too predictable and tells him that if they lose even half a rating, she will fire everyone. She slams the door and leaves.
Penny puts up the photo she took on the wall of the trailer with many other photos. She tells Bolt that he saved her again. Bolt is growling at the door at a noise and Penny tries to tell him that it is fine, there are no more bad guys. Bolt just wants to guard the door and won’t play or eat. Penny gets ready to leave and Bolt is very sad. She tells him that he knows she needs to leave and they hug goodbye. Bolt whines and whines as Penny leaves the trailer.
Outside, the agent is waiting to take her to a teen photoshoot. Penny ignores him and tells her mom that she really wants to take Bolt home that weekend. The agent says no and Penny argues that Bolt never gets to be a real dog, but the agent moves on. He says that they need to get going over to wardrobe and they leave the soundstage.
Two cats walk in and one of them asks if it is true that the dog thinks everything is real. The other answers that the dog never leaves the set and that this is the perfect way to unwind. They climb to the top of the trailer and peer down through the top window. One cat gives an evil laugh and Bolt calls them hairballs. The cat says that Bolt ay have won that day but they will get his Penny. Bolt thinks that is not likely because he will destroy them and Dr. Calico. The cats are having lots of fun with this. Bolt tells them to give Dr. Calico a message from him but the cats are bored with the long message and they leave. Bolt lies back down by the door and says out loud that he will never let them get Penny. The lights of the soundstage all go out.
The next day of filming is in a jungle at night. The crew are secretly filming Penny and Bolt sneak around to Dr. Calico’s hideout. The director is giving quiet signals. Penny and Bolt sneak into the room with the secret computer. Dr. Calico appears and captures Penny in a large, enclosed cage. Bolt tries to jump after her but is grabbed by a crew member and put into a kennel.
The director asks Mindy how the focus group feels about cliff hangers. He then sees on the screen that Penny is running towards Bolt being carried off in the kennel. She is about to let the dog know that she is fine and the director yells for someone to stop her. She just wants to let Bolt know that she is okay but her agent appears and says that she is not okay, she has been kidnapped, at least that is what they need Bolt to believe so he can be very excited the next day when he rescues her. He moves on from the conversation.
Bolt is put in the trailer and the cats come to bother him again. They are working on their evil laughs when they open up the top window. Bolt races out and onto the soundstage. He hears Penny yelling for help and tries to find her voice. He voice is just on some footage that someone is playing so Bolt can’t find her. He sees the cage Dr. Calico used to trap Penny being hauled away on a truck and goes to chase after it. He tries to burst through a window but knocks himself out and lands in a box of packing peanuts. Bolt gets packed up and loaded into a truck.
Upon arrival, the box is shaking and the delivery guy cautiously opens it. Bolt leaps out and runs out a window. He takes off through New York City but doesn’t know where he is. He thinks he sees Dr. Calico and tries to burst through a fence but can’t. He climbs through a hole in the fence instead. He then tries to knock out Dr. Calico but can’t and the man turns out not to be the villain anyway. Bolt takes off again. He is shouting for Penny and he leaps over a large construction hole in the sidewalk only to end up landing in it. He thinks he sees the cage again on a truck and chases it, though the cage is actually an outhouse. Bolt goes to meet the truck head on and he closes his eyes. The driver swerves and the outhouse falls off and opens. Bolt sees that Penny is not there and thinks that Dr. Calico has moved her.
Bolt finds some other dogs and starts to ask for help but soon gets weirded out when the dogs sniff his butt. A dog walker puts a leash on him and Bolt takes off with it attached. He gets his head stuck in a fence and is very mad that he can’t bend the bars. Some pigeons come over to stare at him and they show him how to turn and pull his head. It works and then Bolt notices that a packing peanut is still stuck on him. He thinks it has weakened him and it was put there by Dr. Calico. The pigeons realize that the dog looks familiar, but they can’t place him. Two buses drive by with Bolt on them but the pigeons still don’t know him. Bolt thinks that the pigeons are useless and he needs someone closer to Dr. Calico for information, like a cat. He plans to make the cat wish it was never born and the pigeons say that they know just the cat.
Mittens the cat has pigeons bringing food to her. She threatens them by saying that she will unleash her claws if they don’t because she is unhappy with the small amount of food they bring. Bolt attacks Mittens and demands to know where ‘she’ is. Mittens has no idea what Bolt is talking about and the pigeons laugh at her and encourage her to tell Bolt where ‘she’ is. Mittens asks the pigeons to tell Bolt that he has the wrong cat, but they keep playing along and tell Bolt that Mittens is definitely the right cat.
Bolt holds Mittens out over traffic to get an answer out of her. The pigeons start to wonder if they went too far. Mittens then pretends to know where Penny is because she sees on Bolt’s collar that he is from Hollywood. She asks Bolt to put her down and she will show him which way to go.
Mittens is digging around in a dumpster and pulls out a top secret map. She shows Bolt where they are, by the green lady with the torch, and shows that Penny is all the way across the map in Hollywood. Bolt has Mittens tied up with the other end of his leash and Mittens then wants to be released since she told Bolt where Penny is. Bolt says that he will release her once he has found Penny. They find a U-haul truck with a Hollywood sign on it and Bolt tries to burst the padlock on the back into flames but it doesn’t work. Mittens thinks he is crazy and threatens Bolt with her claws. Bolt hears intruders coming and they take off and hide. The intruders are movers loading up a couch into the truck. Bolt and Mittens hide under the couch and are lifted into the truck. The truck drives off.
The pigeons are still trying to figure out where they know that dog from (while standing on the front of a giant Bolt poster) but still don’t figure it out. The truck is driving away across a bridge.
Back in Hollywood, Penny is crying in Bolt’s trailer with her mom. The agent comes in with great news. He says that he has booked her on the Tonight Show as the lead guest! He sees that this doesn’t cheer Penny up and says very quickly that that means nothing if Bolt is still missing, though he thinks that Bolt would want her to do the Tonight Show. Penny’s mom reassures her that Bolt is not scared of anything and will be alright. He wouldn’t have gone far.
The truck is passing through Ohio. Mittens is asking Bolt about his super powers and Bolt responds that they are classified. She keeps pestering so finally Bolt tells her about his superbark. Mittens says she just has one more question and is distracting Bolt while she tries to reach for a baseball bat. She falls over and knocks packing peanuts onto Bolt and Bolt starts to freak out. He jumps out of the truck with Mittens still attached and they crash land on the side of the road.
Bolt asks what this red liquid coming out of his paw is and Mittens explains that it is blood and that he needs it inside his body so he needs to stop jumping out of trucks. Bolt says that he is normally indestructible but it must have been the… he freaks out because he sees a packing peanut on the ground near them. It has weakened him. Mittens picks up the packing peanut and threatens him with it. Bolt then knocks it out of her hand. His stomach grumbles and he thinks that Mittens has poisoned him. She tries to explain that he is just hungry and Bolt freaks out even more and demands to know where the antidote is.
Mittens brings Bolt to a nearby campsite and tells Bolt to go beg. He doesn’t know how to and Mittens says he just needs to tilt his head a little and then drop his ears and look up. Bolt goes to the first camper and whines and begs. He is given a hot dog and Mittens is very happy. He goes around to the other campers and begs and everyone thinks that Bolt is super cute. Mittens tries but is called a stupid cat.
There are hamsters in one of the campers watching TV. Bolt begs at that door and the grandma goes to get him some butter bean dumplings. One of the hamsters looks outside and sees Bolt. He rolls outside in his hamster ball and is very excited to meet his hero. Mittens is confused how the hamster knows the dog. The hamster introduces himself as Rhino. Bolt is confused as to why Rhino has been observing him and thinks that Rhino must be a phantom to have watched him without Bolt knowing. Rhinos asks where Penny is and Bolt says that she has been kidnapped. Rhino freaks out and Bolt says that he has captured Mittens for information. Rhino thinks that she must be an agent for Dr. Calico and calls her vile vermin because Penny is the most wonderful person. He goes to attack Mittens but Bolt tells him to keep it easy. They agree that they need Mittens alive. Rhino wants to be part of the team and Bolt agrees though Mittens does not. Rhino says that they are losing daylight and Bolt wants a fast set of wheels. Rhino has an idea and tells them to follow him.
Rhino brings them to a bridge over a train track. Bolt says that he just needs to jump and land on the train and so Mittens starts to panic. Rhino tells her to relax because every time Bolt has done this on the magic box, it was awesome. This catches Mittens’ attention. Mittens realizes that Bolt is from a TV show right before Bolt grabs her to jump off the bridge. He uses a banner to jump down but has trouble letting go of it. Eventually he does but Mittens almost falls of the train. Bolt tries to save her and almost falls off as well. His leash gets stuck and he can’t get back onto the train. Mittens is trying to help him but Rhino thinks that she is trying to hurt him and goes to stop the cat. Bolt finally gets the leash free but they all end up falling off the train.
Bolt has hurt his paw and Mittens says that the real world hurts but Bolt wouldn’t know that. She climbs up a tree and refuses to get down. Rhino goes to get a ladder. Mittens explains that he is part of a TV show and that he is fake. Bolt doesn’t believe that and Mittens goes over the facts. She still refuses to come down from the tree and threatens to use his superbark. Bolt tries but it doesn’t work. He keeps barking and barking and Mittens tries to get him to be quiet but he won’t listen.
Animal control comes and Mittens is panicking. She can’t get Bolt to stop. Both animals are caught and taken away. Rhino comes back with a ladder and sees the van drive away.
Penny and her mom are photocopying Missing Dog posters for Bolt. The agent comes in with a kennel and says that they have found Bolt! The dog comes out of the kennel but it is not Bolt. The Agent explains that when he was a kid, he wanted a bike but got a baseball glove instead so he just pretended it was a bike. Penny still insists that it is not Bolt. Mindy comes in and explains that if they don’t get back into production, people will lose their jobs so they need a little girl to make a grownup decision. She needs to move on and let Bolt go. Penny looks again at the new dog and then stops the photocopier.
The animal control van is running low on gas. Bolt and Mittens are trying to get out of the cages in the back. Mittens is worried that this is the end but Bolt assures her that he will get her out of there. Mittens says that he can’t because he does not have any super powers. She says that they are going to a place where humans go animal shopping but only pick the cute ones like Bolt. The rest of them don’t ever come back out. Bolt again says that he will get them both out of there.
The van pulls into a gas station. Rhino catches up and climbs out of his hamster ball. He gives an evil laugh and climbs up onto the van. He unlocks the door to Bolt’s cage at the same time Bolt charges towards it. Bolt goes flying outside the van as it drives away. Bolt is soon disappointed to learn that it was actually Rhino who opened the door and not his super powers coming back. Bolt then realizes that the painted bolt on this side of his fur is coming off. He doubts if he will actually be able to finish the mission. Rhino is very shocked! He talks Bolt into it because there are other animals that need a hero and someone to look up to. Bolt says that he guesses he will have to do. Rhino is very excited and gets back into his hamster ball.
Rhino and Bolt are sneaking up to Animal Control. They go through the automatic doors and then race down the hallways looking for Mittens. They find a door with a sign of a cat on it and need to get the guard away from the door. Rhino rolls into the next room with all the dogs and the dogs go crazy about the hamster ball. The dogs start barking so loudly that the guard goes in to see what is going on and so Bolt sneaks into the cat room. He finds Mittens and the cat is very surprised that Bolt would come back for her when he has no super powers. Bolt admits that he knows he has no super powers but still asks Mittens if she is ready for this. She says no and Bolt says that he isn’t either but they need to get her out of there. Bolt unlocks the cage and they go to get Rhino. They race out of Animal Control with the guard following. The guard yells at another guard to block the door. Rhino gets knocked by guard and goes flying into the other guard’s face. This results in chaos throughout Animal Control and Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino race out the front door.
They run to the highway and Mittens says that they need a ride. A large truck drives by with a mobile home on the trailer. They animals lead inside and Bolt is starting to feel sad about learning the truth about his powers. He doesn’t know who he is if he doesn’t chase bad guys. Mittens says that being a regular dog is great and that cats are jealous of dogs. She then teaches him how to be a regular dog in the home by doing things such as drinking from the toilet and being cozy by the fire. Mittens says that she once had a home but she sprung out the first chance she got because she is more of an alley cat. She then shows Bolt how to stick his head out of the window and he loves it! The song “Barking at the Moon” plays as they road trip across the country. Mittens continues to teach Bolt how to be a dog. In Chicago they have to grab a new truck. Along the way, Bolt gives Mittens some yarn and he plays with others dogs for the first time. For one lag of the trip, they ride in a kayak on top of a can. Eventually they reach Las Vegas and have a dumpster diving feast.
The next morning, Mittens wakes Bolt up and says that she has a surprise. She brings him over to a set of cardboard box homes she has set up for them. Mittens is super excited about them but Bolt says that he cannot stay there because he is so close to finding Penny. Mittens is surprised that Bolt still wants to go back. She brings him to a billboard promoting his show and asks if it looks real to him. She says that Penny is just an actress and is only pretending. Bolt thinks that Mittens is wrong because Penny loves him. Mittens declare that humans just pretend to love but then one day, they will pack up all their stuff and move away, leaving behind their declawed cat to fend for herself. She tells Bolt to just get out of there and that she should have never taken pity on him. Bolt leaves and tells Mittens to take care. Bolt wanders through the desert and then hops onto the back of the truck.
Mittens is still in the alley when Rhino wakes up and asks where Bolt is. She tells the hamster that Bolt is gone and pretends that bolt instructed her to tell Rhino that Bolt needed to face Dr. Calico alone. Rhino turns around and starts heading off to find Bolt. Mittens reminds him that Bolt doesn’t need them anymore. Rhino says that he has seen it a million times before, when it is right before the big battle, the hero thinks he needs to face the greatest challenge alone, but you never abandon a friend in the time of need.
Bolt makes it to Hollywood. He finds some new pigeons that are big fans of his. They want to pitch an idea for a show and that idea is ‘aliens.’ Bolt tells them that he loves the idea and if they help him find Penny, they can tell him more about it on the way. They take off and the pigeons tell Bolt all their ideas as they race through Hollywood. Soon they find the studio. Bolt takes in the set.
Rhino and Mittens arrive in Hollywood as well and reach the studio. Rhino goes running in but Mittens stops him to explain that sometimes things aren’t what they seem. Rhino doesn’t listen and charges at a henchman. The actor thinks that Rhino is super cute. Mittens leaves Rhino alone and goes to find Bolt.
Bolt finds his trailer and jumps inside. Penny is not there but he takes a look at all the photos of the two of them. He steps on his old carrot toy and starts to play with it. He then hears Penny calling his name and runs to find her. He does, but she is playing with the new dog. Bolt is very sad and leaves. After he is gone, the other dog runs off with the trainer and Penny cries, missing her Bolt. Mittens sees this. But Bolt doesn’t and leaves the studio.
Penny is being tied up in ropes for a dramatic scene. The scene starts with her father still tied up and Dr. Calico threatens him with Penny’s life. She calls for Bolt and the new dog bursts onto the scene. The henchmen try to get him but the dog is actually very frightened and runs away, knocking over a torch which sets the stage on fire.
Mittens catches up to Bolt who is very surprised to see the cat. She wants to know why he left and Bolt says that Mittens was right and that it was not real. Mittens says that it was real because she saw Penny’s face after Bolt left and she is heartbroken. Bolt hears something and knows that Penny is in trouble.
Penny is stuck inside as the stage is burning. No one is able to save her. The fire trucks arrive. Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino race back to the stage. The hamster ball holds open a falling door and Mittens helps Rhino out of there so he doesn’t get squished. Bolt races in as the stage is collapsing. He finds Penny and they have a joyous reunion. But they need to get out of there. Bolt leads Penny to an air vent but she can’t make it through. Bolt stays to be with Penny even though he could save himself.
Outside, everyone is looking for Penny but can’t find her.
Bolt barks out the vent which echoes outside. Everyone hears this and races to find where it is coming from. The firemen are able to find Penny and Bolt and rescue them. Penny is loaded into an ambulance with Bolt lying on her lap. Her mom and agent are in the ambulance and the agent thinks this is going to be great for publicity. Her mom throws the agent out of the ambulance and tells him that they quit.
At the hospital, the injuries are very severe and the doctors had to reconstruct Penny’s face. The bandages are undone to reveal a new actor. This is just part of the TV show and she comments that at least now Dr. Calico won’t recognize her. But the villain is there and the new Bolt saves her. They escape the hospital, only to be abducted by aliens.
Rhino is watching the TV and thinks that the new show is totally unrealistic. Bolt and Mittens are there as well and Penny’s mom is cuddling with Mittens. Bolt is playing with his carrot. Penny comes over and takes a photo of all of them. They then go outside to play. New pigeons think that Bolt looks familiar. A reprise of “Barking at the Moon” plays.
The end credits play to “I Thought I Lost You” as Penny, Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino play together.
Trivia:
- The pigeons in New York are named Joey, Vinnie, and Bobby.
- Bolt was originally titled American Dog.
- It was released theatrically with the Car Toon short Tokyo Mater.
- A video game was made based on Bolt’s TV life.
- The design of Rhino was based on John Lasseter’s pet chinchilla.
- Bolt’s breed is a White Shepherd.
- Alternative names for the film in different countries are Volt, Lightning, and Thunder.
- “Barking at the Moon” was sung by Jenny Lewis.
Representation in the Disney Parks:
There is currently no representation of Bolt in the Disney Parks.
Check out the other films of Disney’s Post-Renaissance Era:
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