Bolt DVD Review

Bolt

http://www.disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/bolt/

On DVD: March 22nd, 2009

Rated PG for some mild action and peril.

Running time: 96 minutes

Link to our theatrical Bolt reviews.

Byron Howard (dir.)

Chris Williams (dir.)

John Travolta as Bolt (voice)

Miley Cyrus as Penny (voice)

Susie Essman as Mittens (voice)

Mark Walton as Rhino (voice)

Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Calico (voice)

James Lipton as The Director (voice)

Greg Germann as The Agent (voice)

Diedrich Bader as Veteran Cat (voice)

Bolt, (voice of John Travolta), Mittens, (voice of Susie Essman), and Rhino, (voice of Mark Walton), in Disney's Bolt.

Our reviews below:

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Bolt DVD Review By John C.

**** (out of 4)

Bolt, my own personal pick for the very best dog movie in recent years, comes home on DVD today. Following the adventures of a dog, Bolt (John Travolta), who is the star of a TV show, where he plays a super dog who always has to save his person, Penny (Miley Cyrus), from grave-danger. The only problem is, he thinks he really has superpowers. So when he gets lost from the set after filming a cliffhanger episode, he sets out on an hilarious and exciting road trip to get back to his person.

Filled with funny and lovable characters, including a street-smart New York alley cat, Mittens (Susie Essman), and fan boy hamster, Rhino (Mark Walton). The pigeons with accents from whatever city they are in are always hilarious. When I reviewed the film back in November, I called it almost at the level of Pixar, while watching it again, I realized it pretty much is on the same level. Pixar is still slightly ahead in terms of realism in the animation, but Bolt is practically on the same level in terms of story and heart. The action scenes are exciting, the comedy is funny and the characters are very likable and believable for who they are. In theatres the film was in 3-D, but due to the technology for 3-D at home still being expensive and not quite up to what it should be, Bolt is just in plain old 2-D. The animation still has incredible depth to it, so the 3-D was never integral, but just a nice extra element when it was there, but when it’s not, you don’t really miss anything.

Bolt is available in three different formats. The one-disc DVD includes the brand new short film, Super Rhino. The two-disc DVD includes Super Rhino, “I Thought I Lost You” music video, In Session with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, A New Breed of Directors: A Filmmakers’ Journey, Act, Speak! The Voices of Bolt, Creating The World of Bolt, Deleted Scenes with optional introductions and a digital copy of the film. There is also a three-disc blu-ray combo pack, which basically includes everything on the two-disc DVD set, plus a blu-ray of the film that includes all of the DVDs bonus features and more. If you have a blu-ray player, or are going to be getting one in the near future, then the three-disc is most worth your money. If you don’t really care how you see the film, and don’t mind missing out on all the bonus features, then either DVD edition would be fine.

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Bolt DVD Review By Erin V.

**** (out of 4)

I enjoyed Bolt just as much the second time around on DVD. Originally seeing it in Real D 3D was cool, and watching it again let me remember that experience which was so fun in theatres. Last year was great for animation. The three big animated movies nominated at the Oscars were all stellar, (Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, and WALL•E). I would have been happy had any of them won, (although I am glad that WALL•E won in the end.) Kung Fu Panda got the Annie last year, which meant that Bolt was the one of the three left largely unrecognized for awards last year. It’s still a really good movie, and now that it’s out on DVD, you should really add it to your collection.

The Bolt DVD has about 40 minutes, or so, of great special features. I enjoyed the ‘making of’ videos, and the funny new short ‘Super Rhino’. The DVD/Blu-ray combo pack is worth getting, since once you do make the switch to Blu, (if you haven’t already), you have both. This deal also comes with a digital copy for your iPod. One of the advantages of this set is that even if you’re still waiting to be able to view your Blu-ray, you still get the above mentioned 40 minutes of extras on the regular DVD. Granted, the Blu-ray has a lot more.

For a lot of fun, go out and get the Bolt DVD. This is one that you will probably want to view again and again.

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Bolt DVD Review By Nicole

**** (out of 4)

After seeing Bolt again, I realize this is actually a 4 star movie, not 31/2 like I had originally rated it. Seeing Bolt again on the small screen was just as exciting as when I first saw it in theatres. The story, animation, voice work, and score are some of the best in Disney history.

The extras on the DVD are excellent. The short film “Super Rhino”, is really funny and cute. There is also a music video with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, which splices scenes from the recording studio, and images from the film. The making of featurettes are really interesting. I really enjoyed the featurette on how the animation backgrounds were done. I really liked how the animators wanted the backgrounds to look like a painting. To see how this was achieved was interesting to me as an artist. I also liked the featurette about the directors, and the one about the voice actors. I like how all the voice actors fit the characters in the movie. I would have liked to see a featurette about the score on the DVD. There are also two deleted scenes, which show some of the early plans for the story. This is one DVD you will definitely want to own.

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Bolt DVD Review By Maureen

***1/2 (out of 4)

Having originally seen Bolt in 3D at a theatre I wasn’t sure the movie would be as enjoyable on DVD with a smaller screen and 2D. Well the DVD didn’t disappoint. The animation is so well done with a lot of depth in the scenes that Bolt is still one of the better animated movies that I’ve seen.

Bolt’s storyline, the action, the voice acting by John Travolta and Miley Cyrus and the excellent animation all add up to a really fun movie. What I like about seeing a movie again on DVD is catching some of the lines and humour I missed the first time in theatres.

This is one DVD that belongs in a family collection. There are a lot of extras on the DVD and it’s nice having the DVD/BluRay combo for those households that are in the process of switching over or adding on BluRay. Treat the family and bring Bolt home.

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Bolt DVD Review By Tony

*** (out of 4)

Read original theatrical Bolt review here.

The BluRay release includes a DVD for folks like us who don’t yet have a BluRay player. Though the BluRay disc has some extra material, the DVD has all the features you would expect. It is fun to hear from the two young directors carrying on the Disney animation tradition with their mentor John Lasseter. We also meet the main voice actors and can watch how their voices are used in their scenes. There is also a short with the hamster Rhino as the hero–in the same vein as the internet Mater shorts from Cars.

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Consensus: Bolt is still a very entertaining movie on DVD. This will be a must add to your collection that you will want to watch for years to come. ***1/2 (Out of 4)