If you take Pixar out of the equation, the current state of movie animation is pretty dire. With a few exceptions (Monster House, Meet the Robinsons), the boom in CGI technology has taken the drive out of storytelling. Walt Disney and the other pioneers who always saw the form as a way to tell a wonderful tale above all else would turn away from the recent flock of animated films that have turned the emphasis to the visual and the shticky (The Ant Bully, Barnyard, Open Season, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa... I could go on and on.) Even Kung Fu Panda was overrated. So, it was with this sense of well-founded trepidation at the latest non-Pixar animated effort that I entered the screening for Disney's Bolt and why I understand that you might not believe me when I tell you it's cute, clever, and enjoyable. I barely believe it myself.

An admittedly bizarre hybrid of The Truman Show, The Incredibles, and The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Bolt takes its title from its lead character (John Travolta), the star of a hit network series about a super dog. In the show, Bolt saves the day and his faithful owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) from the clutches of the evil Dr. Calico (Malcolm McDowell) by using his super speed and his super bark. The catch is that Bolt doesn't know it's just a show, and that his super bark is merely a special effect. He thinks he's really a superhero and that Penny really needs him. Penny starts to worry that Bolt isn't living enough of a normal dog's life - the suits don't even let him leave his trailer for fear that the facade that convinces him that only he can save the heroine will be broken. To grab ratings, the producers make the mistake of having an episode end with a cliffhanger, which gives Bolt the drive to escape his Hollywood confines and actually ends with the poor guy stranded all the way in New York City.

Across the country, Bolt crosses paths with a gruff cat named Mittens (Susie Essman), and the two begin an unusual road trip across the country. Of course, Bolt slowly discovers that he's not a super dog and learns that it's pretty great just being an ordinary pooch. The montage of what it means to be man's best friend as Mittens teaches Bolt to beg, stick his head out the window, and play fetch is wonderful, although that could just be the dog lover in me. Bolt's screenplay is of the tried-and-true "everyone's a hero" school, but it's handled without as many silly or obviously melodramatic beats as a lot of animated films with similiar themes. Pixar's John Lasseter executive produced Bolt, and you can feel his fingerprints all over it, giving the film a more subtle touch than most of the non-Pixar Disney movies of late.

However, notice that I said "most.” There's still far too much of a reliance on slang to make the kids laugh in Bolt. When Rhino the hamster said "Redonkulous" and "Fully Awesome" for the hundredth time, I wondered what that would sound like in fifty years. Will anyone know what it means? Will it have as much ring as Mae West saying "the bee's knees"? I'll never understand writers who choose to take a form as timeless as animation and ground it in the current era with stupid dialogue. I also wish Bolt would have been a bit more unpredictable. The beats are pretty clear from the beginning - New York, road trip, self-awareness, saving the day anyway. I wanted more surprises from the script.

If the script didn't offer enough left turns, I was surprised enough by the voice work, visual aesthetic (Bolt is DAMN cute and shockingly well-rendered when it comes to his always moving hair), and pacing of the film that I started to smile more than think. Bolt simply wore down my critical defenses, and I found myself actually just enjoying Bolt's journey. That's what a kid's movie should do - turn you from critic to kid again. Bolt allowed the former in a few too many times to keep it from greatness, but especially with the usually soulless state of the genre, I was stunned at how often I found myself simply and purely enjoying the ride.

Rating: THREE BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: November 21st, 2008

Rating: PG

Starring (the voices of): John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell, James Lipton, and Greg Germann

Directors: Byron Howard & Chris Williams

Writers: Dan Fogelman & Chris Williams