Blu-Ray Review:
Bolt
By Jason Gillard
*Screen shots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
When this movie came out, I didn't have any desire to see it. I actually ended up taking my daughter to go see it. I was really impressed, this is a well done movie that is approaching Pixar quality. Its got some funny moments and some serious moments. The movie is about a dog named Bolt. Bolt is the star of his very own TV show. The only problem is, Bolt thinks what happens on the TV show is real life. The producers go to great lengths to keep him believing this, such as hiding cameras and boom mics. Everything is fine until a series of events get him out of his trailer and into the real world. Bolt ends up being shipped to New York. He still believes he is a super dog and thinks he has to fight his way back to save his owner Penny from the evil Dr. Calico. On his way back to save Penny he teams up with Mittens the cat and Rhino the hamster who is a huge fan of Bolt. I thought the movie was great and the opening scenes of the movie were well done and as good as any James Bond flick. This movie is suitable for all ages, but I should point out that there is a scene were Penny is trapped in a burning building and my four year old daughter was afraid of that. Overall, I think this is a real quality product from Disney and should not be missed.
8.5 out of 10
Video
I am starting to sound like a broken record when it comes to CGI movies on Blu-ray. Bolt is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, which fills your widescreen TV up nicely. Since this transfer is transferred digitally it looks fantastic. The colours pop. Details like Bolt's fur are so detailed that you can see individual hairs. Black levels are solid. There is not much more I can say about how good the transfer looks. Disney is on a roll here and they are constantly putting out incredible transfers for their various properties. Overall this is a reference disc for sure.
9.5 out of 10
Audio
For the audio on this disc you're presented with a 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. This movie really takes advantage of the sound stage. The opening scene is filled with swooping jets, attack helicopters, and motorcycles zipping around the lead character. The rear surround channels are used to their fullest extent, taking you deeper into the action. The track can be subtle as well. The LFE channel comes to life as well. When Bolt lets out his Super Sonic Bark, the floors will rattle. They have done a great job with this track and again it will come across as reference grade material.
10 out of 10
Extras
Here is what you get in the way of extras:
Super Rhino Short
“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”
“Two deleted scenes”
“Bolt’s Be-Awesome Mission”
Bolt Art Gallery
BD-Live
Just like Pinocchio, Disney is now including a Standard Def DVD with the Blu-ray. This is great for the parents who want to play the film in the mini-van and good for Disney for including this with little to no increase in cost. There is also a digital copy that you can put on your IPOD. The problem I had with the extras included here were there short run times. There was nothing of significant length. Most of the extras are geared towards little kids. If I had to pick one extra it would be "Creating the World of Bolt". This was an interesting feature on how they used painted backgrounds instead of CGI. It was good but only ran about 6 minutes. I am sure the kids will appreciate most of these extras, but for me it was a let down.
5 out of 10
Overall
Overall I thought the movie was great and Disney has done a pretty good job, except for the extras. Video and Audio are both top notch. So if you were a fan of the movie you should pick this up on March 22, 2009
9 out of 10
Bolt Blu-ray is available now from Amazon.com