Mighty dog - Entertainment, Movies - Army Times

Mighty dog

Jumping into the make-believe magic world of Disney — a constitutional requirement for every American parent — has always been as much about delusion as illusion.

Which is what makes the premise of “Bolt,” Disney’s new animated — and, in select octoplexes, digital 3-D — film, such a delight: It’s about a fictional TV series set within the “real” world of the movie, which of course is completely unreal to those of us in the audience.

The canine title character is a big-headed, four-legged ball of white fur whose whole life has been a strange brew of illusion and delusion.

Bolt (John Travolta, whose voice is remarkably suited to the character) co-stars with his owner, tweener Penny (Miley Cyrus, who knows a few things about tween stardom), in a sci-fi/adventure series about a clever girl and her superhero pet whose powers make Underdog and Krypto look like junkyard mutts.

The gag is that Bolt has spent his whole life tightly cocooned on the set of the series and thus believes that he really does have the heat vision, immense strength and “super bark” — sort of a sonic boom on steroids — that are created for him on the show through special effects.

As the show’s tightly wound director (James Lipton — yes, the “Inside the Actor’s Studio” guy) puts it: “If the dog believes it, the audience will believe it!”

In other words, Bolt is the ultimate Method actor.

But everything he knows is put to the test when he’s accidentally wrapped in a packing crate and shipped to New York City. He must figure out not only why his powers have deserted him — at first, he thinks styrofoam packing peanuts might be his kryptonite — but also how to get home.

He’s eventually joined in his quest by a cynical alley cat named Mittens (Susie Essman), whose tough exterior hides a heart wounded by abandonment, and an excitable hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton), who has spent countless hours thrilling to Bolt’s television exploits and fogs up his plastic rollerball panting about the incredible awesomeness of his hero.

The cross-country adventure is a deft mix of thrills and humor. My fave moment: After landing in a trailer park, Mittens shows Bolt how to rake in the food scraps by doing the forlorn, big-eyed puppy look that turns most people into baby-talking blobs of mush.

Also high on my list were two scenes in which Bolt interacts with pigeons in New York and L.A. The birds are hilariously representative of their respective hometowns — and their pigeonish mannerisms are exquisitely rendered.

In truth, the whole film is exquisitely rendered, and the gorgeous animation is greatly amplified by the digital 3-D effects. See it in that format if possible; I’m betting it’s much less fun in 2-D. Even the opening Disney studio credit, with that aerial flight around Cinderella’s Castle, is a new and exhilarating experience in 3-D.

Of course, the familiar Disney themes of friendship, loyalty and courage are in full force — in the end, Bolt learns that while he may not be super, he can still be a hero — but the message feels quite un-preachy this time out, a refreshing change of pace from a studio that traditionally has delivered its messages upside the head with a sledgehammer.

Toss in the stunning visuals and highly lovable characters, and “Bolt” becomes a very worthy addition to the ever-expanding Disney pantheon.

Rated PG for mild scenes of peril. Got a rant or rave about the movies? E-mail cvinch@atpco.com