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Bolt

Bolt (2008)

tomatometer

88

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 178
Fresh: 157 | Rotten: 21

Bolt is a pleasant animated comedy that overcomes the story's familiarity with strong visuals and likable characters.

77

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 7

Bolt is a pleasant animated comedy that overcomes the story's familiarity with strong visuals and likable characters.

audience

76

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 279,447

My Rating

Movie Info

From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes Bolt, the tale of a superstar TV pup (voiced by John Travolta) who gets plopped in the middle of America with seemingly no way back to the glam and glitz of Hollywood. Thanks to his starring role on a hit television show, Bolt the pooch has become a household name. But Bolt has bought into his own heroic image, now believing that he really possesses the super-canine powers of his fictional television series. When he's accidentally shipped from Hollywood

Mar 24, 2009

$114.1M

Walt Disney Pictures

All Critics (179) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (161) | Rotten (21) | DVD (20)

That it falls short of Pixar's lofty heights doesn't mean the attempt isn't worthwhile; indeed, Bolt is the most entertaining and well-crafted Disney Animation movie in years.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment (1)
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The 3-D process is an enhancement, even though it's used with little verve or ingenuity. But the movie's terms are severely limited too.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | Comments (2)
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Belief may be in question for much of the movie -- only for the perturbed pooch -- but fortunately, enjoyment is never a problem.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In the pre-Thanksgiving lull, parents can take their young'uns to Bolt, drop their 10-to-14-year-olds off at Twilight, and the whole family will have survived the weekend.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Although it doesn't reach the heights of Finding Nemo or The Incredibles, it's a masterpiece compared with Disney's 2002 Treasure Island.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment (1)
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Bolt, with its numerous winks and nudges, reminds us how attuned we are to the falseness of pop culture, which isn't the same thing as connecting us with its truths.

November 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Salon.com | Comment
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's sophisticated look is rich with details that are easy to take for granted, but which add immeasurably to the texture and dimension of the scenes.

September 28, 2011 Full Review Source: American Profile | Comment

The latest generation of animated flicks is a sort of latter-day vaudeville revue. Kiddies who take Bolt to heart may conclude not only that dogs really do have superpowers, but also that everybody's in showbiz.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comment (1)
NPR.org

Wait... an all-star voice cast for a computer-animated story we've never heard of before, and it's watchable, too?

April 8, 2010 Full Review Source: MovieCrypt.com | Comment
MovieCrypt.com

A touch slight by Disney standards, but even if it's not high art, it's still warm-and-fuzzy fun.

August 14, 2009 Full Review Source: Times-Picayune | Comments (2)
Times-Picayune

Bolt marks Disney's long awaited re-emergence as a top-dog in the world of animation.

August 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Moviedex | Comment
Moviedex

...a fairly winning animated endeavor.

May 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

The best part of the special features is the new short Super Rhino, featuring my favorite character with new-found super powers. Fully awesome!

April 18, 2009 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | Comment
7M Pictures

What Bolt lacks in originality it makes up for in execution.

April 8, 2009 Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | Comment
Window to the Movies

Unmistakably bears the conflicting influence of Pixar and Disney's old ideals.

April 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | Comment
Paste Magazine

Are your kids ready for an existential movie? Turns out they are: Disney's CGI-animated action comedy Bolt is, at its core, a story of one individual's discovery that his sense of reality...has been seriously skewed. [Blu-ray]

April 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment

Focused, fun and action-packed, Disney's Bolt proves that it doesn't need the Pixar banner to make an excellent CG animated film.

April 1, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Views | Comment

John Travolta's earnest, gentle voice performance as the title character goes a long way in making this Disney animated feature a winner.

March 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Disney's awesome three-disc Blu-ray plus DVD pack has something (well, lots of things) for everyone.

March 25, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

So much fun, you might be tempted to conclude that Disney's acquisition of the amazing Pixar team has inspired the already in-house Disney team to new heights.

March 25, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

Molonoti me ton Lasseter kapoy pano ap' tin paragogi, na tis dinei aroma Pixar, i prototypia tis tainias tis Disney eksantleitai se merika oraia panarismata kai haritomenes gonies tainias drasis sti skinothesia, i asfaleia tis sto problepsimo senario omos

March 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | Comment
Movies for the Masses

An instant kiddie classic!

March 20, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | Comment
NewsBlaze

It has everything you want from an animated film: great artwork, animation, characters, details, story, action, humor, and heart.

March 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment (1)
Movie Metropolis
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Bolt

My daughter loved this movie. it was cute and fun. We had a blast cuddled up on the couch laughing and enjoying this one.

November 22, 2009
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

Well I'm still yet to see an animated film that can topple the mighty 'Toy Story', 'TS' still sits on its throne with the number one spot. But Bolt is a nice film, very sweet, very nice, a touch of emotion and you have a good solid performance.The story is as usual pretty unoriginal but it still works well, it has a

November 30, 2008
phubbs1

Super Reviewer

    1. Rhino: They need a hero to tell them that sometimes the impossible can become possible.
    – Submitted by Nusfish K (3 months ago)
    1. Mittens: Get lost.
    – Submitted by Anthony A (5 months ago)
    1. Blake: We know just the cat.
    – Submitted by Anthony A (5 months ago)
    1. Mindy: Mindy Parker. From the Network.
    – Submitted by Anthony A (5 months ago)
    1. Bolt: Are you even observing me? That's incredible.
    – Submitted by Anthony A (5 months ago)

Latest News for Bolt

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March 16, 2009:
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Foreign Titles

  • Bolt - Ein Hund für alle Fälle (DE)
  • Volt, star malgré lui (FR)
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