Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: "Madagascar" franchise, "The Incredibles", "Finding Nemo"

This ain't redonkulous, it's awesome!

This new Disney adventure comedy cranks up the fun, laughter, action and emotions, whilst introducing fresh personalities into the world of animation, as opposed to milking out more cash with sure-win sequels. As predicted, Bolt the dog is stunning to the very detail of the animal's fur and the colour combo. It's wonderful how technology just gets better and better; and getting the 3-D feel for the movie is brilliant! It breathes life to the colourful background of the film as it pops into vision. A quaint pet shop was the focus of the beginning and the surroundings were so beautifully believable; and not long after a familiar Pixar animated human came into view, the start of the long journey for Bolt begins!

In the movie, Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) is a dog who has its own high-octane action TV series, starring together with his owner, Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus). The two make a great team battling evildoers. It's no joke when I say "high-octane action" because we are really given gruelling car chase scenes to follow. The action is so good that I actually wish they had made a full-length animation of the "Bolt" TV series as well!

Well, back to the movie. Bolt's two companions in his incredible journey, Mittens the cat and Rhino the TV-obsessed hamster both came off pretty believable and yet fantastical. Cynical Mittens tries to convince Bolt that he is not a super dog but on the other hand Rhino has different ideas. I have to admit, Rhino was pretty annoying at first but then his bubbly acts of cuteness and obsession with action films makes him a great laugh as he mimics them. Apart from these three characters, the various pigeons in the film deliver great wit, reminding me of the penguins in "Madagascar". Birds sure make some pretty good comedy!

As with every superhero (or super dog), all have their "kryptonite" and it's amusing to discover what Bolt believes to be his personal weak spot! Absolutely hilarious.

At the end, I didn't expect to get all weepy in an animation film. However, the man's-best-friend thing sure tugged at a few heartstrings. I guess when films involve animals, there is bound to be something really touching in the end.

Cinema Online, 24 November 2008