Disney’s latest computer animated effort, Bolt, is a computer-animated film about a five year-old dog named Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) who has been raised to believe he is a super-dog that routinely saves his person, Penny (Miley Cyrus, but really, who cares?).

However, this all turns out to be a ruse; television producers have forced Penny and other filmmakers to raise Bolt to believe he is a superhero, rendering his life a complete lie (basically The Truman Show with Jim Carrey replaced with a dog). When the show takes a new turn plot-wise, Bolt is trapped in his room and believes that Penny has been kidnapped. He then sets out on a mission to save Penny, no matter the costs. Along the way he must deal with the concepts of illusion vs. reality, self-worth, and friendships.

The film co-stars Sussie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm) as the feisty cat Mittens, Malcom McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) as The Green-Eyed Man and James Lipton as the director (Inside the Actors Studio). Bolt is fine Disney film that slightly satirizes the saccharine Disney formula.

Just to avoid confusion later on, Wall-E is the best computer animated film ever made. Everything about that film is stunning, from the visual to the aural. It is both an artistic and technical achievement. Bolt is not the triumph of Wall-E, but still a good (but not great) film. It is inoffensively funny, beautifully animated (the light rendering is amazing), the characters are full of pathos and the story is engaging.

The first thing any audience will notice is how adorable Bolt is. At the risk of being chastised by my hard-rock-loving friends, that dog is downright heartbreakingly cute at times. I kept thinking “it’s just an animated picture” but I really did feel for that dog, especially when the film takes a very dark turn during the fiery and surprisingly scary finale.

The film is visually stunning; the opening shot made me forget that it was an animated film at first. The landscapes are so beautifully rendered they look like a scenic photograph. I actually got slightly itchy when the wet grass was on screen. The lighting is amazing; the film looks less like an animated film and more like a Ridley Scott film.

The supporting characters are very engaging as well; any pet-owner will feel Penny’s heartbreak for her lost dog, Rhino the hamster is entertaining as the enthusiastic but clueless friend (we all have one), and I even found some enjoyment in the completely stereotypical Italian pigeons, which are basically just a rip off of the Goodfeathers skit from Anamaniacs (yeah, think hard, you’ll remember them). That last one made me want to see an animated Disney mob film.

One feels the need to compare Bolt to other Disney films, especially those of Pixar. While this is the most visually stunning Disney animated film (apart from Wall-E) thus far, it is also one of the weakest scripted since the Disney animation resurgence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Apart from a key dramatic scene during the climax, the film is pretty predictable.

The film breaks no new ground story-wise but they managed to make the film less of a Disney cliché and more of a Disney archetype (minus the annoying songs). It was also nice hearing the usually vulgar Essmen in a non-vulgar role.

Character arcs are predictable; of course Bolt and Mittens the Cat become friends, of course it will all work out in the end and of course they will all discover that there can be a hero in everyone. The arc of Bolt having to deal with the fact that he is not an actual super-dog who saves Penny from evil-doers is almost non-existent. During one scene he believes and then next scene he doesn’t. Very little time is dedicated to come to terms with the life-changing twist. However, the weak script is balanced out with the surprisingly theatrical animation.

This is going to sound like such a cliché, but the film is actually fun for all ages. It’s a Disney film so you know what you are in for: silly yet sharp humor and a barrage of beautiful images.

It was never my intention to ever see this film however, it did win me over. My three cynical cinephile pals and I went to a theater in which we were the whole audience and we all (to our surprise) found ourselves laughing at the sharp silliness.

The film is fun, funny, full of pathos, and a solid (but not overwhelmingly so) addition to the Disney pantheon. Final Grade: B+