BOLT (formerly American Dog) Discussion

[Neal]

American White Shepherd

[Disneykid]

I saw it today in Disney Digital 3-D with two other friends, and we both really liked it. Was it predictable? Yes, but it was still very entertaining. It's easily one of the warmer (and dare I say snugglier) Disney movies, which is saying something.

Rhino's definitely my favorite character in the film, though Mittens and Bolt himself were very likable, too. When I first heard the plot for this film, I thought it sounded too Toy Story-ish. I'm glad to say that it handles Bolt's character arc differently than Buzz Lightyear's.

The "Barking at the Moon" montage was hands down my favorite scene. It covered so much ground and with so little words. For me, the heart of the story is really here. I know the film's emotional aspect is supposed to come from the Bolt/Penny angle, but for some reason this montage of Bolt just being a normal dog connected with me more.

The climax was a lot more intense than I was expecting, which is a good thing. I agree with Brandon's opinion that it was kind of unrealistic considering how strict and secure film sets really are, but it was easy for me to get past that. I like that it was resolved in a slightly unconventional way.

In terms of how it compares to WDAS' two other CG films (I'm not counting Dinosaur), I'd say Bolt is better than Chicken Little but not quite as good as Meet the Robinsons. Bolt may be the slickest and most progessional of the three, but the highs of Robinsons packed a bigger punch for me, personally, than Bolt's. Still, I think Disney's headed in a very good direction. I'd give this film ***1/2 out of ****, or 8/10.

[akhenaten]

is the barking at the moon montage the one with the country song ala HOTR?

[Jules]

AAARGH!

Dear Mr. Carter,

The above film is scheduled to be released in cinemas in Malta at the same time as the UK in February 2009.

Regards

Charles Pace
Managing Director

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KRS Film Distributors
13, Zachary Street,
Valletta, Malta
Tel: +356 21 233178
Fax: +356 21 243597
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Siren]

American White Shepherd

Technically that's not even a breed. Just a name breeders came up with. Bolt is a German Shepherd with a recessive gene that causes him to be white. That's all an "American White Shepherd" is. Only the UKC recognizes it as a separate breed, but that is up for debate. Its just a white German Shepherd. Breeding isn't just about changing a color. If that was the case, black, red, and white poodles would all have their own breed name. UKC tends to register all these sub-breeds as a full breed. A normal German Shepherd can suddenly have a white puppy, if she carries the gene. Same as orange tigers who have white babies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Shepherd_Dog

[Jules]

Are there any Italian UDers who can tell us what they think of the film (as it opened in Italy a few days ago)?

What was the Italian dub like? Good? Bad?

[akhenaten]

from BOGURU.

"A battle is brewing for second place between last weekend's openers Twilight and Bolt. Each film grossed an estimated $11M on Friday representing a steep 69% tumble from last Friday for the vampire flick, but a huge 57% increase for the animated canine pic. Last Friday, Twilight dominated the multiplexes so a large decline was expected and with parents and kids both free all day Disney's new toon had more of an available audience. But which will win the silver medal? Kidpics typically see a larger share of the weekend take on Black Friday, often 42%. Look for both films to capture $25-28M over the Friday-to-Sunday period with Summit's Twilight possibly having an edge and boosting its ten-day cume to $120M."

i suggest those who havent seen it to go or 3d is dead.

[disneyboy20022]

from BOGURU.

"A battle is brewing for second place between last weekend's openers Twilight and Bolt. Each film grossed an estimated $11M on Friday representing a steep 69% tumble from last Friday for the vampire flick, but a huge 57% increase for the animated canine pic. Last Friday, Twilight dominated the multiplexes so a large decline was expected and with parents and kids both free all day Disney's new toon had more of an available audience. But which will win the silver medal? Kidpics typically see a larger share of the weekend take on Black Friday, often 42%. Look for both films to capture $25-28M over the Friday-to-Sunday period with Summit's Twilight possibly having an edge and boosting its ten-day cume to $120M."

i suggest those who havent seen it to go or 3d is dead.

I have not seen it but I am going tomorrow to see it in 3D...there is not a 3D theater for 40 miles away so I had to rework my schedule...and it's playing in the local theater too but I want to see it in 3D first

[Jules]

From Animated Views

http://animated-views.com/2008/bolt-cin ... -animator/

After Meet the Robinsons, the animators had an extensive training program to prepare for the animation on Bolt. Chris Williams and Byron Howard were busy putting together a story in record time. Once the animation started we were all in the same boat, and had to catch up. Consider that the release date wasn’t going to move even if Bolt had become a completely new movie from American Dog. The story was new, new designs, new models, and new rigs. I think the only thing that was carried over was the amazing art direction of Paul Felix.

Our biggest challenge on Bolt was the crazy schedule. The studio was very fortunate to have such an amazing group of animators who were able to deliver outstanding animation under such incredible pressure.

Wow ... BOLT seems to have been a super-human effort!

On the other hand, it’s unfortunate that more than half of the animation crew was let go as soon as Bolt animation was finished. As I mentioned earlier, once the dust settles and Bolt is released, I hope Disney will be able to re-introduce some stability at the studio.

Eeeep! More people laid off again (and half the workforce!?)! Who's going to animate Rapunzel and King of the Elves?

And why the lay-offs anyway?

[pap64]

Going back to its box office earnings...

Box Office Mojo says that early weekend estimates put Bolt at number 2, with 26 million under its belt and barely any drops in numbers. It has already earned 66 million in the US.

As expected, Twilight quickly dropped to number three, being defeated by the WB Holiday comedy "Four Christmases". The biggest droppers were "Quantum of Solace" and Madagascar 2". The latest Bond flick dropped to number 4 after a solid first week debut at number 2.

The 5 day Thanksgiving numbers put Bolt at number 3, with 39 million earned.

So what many were expecting happened; after the Twilight hype died down and the Holidays upon us more families went to see "Bolt", and welcomed the Holidays with "Four Christmases".

At this rate, while Bolt might not be the biggest earner of the year it will have strong legs throughout the Holiday season and will likely earn 200 million before the year ends.

Yes, I too can act like a box office know it all .

[jediliz]

at least it didn't have to compete with Harry Potter. I'm glad it was pushed back to next summer. Though you have to wonder: would it have beat TWILIGHT? (HarryPotter)

I hope BOLT will continue will gain $ at the Box Office.

[PeterPanfan]

I still haven't seen it because my movie theatre doesn't have it in yet! But I am definitley looking forward to seeing it, even if it means on DVD.

[kbehm29]

Bolt actually grossed more its second weekend than its first (counting 3-day weekends only)! That's awesome.

[PatrickvD]

More good news for Bolt, it got 9 Annie nominations. Wich is below the 17 nods for Kung Fu Panda, but above 8 nods for WALL-E!

WDAS must be thrilled. It's been awhile since they were relevant at the Annies.

[Jules]

Wow! Wall-E got 8 and Panda got 17!?

Hurrah for WDAS!!

[pap64]

Wow! Wall-E got 8 and Panda got 17!?

Hurrah for WDAS!!

Sarcastic post is sarcastic...

In all seriousness I am surprised that Panda got that many nominations. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the movie and its now my all time favorite Dreamworks film, above Shrek and even The Prince of Egypt.

BUT, its not that great of a film that deserves all those nominations.

[Sotiris]

I was surprised too that Panda got more nominations that Wall-E. Is there a reason for that? Was KFP more innovative in terms of animation (since Annies focus more on the medium of animation than other aspects of animated movies) than Wall-E? I just find that hard to believe.

[pap64]

I was surprised too that Panda got more nominations that Wall-E. Is there a reason for that? Was KFP more innovative in terms of animation (since Annies focus more on the medium of animation than other aspects of animated movies) than Wall-E? I just find that hard to believe.

Here's what I suspect: Wall.E was nearly a silent film, with very small vocal performances that while good not worth noting. Kung Fu Panda, on the other hand, had a handful of nomination worthy performances, including Jack Black as Po and Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu. I suspect they were both nominated for best male voice actor in an animated film since they were very good. For female voice actor, I take it they nominated Angelina Jolie for her performance as Master Tigress.

Thinking further, I think KFP got more nominations in the visual and sound categories, something Wall.E never aimed to do (its a great looking film, yeah, but it was more about the story and character animation than everything else).

So Wall.E's REAL categories lie in the best film and story categories since those are the film's biggest assets.

[magicalwands]

Character Animation in a Feature Production
-James Baxter ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation
-Philippe Le Brun ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation
-Victor Navone ìWallïEî ñ Pixar Animation Studios
-Dan Wagner ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
-Nico Marlet ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

Music in an Animated Feature Production
-Hans Zimmer & John Powell ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
-Ralph Eggleston ìWallïEî ñ Pixar Animation Studios
-Tang Heng ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation
-Raymond Zibach ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
-Alessandro Carloni ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation
-Ronnie Del Carmen ñ ìWallïEî ñ Pixar Animation Studios
-Jen Yuh Nelson ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
-Ben Burtt ñ Voice of WallïE ñ ìWallïEî ñ Pixar Animation Studios
-Dustin Hoffman ñ Voice of Shifu ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation
-James Hong ñ Voice of Mr. Ping ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation
-Ian McShane ñ Voice of Tai Lung ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
-Jon Aibel & Glenn Berger ñ ìKung Fu Pandaî ñ DreamWorks Animation

I have taken the liberty of organizing a list of categories Kung Fu Panda has won but not Wall-e, and categories where the KFP has more than one in that category. It seems they won the many nominations fair and sqaure.

[Kossage]

I'll have to wait until February too. The Finnish dub had better be worth the wait! Well, usually the dubs have been great, so I hope Bolt will follow that tradition. Time will tell, I guess.

I listened to the Bolt soundtrack, and it was actually better than I expected. The duet "I Thought I Lost You" between Travolta and Cyrus was quite charming in its own way (and yay for actually using the actors of the film to perform a song even if it seems to just be an end credits piece). "Barking at the Moon" was surprisingly touching too, and I liked the idea of it being reprised.

John Powell's score functioned well, and it had several tongue-in-cheek moments that were a joy to hear. There were even some nifty themes mixed in, particularly the one that seems to represent Bolt's soft side and his heroics. Too bad Disney is being annoying once again: there's not enough score on the album. Hopefully the complete score bootlegs will surface soon, because I'm sure there's some great music that has been left out.

Bolt looks like a charming little film, and I can't wait to see it. I'm also glad that many people have enjoyed watching it.

Also, off-topic, but I just have to comment on this:

I LOVED the movie and its now my all time favorite Dreamworks film, above Shrek and even The Prince of Egypt.

Whoa! I'm glad you enjoyed Kung Fu Panda that much.