Disney Era Analysis – Bolt
As mentioned in the first blog post in this series, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 60+ Disney animated feature films and their film making eras.
The sixth era is the Post-Renaissance Era, which ran from 1999 to 2008 and started with Fantasia 2000. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Post-Renaissance Era is known for: its experimentation with both computer-generated (CG) animation (and alternating between traditional hand-drawn and CG animation), and its experimentation with storytelling.
The Post-Renaissance Era is also referred to as Disney’s Second Dark/Bronze Age and Experimental Era.
So how well did Bolt measure up to these famous features, and was it the right film to end the Era?
Experimentation with computer-generated (CG) animation (and alternating between traditional hand-drawn and CG animation):
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) was used to give the film a special visual appearance. Non-photorealistic rendering is an area of computer graphics that generates stylised, expressive digital imagery inspired by artistic mediums such as painting and drawing, with the goal of blending 3D computing power with traditional 2D artistry.
Disney’s use of NPR is shown through its choice to incorporate brushstrokes into the artwork to soften up the angular lines of the CG animation. According to the film’s IMDb page, the film’s crew was inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper and films from the early 1970s, especially the works of cinematographers, Gordon Willis and Vilmos Zsigmond for the film’s visual look.
The film’s IMDb page also states that this film was Disney’s first animated feature film to be conceived and produced in 3D, whereas Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons were converted to 3D after the fact, and Dinosaur used early conception and production of CG animation. However, despite the film being fully CG animated, the crew still relied heavily on hand-drawn storyboards during production.
Experimentation with storytelling:
According to the film’s IMDb page, the film’s plot was initially about a famous canine star who finds himself stranded in the Nevada desert with a testy, one-eyed cat oversized, radioactive rabbits who are searching for new homes, all the while believing he is still on television. The rabbits and cat were eventually removed from the story, and Henry was reworked to be Bolt, with the desert setting changed due to the release of Pixar’s, Cars, which had a similar setting.
The film’s IMDb page also states that the film’s plot is similar to The Truman Show, with Bolt’s character arc being similar to that of Buzz Lightyear from Pixar’s, Toy Story.
My overall thoughts:
Whilst this film is a good quality one, due to the lack of originality with its plot (i.e. similarities to The Truman Show and Toy Story), I found it hard to stay engaged with it. However, I appreciated that the plot chose to have Bolt discover and accept his reality that he was not a superhero by the halfway point of the film, and have the second half focus on his growth and personal journey.
In terms of whether this film was the right one to end the Post-Renaissance Era, due to the film showcasing how far Disney had come with its CG animation, as well as the film’s critical and commercial success being credited for instigating a rebirth of Walt Disney Animation Studios, this was definitely the right film to end the tumultuous Post-Renaissance Era, and pave the way for what would turn out to be another critically and commercially successful period for Disney, the Revival Era.
The next part of the Disney Era Analysis series will focus on the Revival Era and the first film within that Era, The Princess and the Frog.
Fun Facts and Trivia (according to the film’s IMDb page):
- Oddly, Penny is only referred to by name on the show and by Bolt and the animals when off-stage, it’s unknown if that’s her real name. Her mother only addresses her as “sweetie” or “my baby”, while her agent calls her “my little superstar”.
- John Travolta was always the first choice to provide the voice for Bolt.
- This is the first Disney animated feature film to be released on Blu-Ray before DVD.
- Bolt’s archenemy is named Dr. Calico. Appropriately, Calico is a type of cat.
- This is the first Disney fully CG animated feature film to receive an Academy Award nomination.
References:
Loveday Writing 