Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) the wonder dog and his "person," Penny (Miley Cyrus), co-star in one of the biggest shows in Hollywood. Unfortunately for Bolt, he thinks it's real, and when he is accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny, he soon finds out it's a dog-eat-dog world as he tries to find his way home. With the help of two new friends, a street-smart cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) and a hilarious hamster, Rhino (Mark Walton), Bolt soon discovers he doesn't need super powers to be a super hero.

In any other year, Bolt would have been the frontrunner to win the Best Animated Feature Film category at the Oscars, but with Wall-E in the mix, it didn't stand a chance. Golden statuette or not, this is a great family film with many of the ingredients that have made the Pixar classics so successful—awesome animation, a fun story with tons of laughs, and a kick-ass soundtrack. My favorite character is Rhino, who provides most of the humor, and his devotion to Bolt and his quest shows kids what a true friend is made of.

I have yet to see an animated title from Disney not look good, and this is no exception. The 1080p AVC video is flawless in its delivery, with bold and bright colors, exceptional dimensionality, and 3D-like depth. Resolution is razor-sharp—as you would expect from a digital source—but the animation style is unique with backgrounds looking hand painted, revealing individual brush strokes. Contrast is perfect, and when combined with inky blacks, there's only one word to sum up the presentation—reference!

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack hits with full force from the opening credits and continues nonstop throughout with plenty of foundation-rocking LFE and impressive dynamic range. Discrete effects come at you from every direction, especially the surround channels, and stereo separation across the front is extraordinary. Dialog never takes a backseat to the intense action and is always intelligible. This ranks up there with the best soundtracks I've heard on Blu-ray.

The three-disc set contains a wide assortment of bonus features and numerous playback options. In addition to the BD50 Blu-ray disc, there's also a DVD and a digital copy for computers and other portable devices! Other supplements include a hilarious short film, "Super Rhino," behind-the-scenes featurettes on the casting, directors, and animation, and some deleted scenes —all in HD. Additional Blu-ray exclusive features include an interactive game, "Bolt's Be-Awesome Mission," an art gallery, and BD-Live functionality that includes Movie Chat, Movie Mail, Movie Challenge, and Disney Movie Rewards.

Pixar co-founder John Lasseter produced Bolt, and his influence certainly helped make this one of the best family films I've seen in a long time. With the inclusion of a DVD and digital copy, Disney certainly understands that it's going to take more than just great audio and video for the masses to adopt Blu-ray, and the added value makes this title an easy one to recommend. An additional enticement is that the Blu-ray is being released two days prior to the DVD, so will this new marketing ploy entice more people to adopt the format? Let's hope so!

Release Date: March 22, 2009
Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 10/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 Amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics