Bolt: Wasn't there a movie exactly like this a few years ago?

Cafe Society
1

I can’t remember what it was called, but I strongly remember a movie with almost the exact same plot like, less than 5 years ago. Tv/movie star dog gets lost somehow, has to find his way back home, hilarity ensues. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

Anyway, this movie looks like the ultimate in sanitized, status quo blandness. I don’t think I’ve ever been less excited about a movie under the Disney banner. And I really really wish they would go back to using professional voice actors rather than established actors and teen-sensations. When I see a little dog on screen, I want to hear a little dog’s voice, not Vincent freakin’ Vega.

2

Firehouse Dog? Hollywood dog escapes, gets adopted by a firehouse, gets great press for his amazing feats, returns to Hollywood, then goes back to the firehouse?

3

I don’t know, but those three pigeons look suspiciously like the Goodfeathers from Animaniacs.

4

Every talking pet movie ever is about them becoming lost and acquiring a rag-tag group of friends to help them out.
FTR, when I saw the trailer for Bolt before Wall-E, I thought it looked great, in a cute and fun sort of way. I do agree about voice actors, though.

5

From your experience, what do little dogs sound like when they talk to you? You seem to have a very clear idea of it.

6

I think we should look into this further. Perhaps we should arrange a field trip.

I’ll get my ball!

7

Yeah, I was thinkin’ that, too. Anyway, looks harmless, I’ll probably take my kid some weekend when we’ve got nothing better to do.

8

This drives me crazy whenever I see the commercial. They even sort of talk like them.

The movie looks cute, though. I’ll watch it when it winds up on TV.

9

No . . . What I’m saying is that a professional voice actor will create a voice that matches the character. John Travolta is just going to be John Travolta. It’s a pretty simple concept . . . Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse don’t sound like a duck and a mouse, but they have believable character voices that took some element of creativity to come up with. If they were created today they’d be voiced by the Jonas Brothers.

10

Donald’s voice is reminicent of sounds a duck might make. And Mickey’s high-pitched voice can remind one of the high-pitched squeaking of a mouse.

As for what a small dog would sound like, if not an action star (which Bolt is), in my mind, wouldn’t you have to go with a child or something? (Some people have complained at the casting of Miley Cyrus as Bolt’s human co-star, but I have no qualms- the character is a young girl, something Ms. Cyrus also happens to be. If she was, say, the voice of the main character or something, then it would be really out of place.)

11

The point is that it’s a voice actor’s job to come up with the right voice. A screen actor is just going to use their natural voice.

12

I guess you have a point . I was thinking about the fact that in many cases some veteran voice actors do a certain kind of voice so many times, that type of voice is easily identifiable- Cree Summer doing a sassy black girl, Tress MacNeille doing a female business person, Daran Norris doing a “shifty salesman”-type, etc. Even Mel Blanc had a few “stock characters” he used from time to time. But, then again, all of these vets (and many others) have also created characters that have unique voices and are so identifiable with their characters, you couldn’t imagine any other voice for them. A few years ago, one veteran voice artist (I think it was Tom Kenny) was complaining about the fact that studios went for recognizable names for animated film voices rather than veteran voice actors. I guess he has a point.

13

and my head just exploded…

14

Cisco:

David Berkowitz, is that you?

15

Ever watch The Backyardigans? Before they made it big, one of the Jonases was the voice of the penguin. And before he made it big, the youngest of the Wizards of Waverly Place was Diego. And when she was a kid, Fergie was Charlie Brown’s sister.

Now those made my head explode.

16

If it is, I don’t think there’ll really be all that much difference between what the little dog says and what Vincent Vega would say.

17

You know what they call a cheeseburger in France? Go kill that nubile young woman.

18

Are you seriously dissing a movie that has the following exchange?

Bolt: There’s a guard.
Hamster in a ball: I’ll go snap his neck.

That’s fucking awesome and almost makes want to throw down $9.50 for a theater showing of Bolt.

19

Note to OP: Either you ain’t nuts or we are identically delusional–I am virtually certain I saw Bolt in its entirety on TV (Disney Channel?) several months ago …

20

Substitute an automobile for a dog and you’ve got the plot of Cars.