How 'Bolt' is a Critique of Disney
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
05:01 - Part 1: The Disney+ Show... Bolt
13:32 - Part 2: Penny's Absolutely and Complete F***ing Anguish
25:58 - Part 3: Bolt Needs to get the FUCK Out of Ohio
36:33 - Part 4: Hollywood Kinda Sucks a Bit
40:00 - Outro
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#VideoEssay #DisneyCritique #Bolt - เกม
Edit: I want to address the baseball glove bit. I don’t think mistakenly buying the wrong gift is “abuse” that was the wrong thing to say there, but I think there’s more nuance than that. The kid having to gaslight himself into thinking it is a bike is making a point that his childhood fucked him up mentally, whether intentionally or not. To me it is saying that his parents probably played a role in making him how he is, but more than likely it’s actually the fact his family was poor. This adds a greater depth to his then future role in playing into a capitalist farm house like Disney. I wish I could edit the video but hey, you live and you learn and you work to improve next time. I wish I could have delved into that idea more.
Original description: This video is different from stuff I usually make, but sometimes you have this creative itch and you just have to chase it regardless. I want to do more of this in the future, stuff that's a little out of my normal comfort zone of making videos, appreciate any and all support! Huge thanks to everyone on Patreon for giving me the financial leeway to be able to do more stuff like this www.patreon.com/LazerzZ it means the world. Hope everyone enjoys!
I took his story to think his family was too poor to afford a bike
@LitmusPapyrus yea thats what i thought as well
I agree with your take 100%, if he was just a spoiled kid that got a glove instead of a bike he would not resonate with this memory as much, especially underlying the "and I drove it to school like it was a bike" part. It really felt like his needs were neglected so he learned to just accept that people will only disappoint you and you either are thankful for what you get OR just work for it yourself. It does fit the theme you either fight the hollywood or become the hollywood.
i was coming here to say this but you covered it already and quite well! i also perceived it as the family not being well off enough to get the bike, but definitely still plays into that pretence suffering of growing up in a low income household if that was the case. interesting take, great video overall too
I actually wanted to mention something, and it comes down to the fliers scene were they're printing it off. The agent is shown later on to have a flip phone, dispite being presumably well off, so something like twitter or even social media probaly doesn't exit yet in the setting. Wait, do we even know when this film takes place? Well anyway, we also almost never see her at a computer, she might not even know how to use one, and I wouldnt count the one from the show, as that could of just been a fake one. So those might of genuinly been the best method they had to try and find bolt.
Bolt couldve ended with Penny finding a new nicer agent or a new show, and continuing to act after she got better. The fact that they decided she should be allowed to leave acting permanently really reinforces the point you made. Its not just Bolt the Show thats bad, its the whole industry
It's the whole system that needs to be taken down
Yknow, watching the movie years later, I wonder essentially the same thing, if Penny and Bolt would be happier as actors if Bolt knew he was in a TV show. I mean, the whole reason he ran away was because he thought Penny really was kidnapped, which goes to show how “Disney” warped his sense of reality. If he knew the show wasn’t real, Bolt would probably be a lot less anxious about Penny’s safety, leading to a more fruitful career for the both of them. That being said though, quitting the acting gig altogether did seem to be the best outcome
wait i thought it did?? in the ending she got her face surgery and then there was the big green aliens cameo where they got abducted, and then it cut to them on the sofa watching their new show (?) and saying how silly the alien concepts were
@@ChewiiCrumbz that was a different actor because they replaced her, the reason why they made the face surgery scene for the new part of the show was because it would look weird for her to change without an explanation.
@@Elmo2639 OHHH smart smart, i only realized after going thru the vid with him again tbh xD but yeah
I had a DVD disc on bolt 10 years ago. I managed to convince my school to make my entire class watch it in the theatre. Even the teachers were captivated by it. At the time, my 9 year old self thought that they loved the movie for the action like any kid would. But as I grew up, I saw what made this supposed 'kids movie' leave such a mark on grown adults.
It's a movie I really hope time doesn't forget. It deserves better.
@@LazerzZ Contact the people who put Shrek in an archive and get them to add Bolt there too
A truly good kids movie is one that can be enjoyed by everyone 😊
@@LazerzZMy 6 year old daughter loves Bolt. It’s probably in her top 5. She likes the animal/furry stuff.
it is such a good movie was my favorite as a kid and i still rlly love it
When Mittens tries to convince Bolt that Penny doesn't love him, I don't think it's because of her perspective on celebrities, I think she was projecting her own trauma with her past owner onto Bolt. Mittens was kicked out of her house by a person who didn't care about her so it makes sense that she'd have a negative view point on other pets owners
Even Mittens’ backstory kind of parallels what often happens to child stars after they grow up and the studio doesn’t need them anymore. She was taken in thinking she’d found a family who would love and appreciate her, yet it’s possible that her owners only wanted a cat for the sake of appearances. They even had her declawed against her will, similar to how teen stars are sometimes pressured into body modification, either through plastic surgery or eating disorders. Finally, as soon as Mittens’ owners got bored with her, they packed everything and abandoned her without any support system, leaving her to think that she just wasn’t good enough for them.
Yes, that is literally what happens. But this is an analysis, and like he points out, Mittens could be seen as a representative of a demographic that is cynic etc, and this is their view on celebrities. Its not literally what happens, it's about reading between the lines. Seeing the subtext.
@@Loki_Squire That makes sense
This is what I thought since I was little... back when I was oblivious to this whole subtext 😅
I remember being a dumb media illiterate kid and being FOOLED, thinking Mindy from the network truly was a responsible and guiding adult. Sickening to think, that kids like me experienced ACTUAL people like Mindy.
Indeed, when the manipulative character manipulates even the audience, that proves without a doubt that those are real tactics that real nasty people use. And, unfortuantely, since Bolt isn't a well known movie (and this video is even less viewed) many people will live unaware of the dark truth behind those they think are "reasonable".
I could be wrong. But doesn’t Penny’s agent even say something like “I have a daughter just like you. And I would trade her for you in a heartbeat”.
Which could mean, paired up with his bike story. That his parents likely never appreciated or loved who he was. They likely wanted a big star or sports player for a son. Which may be why he decided to become an agent. Because he couldn’t be a big actor. Instead the closest way he could make them proud was by being an agent. Someone who works in Hollywood. And that line about his daughter may hint that he’s doing the same thing to his daughter. He’s pushing her to become someone big, cause his parents taught him to only value someone for what they are. A star or some forgettable face.
That's so true, he does say that. I completely forgot to even point that out because I thought about it while I was watching the movie.
Or he could just be lying about those being true stories to manipulate
@@mr.x2567
“Having a daughter” is a very odd thing to lie about.
Although, “trading your daughter” is an equally odd thing to say.
The guy’s clearly a nut, who knows.
i hope that if his daughter ever has kids of her own, she will break that cycle, and if not, at the very least heal from it
All of Hollywood was infested with a real beaver flu, not the celebrity, the animal. Most common symptoms were mind alteration and pica poisoning. Yes, people on set literally tried to EAT the set!
I haven't seen Bolt in years, but something I noticed just now is that when Penny is "kidnapped" and not allowed to comfort Bolt, my first thought was "if that happened in real life, that dog would probably end up viciously attacking someone and it'd make big news". And then watching the scene where the handler comes in to put Bolt in the cage- I never realised the handler was in full padded gear *because the showrunners knew that the dog would be very likely to genuinely viciously attack* and they willfully ignored this for the sake of the ratings.
damn, you're right.
holy shit you're so right
OH YEAH
Like your theory but that's not the message their trying to tell you they are telling you somepeople are corrupt.
@@bringtolife2586 he didn't post a theory lol, just a neat observation.
Love that Penny just steals someone's hamster.
Well, it's not like she knew that. And I think it's clear, from what little we see, that his owners didn't take very good care of him.
What u want her to do? They traveled from so far. Put up “missing hamster” posters? 😂
@@hanzzel6086 Hamsters dont belong in the wild, they will literally die if they get left alone outside in the wild so Rhino clearly belongs to someone - The writers may have left out Rhino's owners because they are not part of the bigger picture/ message of the movie and also it's easier to leave out the unnecessary fluf.
Imagine looking for a hamster in a ball, thinking he's gotta be somewhere in the house. Not knowing said hamster is currently hanging out with a dog and cat more than half a state away. Yeah, there's no way you're reuniting Rhino and his owner.
@@hmpang4996 They left him alone in a plastic ball for hours at a time, with no (realistic) access to food or water. Those are some pretty shitty owners.
I remember finding the scenes where Bolt is in the trailer after filming's over funny as a kid. Now that I actually _have_ a dog, a rescue dog at that who has suffered trauma and experiences anxiety as a result of being abused as a pup, I just feel _awful_ watching those scenes where Bolt is guarding the door and clearly torn on wanting to play versus protecting his loved one. I see that every time someone knocks on my own door and my dog barks and stands his ground, looking back at me desperately as if to say 'I want to stop but I can't, or you'll get hurt.'
It's genuinely distressing to see an animal suffering that kind of inability to distinguish a real threat from a fake one, even in the context of an animated film. Look after your pets, and never take their intelligence for granted. They'll fill in the gaps themselves, and they'll stick to that forever if you're not careful to teach them otherwise.
It’s animal abuse what they did to him 😖
A dog who’s learned not to trust anyone anymore is a heartbreaking thing
while thats extremely true, its imo part of the charm of having a rescue dog, you give them the love and stuff, even with their weird quarks and truama
Thank you for saying it. Bolt was being abused, but since he wasn't abused "physically" the showrunners could get away from accusations. It's a loophole that the industry uses, and a sad reality: if abuse isn't "physical" people won't take it seriosuly, not just towards animals bust especially towards people.
If you're still wondering "how in the world did Disney let this slide???" It's because frankly, they don't care. This movie, despite it bringing attention to a lot of the darker areas in their industry, still made them a ton of money. All this "critique" did was fool people into thinking Disney cares about what people hate them for while continuing to do those exact things behind the scenes.
That pretty true given that pretty mediocre chip and dale movie have a maybe intentional or unintentional (though to me more the former) backstory addition with peter pan and former child actor who played the character.
In all honesty it probably didn't make them very much money. The box office gross isn't enough to make back the film's budget + marketing and studio expenses, and I don't think the film had the kind of lasting impact to make a killing off merchandise and DVD sales the way most Disney properties do.
@@a.velderrain8849 I'm open to being wrong about how much money the movie made. It doesn't really change my main point that no matter how many good points and criticisms the movie makes, Disney will never care because people will eat up whatever they put out next
There's also the fact that the modern audiance has an attention span that is so low that they don't actually understand deep subjects or thought provoking films. There's a reason why so many action movies follow the exact same formula, why so many romance shows have the exact same characters, its because the modern audiance loves low quality content due to being fed that content for so long.
This is exactly why Disney is more focused on pumping out soulless remakes instead of doing anything new: Their audiance will love it and they will make money, because the majority of their audiance don't actually want anything unique or different.
@@uhagi6720 I see your sentiments and I raise you Oppenheimer, a 3 hour drama about the creation of the atom bomb that made 900 million dollars.
Y'know, this interpretation feels a lot more likely to be deliberate if you look into the movie's history, because, as it turns out, Bolt is the direct result of an artistic passion project being hijacked by the network and watered down into something simpler with broader appeal. (And when I say hijacked, I MEAN hijacked. Disney booted the original creator from the project when he refused to budge, and replaced him with an up-and-coming who was more willing to cave into their demands)
This is super interesting as a part of this story... I did think about looking into the behind the scenes for this movie but I didn't want it to harm my interpretation of the film as a film, but I'd love to read some more about the making of this movie and what happened.
What was the original concept and story for the bolt movie now I'm curious can you describe it or leave a info link
@@erikroman1880 As I recall, the original Bolt, then titled "American Dog", was about a boxer dog named, I think, Max, who had spent his entire life since he was a pup as a movie star dog playing various different kinds of dog characters who did extraordinary things, and due to not having known any other life, he rationalized all of these widely varied movie shootings as being his actual life. One day, a filming session gone awry results in Max getting knocked out, and waking up on a train to the other side of the country. Now stuck in a world bigger than anything he's ever known, Max recruits the help of a stray cat and a Flemish giant rabbit to get back home, but their efforts are repeatedly hindered by the many hijinks that ensue from Max's unintended recklessness born from his aforementioned extremely distorted idea of what he, as a dog, is capable of. Tonally, the movie was to be a spiritual successor to Lilo and Stitch, having a similar structure, writing style, and sense of humor. The main source of comedy and conflict would've been Max's misplaced genre savviness leading him to do things humans can do but dogs can't, and I think the heart would've stemmed from him learning to be more cautious and think things through rather than forge ahead assuming he'll be able to pull it off. Essentially his character arc would be him getting a reality check, and adjusting his perception of the world accordingly. Here's a link to an interview with the original director in which the movie came up, if you want more details about what went wrong behind the scenes: fumettologica.it/2022/07/intervista-chris-sanders-lilo-stitch/2/
@@erikroman1880 i also want to know
The movie was originally called "American Dog" and was going to be directed by Chris Sanders, the creator of Lilo and Stitch (he also was the voice of Stitch). I don't remember if he left or was booted but it all came down to executive meddling. He went on to direct "How to Train your Dragon".
I'm just now realizing that the reason they had to "completely redo Penny's face" was because they RECAST HER! That part always confused me as a kid, but now that I'm older, I find this incredibly funny.
OHHHHHHH. As someone who used to he obsessed as a kid and completely forgot about this movie until now, THIS comment is what made me realise that!!! Damn!!
I didn't realize that when I was younger either lol
I was born in the 1980s, so I was already a bit older when I first saw this movie, so naturally I knew right away that was what they were doing.
😆 I thought they meant plastic surgery to make her unidentifiable
@@anjisarv that’s also possible!
My dog was named bolt after this movie, he was a runt of his pack and he’s been on this earth for over 14 years now, and with this movie getting more and more appreciation, I can’t help but feel happy that it’s getting the love it deserves.
Bolt sounds like a very sweet dog
I genuinely cried when he barked into the vent. In the show, the fake hero barks so fiercely it sends a ripple through the ground. In reality, the real hero barks not with intense power, but with intense love, through a vent to call for help. The bark isn't even that dramatic-sounding. It's just a plain dog bark, but that's what's so special about it. Bolt is just a normal dog, yet that won't stop him from being a true, reality-is-real hero.
Any time I watch bolt, every event that occurs after he finds his way back to hollywood is instant tears for me. The fakeout scene in the studio where he's running to penny only to see another dog get to her first is already probably one of the most heartwrenching scenes in any movie I know, but then what follows it somehow makes it look like a lighthearted comedy gag in comparison, *especially* the vent bark scene
Thank you. I was just thinking my eyes were too dry.
Bro just this comment got me tearing up, that's how you know it's a damn good movie
I was literally just about to leave this comment dude
I love when writers shift an action to create an analogy, good writing is a blessing
Only today did I realize the parallels between "Bolt" and "The Truman Show". I mean, both main characters have spent their whole lives in a fabricated existence made to be watched by the masses on tv. Both also experience the questions that come with this revelation such as "Do those who love me do so because they were told to?" and "How many decisions in my life were, in reality, decided for me?" The main difference (asides from species) is that one character finds the truth while inside the fabricated world, and the other only sees it once they are outside of the fabricated world.
Damm .... I love the Truman show and bolt
This all the way. And they both end with the people being exploited leaving the entertainment industry that exploited them.
@@AnEmu404 They also Both end with the populace being happy for them too. Meta and In universe. The big fire was such a huge scandal the OG director and his crew got booted and the company cleaned house, Such a small detail but manit showed in the final product in the gag end.
This movie and Meet the Robinsons are so heart felt and they are made with such a care, they are definitely underrated gems
literally my two big childhood movies
EXACTLYYY
I’ve watched those two movies and chicken little constantly as a kid like the hyperfixation was crazy 😭 but I’ve rewatched them and wow, they’re so underrated/ hidden gems like the humor and quality storytelling.
@@anonymouschannel2161YOU'RE LITERALLY ME WTFF
@@anonymouschannel2161 oh my god chicken little is such a good movie, i need to rewatch those movies.
24:43 its the fact that when i was a kid i genuinely thought she was being good natured here and only realize now how fucking twisted that is, i think that really aids to the way the character is executed and shows how convincing she can be
I remember thinking the same. The ways these things are done... messed up, man. I loved this movie to pieces as a kid and now I love it even more. And now those scenes deeply disturb me XD
the character was executed with aids???
If they ever make a list of realisticly manipulative Disney characters, I would put Mindy in it (along with Frollo, Gothel and others I might remember down the line)
Anyone ever notice how Penny's real name isn't ever mentioned? The only time she's addressed as such is in the show, by Bolt himself, and by the other animals offstage; she's never referred to as "Penny" by her mother, agent, or any other human character outside of the show itself.
I always thought that because she was a child actor, the character she plays took her name
I take a look at the wiki, it says her full name is Penny Janice Winnie Forrester.
Sometimes actors do play characters that share their name which I've always found fun for some reason
It's a reference to the way that Miley Cyrus played Miley Stewart, with the character Penny taking on Penny's name. It's another layer to the stab that's being taken at Disney here - which is genius.
I figured they used her real name as her show name bc they couldnt let Bolt hear anyone refer to her as someone else?
I think you missed a point at 21:45, If she say that Bolt is missing they can't record new epsodes until Bolt is back,the studio won't try getting Bolt back trough the public because that would result in late epsodes or If they start recording with another dog like they planned It would result in a backlash and the bad press of losing the dog
Printing flyers is her only option because the studio won't help her
I also think they were trying to trick the audience into thinking that bolt is the same dog. If she tweets out that bolt is missing and she needs help to find him, everyone will know that they recasted bolt
@@cass3473 But the flyers have Bolt's and Penny's pic, his name, and a phone number. That alone would have spilled all the beans. Unless those were the very first flyers she printed (which I doubt), and none had been distributed before.
I was going to say that
@@DarthEquus maybe she's doing it behind the studios back. Like obv they know she's doing it, but I could see her doing a good job of ignoring their pleas to stop. They seem unwilling to really outright threaten her at this point (probably to avoid backlash), so are stuck just trying manipulation tactics to stop her. (ofc this is just speculation, its more likely they just didnt think too hard about it lol)
Or an even more manipulative move: they knew she was going to put flyers, but instead of asking her not to when she told them, they waited a while (to make it seem like they were reconsidering, when they weren't) untill she was printing them to then "convince" her to not do it. Using time to their advantage is something emotionally abusive people do
Bolt is practically The Truman Show for dogs.
Love the joke, tho talking realistically, I think it goes for kids who have no choice and voice in this sick industry
Watching this, I feel like I finally understand why Bolt's climax had such a great impact on me when I first saw it. I was crying when Bolt barked into the vent to save Penny and it still makes my eyes water, but nobody around me seemed to feel that same impact. Even though I couldn't put all of the themes together, they still resonated with me
>The Agent "rode" his baseball glove to school every day.
>He was walking to school every day before and after his gift.
>He probably wanted the bike so he could get to school
>His parents most definitely didn't care enough to see that his desire for a bike went further than just childish desire
>Being a child his only way to rationalize this is that clearly he was silly imaginative kid and not a little boy coping
>The Agent now has a logical predisposition to using childlike excitment to justify his practical and unemotional business decisions
>Now his attempts to gaslight Penny aren't just cartoonish antics but a result of projecting how he rationalizes his feelings in order to make the crappy things he says and does seem more wonderful than they are
I always thought his story about the baseball bat was just a really bad way to connect with Penny but the idea that he behaves this because he conditioned himself to fits a lot more with the film's themes. Now his antics dont just feel like conniving manipulation, you get the feeling that he's jist conditioned to see things that way.
That Agent just got Dark Souls character lore treatment.
Agreed!
It’s funny because back when the movie came out a lot of people criticized the casting of Miley Cyrus for this movie because Hannah Montana was at the height of its popularity and people were getting sick of it (much like how Disney would shove Frozen down everyone’s throats years later).
But fast forward to now I think the casting choice was very clever especially for all the reasons you covered in the video.
I heard let it go too many times to the point I started to dislike Disney
Yeah with how she was treated by Disney (and most Child stars were tbh) and constantly had to have this "monitored image" and couldn't exist as herself....yeah.
@@Ranixo286 drugs and alcohol after the house of mouse had them
Very Smart DUDE.
@@skootergirl22 not only that but Disney did actively destroy a lot of their child stars' mental health. Hell Demi Lovato hurt herself in all kinds of ways and was a serious danger to herself for a long time because of how insane the people in charge were about their teenage Disney Channel stars. Love her or hate her, she (nor any other kid) did not deserve the kind of shit the corporation put these young stars through for the sake of profit
I actually like that Rhino is seen as fat, lazy and stupid, undesirable traits. Because Hollywood seems to see some fans as undesirable. And really these fans just love their shows and want them to be the best versions they can be. Don't judge a book by it's cover Hollywood, they might actually teach you something.
It seems very fitting that "Bolt" was satirising Disney and the Hollywood machine, given that it was Disney that led the charge, and left many bodies on the cutting room floor, while others surrendered to its might just to be spared. The recent Disney flops highlights many of the flaws built into the machine, and Bolt gives us an insight into how the machine works, I have a funny feeling this was happening behind the scenes during the production of "Wish". Disney's Wish was suppose to celebrate the studio's centennial, the one hundredth year birthday was an event, and the dollop was going to be Wish, the crescendo of all the studio's successes, only for it to turn out to be an embarrassing fail. Like the TV show Bolt, it was manufactured and cynical as hell, banking on the fame of its brand and franchises, believing it was too big to fail, ironic, since Bolt was released on 2008, on the eve of the Great Recession, nevertheless, Wish was the perfect embodiment of the programme working as designed, amatures also contributed to failure, particularly the music, pop artists wrote the music for Wish, with AI sounding lyrics, and sounds poorly compared to the classical theatrical musicals Disney was remembered for. Basically, Disney made the TV show into a reality, instead of action sci-fi, Wish was adventure fantasy, with the outlandish spectacle and fan pandering to draw in the audience, and yet, it failed to materialise, it's actually quite surreal just how much Wish resembles the TV show from Bolt, although the aesthetics are different, the design is still present, and I think the audience has finally gotten wise enough to see how the machine functions, I think I'll watch Bolt again to see what else it called out about the industry.
Great comment, appreciate this observation a lot. It’s super interesting to see the way Disney operates these days and how that applies to their films and practises
"As your friend, yes. As your agent, no." really sums it all up in one statement that whole attitude. It doesn't take a moustache-twirling villain who kicks puppies. He cares about money more than he cares about the people. Always and consistently. That's the problem, but that's also what the studios and the shareholders want.
Dude when will you get over the fact that I kicked your dog into the sun
Fun fact: ‘Bolt’ was originally titled ‘American Dog’, and was directed by ‘Lilo and Stitch’ director Chris Sanders.
However, then-chief creative officer at Disney John Lasseter got into an argument with Sanders over ‘Dog’, and eventually fired him in 2006, in which different directors came in and it would become ‘Bolt’ we all know today.
However, DreamWorks Animation then hired Sanders and ‘Stitch’ co-director Dean DeBlois to work on ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, which released in theaters two years after ‘Bolt’ came out in 2010, but did some re-configuring of that film’s plot themselves as it skewed too much like the original books by Cressida Cowell.
Long story short, if Chris Sanders was never fired from Disney we would’ve gotten his original vision of ‘Bolt’, but ‘Dragon’ would’ve been a lot different than we know today.
Crazy, huh?
That’s is a genuinely really interesting story, I would’ve loved to have seen that film, but at the same time being without how to train your dragon would suck
I’m curious what that version of HTTYD would have been like. Would there have been a redheaded Hiccup, a tiny and lazy Toothless, a Berserker Fishlegs, Alvin as the main villain, or Hiccup’s ability to communicate with dragons? What we got is probably better than what we were going to get but I’m still interested in where they were originally going to take it.
There’s snippets from Dean in some behind-the-scenes docs describing the original plot line as well as a quick animation test of more book-accurate Hiccup and Toothless floating around, and of course the various concept art and storyboards.
Otherwise, that’s it.
Wild even.
@@racheljackson4428 Right?
When I was a kid, I always thought the Agent was Penny's dad, and her mom was caring and loving while her dad was money and work addicted, and never had genuine love for her or Bolt. And by the end of the film, the punch was to show that her mom was officially dumping his ass.
I say this in every Bolt video I watch, but the Superbark scene never fails to make me cry, even after watching it over and over for a decade. It just fills me with so many emotions and I don't think I really knew why until now. It is because it's such unconditional love. Of Bolt finding himself. Man, this has been my favourite movie for so long.
I remember watching this film and being disappointed that it wasn’t about a dog with superpowers mainly because it was kinda mis-represented to me. Someone explained the movie to me that it was about a dog with powers and left it at that. But over the years, I’ve grown to really like it and consider it the animated version of Homeward Bound.
Whoever described this film to you did such a disservice 😭
@@LazerzZ But on the bright side, I do now enjoy the film once I watched it again to just enjoy it for what it is and the second viewing was far better. Great job on the video btw!
Always a positive! And thanks for the kind words 👌🏻
HAHA, SAME! I even bought this movie on DVD, because I was convinced that if I rewatch the 'lame' version enough times I will unlock the 'cool version of the movie! Thanks to your comment, I see I was not alone.
I think it was because the way that they Marco did the movie I distinctly remember watching trailers for it and thinking it was about a superhero dog.
I remember being so disappointed that it wasn't about a superhero dog
i think its also coincidental but also really funny that in the movie about how corporations steal away kids' childhoods to parade them for content, Penny's voice actress is Miley Cyrus, one of the most famous examples of a child actress being exploited by disney
It's very likely intentional
As an aspiring writer and artist (books primarily, but I’m willing to expand as I progress) I appreciate the depth you read into the defining story behind this. I haven’t seen Bolt in years but I now know why I loved it so much as a kid.
The fact that you have dug into the scenes and story emphasizes why as a writer it is important to know what your putting where, a slight misconception means the difference from “the agent’s parent were abusive” to “the agent’s parents were poor”, as noted in your comment and the thread following it.
Despite your use of excessive language… I think this video deserves a save for when I need to reconsider how I’m writing and what I’m writing about. The ability to hide such deep meaning in a work like this movie is a decent definition of art.
I really appreciate this 🙏🏻
In the words of one of my all time favorite TH-camrs “Good art doesn’t come from focus groups, numbers, and statistics. It comes from people who share their visions on stuff in their own special ways.”
So does bad art
That scene with the agent talking about the baseball always stuck with me. Even when I was a boy I did think like “yeah that’s actually awful” 😂
It’s so fucked 😂
Interesting. In my language they decide to throw something like this
"Dawno, Dawno temu, gdy jeszcze byłem małą dziewczynką, marzyłem o rowerku a pod choinkę od rodziców dostałem paletkę do pingponga. No i zrobiłem tak. Powtarzałem sobie że Paletka to prawie to samo co rower. I jeździłem na niej do szkoły przez wiele lat" which could be translated as "Once upon a time, when I was still a little girl, I dreamt of a bicycle and for Christmas I got a ping-pong pallet from my parents. And so I did. I kept telling myself that a pallet is almost the same as a bicycle. And I rode it to school for many years."
Idk how the translators f-up this scene.
@@DayDreamingWriters Ciekawe, nie wiedziałam, że w filmie zmienili przedmiot - chociaż ma to sens bo jest dostosowane do polskich realiów (baseball nie jest u nas raczej za bardzo znany). Dlatego teraz często tłumaczenie filmów i gier jest nazywane "lokalizacją", bo nie tłumaczy się niektórych wyrazów dosłownie a dostosowuje do kultury w danej "lokalizacji" ;)
I never read that scene as abuse though? I feel that term might be a bit heavy for the scenario he’s describing in that scene. His parents got him a glove as a gift while he wanted a bicycle, sure, but maybe they didn’t have enough money for a bike or something. That’s how I always read it, he came from a low profit family. It’s not like they made him imagine the glove was a bike, he just did that on his own 😅
Also, he seems like a generally scummy unreliable person so he could’ve just made the whole thing up lol
There'll probably be a tv show about Bolt or a "live action" film at some point which will be extra ironic.
Don't give them ideas.
They would make everyone but the villens black and gay, and even thise groups won't want that
I doubt it. This movie is basically forgotten.
And by God if it doesn't include aliens
@@Josue_S_6411
Actually _do._ They are out of them.
We have to give the writer a hand for so stealthily placing such a deep message behind all the normal kids lessons so that Disney didn't notice. The small details, the dumb executives, the casting of Penny, etc, all support your theory. And the writer was actually pulled from a show because he wouldn't budge to what Disney wanted, so that also supports your theory.
You really think a million dollar corpo like Disney didn't notice
@@yasininn76 If they did notice, then why did they release Bolt to theatres?
@@yasininn76 Oh, corporations are very pipelined. Executives and directors have the final say, but if they dont care or dont have the time to review and micromanage the script and final movie, these things can slip out.
Bolt was one of my favorite movies growing up!! The found family elements always spoke to my heart, I would always tear up when Bolt did the superbark to save Penny from the fire
It's an incredibly fun, surprisingly emotional movie, and it's definitely got some good humor moments as well. Definitely underrated!
I've always found it interesting that Mindy is harping on the show because "audiences between 18 to 35" are unhappy, when Bolt should be a show for preteens based on the very simple concept.
that is an interesting age bracket.
that is the bracket of people with money who buy things and still may get into more childish stuff.
in this case, its the bracket to cover parents and kids who could have grown up with the show.
That also struck me as odd! This has to be a jab at how the animation industries are aware that most of their viewers are adults, but they keep saying over and over that they're for kids just to keep up the stigma that society has on animation. It's absolutely scummy, and if that was the intention in this movie's script, I respect it even more!
Imagine being made today? IF Disney ever figured that out... I doubt Bolt would even exist. That's hilarious in the most meta and One of the best ways of the Past giving the Middle Finger to Disney I had ever seen lol.
Everyone but the villens would be black
@skootergirl22 everyone makes fun of Disney for doing this but not realizing literally 90% of their catalog features fully white casts? Grow Up. I'm not gonna say they're breaking barriers or being progressive- they're only doing it because they've been called out. But God forbid movies Star Black people now, apparently...
@@Ranixo286 Netflix is doing the same even with real historic people
@@skootergirl22 The whole point of this video was showcasing how disney is evil for overriding artistic integrity and exploiting actors, and the thing you want to focus on is forced diversity?
@@Ranixo286 Honestly no one would even bat an eyelash if companies like Disney weren't trying to make such a big deal out of it
One thing I’ve been confused about was… how was bolt convinced he had superpowers if the special effects were added after the filming?
Maybe with how the actors have to react to it? The special effects may not be there but with him staring at that gun and the prop getting destroyed probably convinced him that he has some kind of laser eye power
My guess is special effects and actor reactions. That’s usually how documentaries similar in nature to the show Bolt is in are filmed. Everything is planned to a T so the lead subject is none the wiser.
You hit the nail on the head as to why Bolt, depsite most people I ask never having even heard of it, is one of my favorite movies of all time!
It's also why I don't buy "It's just a kid's movie" as an excuse for bad, cliche writing (the exact sort of writing this movie critiques), because it's proof that you can create something cute and innocent for kids while having a much more nuanced, poinient underlying message.
Can't watch Bolt without crying, literally cried at the clips of the fire scene that you showed. It's so so heartfelt and sad. And just gut-wrenching to watch these adults in control completely belittle and disregard this kid and dog that they're responsible for.
I was surprised it took until the halfway point for you to bring it up, but so glad that you included how poignant it is that Miley plays Penny. This is probably devastatingly similar to her story as a famous young teen
I almost started crying as well 😂
"almost" Buzz off! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I cried, too.
I feel you! The fire scene always makes me cry too, even if it's just a small part shown in a review.
I also cry at this movie or clips of it every time. One clip that got me while watching this was Mindy talking to Penny abt letting Bolt go. Seeing that scene with an adult perspective and hearing the points in the video just made me cry so much. It truly is absolutely awful
21:44 I think that's the point, when you think about it a bit more. The company reassured her they were looking for Bolt, but they lied- they were looking for a replacement the whole time. With their star missing, it didn't matter to Hollywood what happened to him anymore. All that mattered was that the show kept rolling. Her and her mum are under the restrictions of their agent, so the best they can do is print out flyers. In fact, the agency probably didn't even want them to do that, because it would be an acknowledgement to the public of their own incompetency. So they quickly find a replacement before she can even do that, and convince her to stop.
EDIT: Finished the whole video essay. I'm not gonna lie, I cried when you talked about how Bolt saves Penny in the end. I always cry at that part of the movie, too, I'm a big crier, but yeah great video man, it really spoke to me. Your editing is amazing, your theatrical way of approaching video essays is gripping. Luckily, it popped up for me on the algorithm and you've earned a new subscriber. I'll be sharing this with everyone. I really want schaffrillas productions to watch this, because he did a Disney ranking a while back and treated Bolt ABYSMALLY, and to this day I'm still bitter about his ranking. Bolt is so underappreciated, I love that movie so much
You make a hugely good point and i think you’re right, that was definitely an oversight on my part, thank you.
Also thank you so much for the kind words, that means the world to me like you don’t know. I loved making this and I poured a lot of passion into, I love this film, so glad it resonated 🙏🏻
Penny is interestingly voiced by Miley Cyrus. She herself was trying to escape Disney hence why she went so far off the rails with her sexuality, and then the Black Mirror episode "Ashley-0" also about handlers and being manipulated like a puppet in the entertainment and music industry.
I didn't think this video would convice me of your idea so much. Because on the surface, you look at the title, the thumbnail and boom, you've already got the point. We all know the movie, we've seen it, we know what you mean.
But I clicked and oh MAN I did not expect it to go this deep. This is actually genius. Both on your part and on the writers' if they inteded this. And I mean YEAH how the heck would this not be deliberate, there's no way!
I've always loved this movie and, looking at the upload date, I think I rewatched it around the same time you did.
It also brings tears to my eyes and will probably do so even more, now that I've seen this video.
Thank you so much for making this, I love it, and it's making me love the movie even more!
They could've avoided the whole situation if they filmed the entire kidnap and rescue at once, because filming the kidnapping as a cliff hanger only to pick it up later, isn't going to help keep Bolt thinking its real.
Also, TIL there is a 1963 Homeward bound.
This is so true Lmaooo 😂
It's so sad how underrated Bolt is. It’s not like it's some masterpiece but it's sincerely a good film. I love how grounded in reality the story and conflicts end up being and how hard it hits emotionally. The music is so good too, I love the homey feel of the song that plays during the roadtrip montage, the score when Bolt finally reuintes with Penny makes me tear up every time, and I just really like the song in the credits, its just nice idk- I ofc love the characters and how they develop throughout the story too. Not perfect by any means but damn did this movie deserve better.
John Powell, the composer, also did the music for How to Train Your Dragon - so I'm not surprised at how good it is
Keep it alive by watching it with the youths
@@Rock48100John Powell the GOAT!!
36:33 ive watched this show since i gained self-awareness, as an individual (age 3). So, this movie has always resonated with me. Thing is that no matter how many times i watch it, i always get a feeling of major discomfort. Even though i very much enjoy it.
Until i watched this video, i never understood that it was about my own journey. The studio represents the home i was raised in, the agent respresents my Dad and the things i hate about myself. The fire represents that home falling in on me, the network represents the culture i was raised in. Bolt represents my inner identity, mittens represents my future & wiser self, and rhino my young optimistic self.
Like i said, this movie resonates very deeply to me. Thank you for this video!❤
r/im14andthisisdeep
When i was a kid i didnt knew a lot of words, or their meanings, but i loved this movie so much. I felt an appreciation towards life, the little things, like i never felt before in my 6 years of being alive.
I remember feeling touched by the song they chose in spanish, since that was the only lenguage i knew. It was such a sweet enchantingly beautiful melody that it stuck with me after all those years, now im thrice that age and i can recall with assurance the moment my soul started to love art.
Im glad that this piece of work stands out for its dedication, i might see it later but in english, so that my mind starts thinking instead of being just mind numbing nostalgia.
Thanks c:
No hay hogar como tu hogar..
ahí perteneces tu~
WandaVision reminds me of the Bolt TV show because at one point it started out creative at the beginning and interesting and then executive intervention *torpedoed* it to the point where at the end it turned into Yet Another Marvel Show.
Oh my gosh this exactly, the first 7 episodes are absolutely amazing, such clever story telling. The last two quickly devolve into classic superhero fisticuffs which was disappointing :/
Don’t even get me started on what Multiverse of Madness did to Wanda’s story -_-
@KittyPieVibes unfortunately you can see it being terrible as early as the 3rd or 4th episode. Multiverse of Madness was the way it was because of exec deadlines and a clueless head writer, same lead writer of Loki which is why that show is also a big of a stinker as it is.
@@theprotagonist1311Loki was interesting in concept but my problem with it is it didn't do anything new with the ideas it was playing with. It was just repeating stuff that we've already seen do well elsewhere.
If it had a competent writer AND wasn't being held under Disney's thumb, it'd be good
anytime a show/movie are getting ready to do something unique, there's an executive forcing them to do something typical...ruins the integrity and creativity of the series.
@@KittyPieVibesSAME! I watched the first episode and was absolutely starstruck at how unexpected it was for me, and it episode just kept getting better! But then it suddenly sucked as felt as if I was watching some other forgettable or unentertaining typical marvel film.
I love this film so much it’s crazy to me how most people have just forgotten about it
As a kid, the opening scene blew me away. It is strange how this movie got forgotten about, not sure why though
“crazy”
while millions of mentally people are suffering because they aren’t taken serious
thoughtless generic sanist shit
@@ZirSarge Fun Fact: Byron Howard the director of the film would go on to direct Zootopia and Encanto.
Its the teeniest bit of a blessing in disguise, actually. If it had done any modicum of well it would have a live-action re make by now.
@@serpentmaster1323and sequels
when watching this video i was reminiscing and started sobbing when seeing the fire super bark because that scene to me was an absolute masterpiece in of itself bolt was my favorite movie and watched it constantly as a kid.
My fyp has been blessed
Bolt was my favorite movie as a kid, when I recently looked at movie critics I was really surprised and pretty heartbroken to see people thought it was "mediocre" and it makes me happy to see you noticed all of this movie
Of course they thought it was mediocre, they're part of the ones getting criticized
Man this film is so nostalgic. It's really nice to see a video on it in 2023.
Bolt: **convinces a desperate Disney to make a sequel of them**
Disney: **allows it**
Bolt: “You have just made the gravest mistake of your life.”
Context please?
@@laikadeservedbetter4635 did you watch the video?
The last time I watched it, I remember having the same take. Like especially with casting Miley Cyrus, it feels super intentional as a critique of how the Disney machine robs kids of their childhoods and emotionally manipulates them for profit.
Every single time I see the scene were mittens talks about being abandoned, by the time she says 'leaving you wondering what you did wrong' im crying my eyes out every time.
And you remember she's also declawed so assumable the owners got her thinking cats are low maintenance pets but then realized they need attention or get destructive in their boredom so Mitten's owners were absolutely just irresponsible and didn't deserve a pet but got a cat thinking cats are "easy pets" (they aren't, they're quite intelligent and are hardwired to hunt and investigate everything)
And when declawing didn't work (it actually tends to trigger anxiety issues in cats cause they use claws for protection and hunting) they figured she wasn't small and cute enough to keep anymore
I loved this video!
One thing you did miss, though, is the "Final Set of Pigeons." The last set of pigeons in the movie are at their house in the country (which I'm assuming is in Texas) and one asks
"Does that dog look familiar?"
To which the other says
"Nope, I haven't seen him before in my life."
I always liked that part because it shows that the spectre of fame no longer hounds Bolt, and that the show has suffered the consequences, dwindling after the replacement of its leading pair through a hasty plot contrivance.
Tennessee, actually.
@@kristineweber8084 Oh, that would make sense with where the Cyrus family is from!
Wait, was that not sarcasm?
I know I'm crap at picking up sarcasm but I assumed that was it.
@@Roadent1241 Nope, I genuinely didn't make that connection 😅 But it is where Billy Ray and Miley lived.
@@matthewb5364 That's not what I'm referring to.
The sarcasm I'm referring to is ""no idea who that is lol" when I understood they'd been talking to him throughout the film.
This video also reminded me of how Netflix treats its animated work [I know the video is about how it applies to Hollywood as a whole, but what you said about a show meant for everyone is for no one and the true fans who see the heart really resonated with how Netflix, and other corps ig, tend to cancel shows with niche audiences, instead pushing bland and stale shows for 89 season]
This video genuinely made me cry. But I'm also super high right now.
Hahaha, still, love to hear it 🙏🏻
I always recognized the beauty behind the movie, even as a child. Funnily enough, “business man bad” from this movie got to me easier than it did in other movies that feature the cooperations as the antagonistas. It’s also one of those movies you can throughly enjoy watching it every time
I took the adults treatment of penny and bolt for granted and thought they were being completely rational because that's how adults always treated me. So these kinds of movies could be a good litmus test to see how a kids home life is lol
This was the movie I was obsessed with and would watch on repeat as a kid (along with Beverly Hills Chihuahua but that's not important). I played the Bolt video game so many times, and prayed that Disney would make a cartoon of Bolt's tv show so I could watch every episode. I "grew out of" my undying love for Bolt over time, but it's still a cozy nostalgic movie for me to watch every now and then and this video made me love it even more for the themes I didn't understand when I was younger.
"im not expecting the algoritm to push this" See, you underestimate the power of my love for longform, essay content
i wish the general population appreciated long form content more. seeing shit that happens with tiktok/shorts just makes me sad.
I don’t even remember the last time I watched it, but I remember that I liked it. With all that said, it means I’m professionally qualified to give it the Best Dog Movie award.
very true and very based
It’s definitely a really good dog movie. Personally I think that The Dog of Flanders 1997 anime movie is the best one but it’s a tear jerker.
With the writers/actors strike currently going on that really showed the serious corruption of executives and undermining of creators in Hollywood, Bolt has become more relevant than ever before.
Disney may make influential and important media but without the creators that make said art possible, the works wouldn’t exist.
The obnoxious micromanaging of Disney is genuinely reprehensible and Bolt is a brutal unapologetic satire of the Hollywood industry, not just Disney. I’m glad Bolt exists because it means a serious discussion of the exploitive nature of Hollywood can be more publicly exposed and that the industry can make real meaningful changes.
I don’t think it can stated enough how toxic and harmful the Hollywood system actually is. It needs a shakeup on all fronts.
Great video.
To be honest when I think about the film I wonder why something literally made out of pure satire isn’t a Dreamworks film because it that’s in that spirit.
I do wish he’d gone into the writer’s strike thing more, or at least been more conscious of it. I’m not going to lie, the part at 38:20 where he paints writers just trying to make a living as grifters with no integrity is just, wow. I do not know how he thought that was called for. Yeah, studios hire inexperienced writers that they can influence into doing what they want, but that doesn’t make those writers grifters for not pushing back.
@@shreddiekirin3864this entire video is him saying the same thing over and over again, but slightly differently. the entire video can be a single sentence
@@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8 Because DreamWorks is also in Hollywood, they might've allowed thoughful satire before, but now they're just cashgrabbers and they definetly wouldn't have aproved of a movie like Bolt
i was BORN ready for this video essay. ive watched it 9 times since i was 8. im ready.
36 minutes in im actually shedding tears
Part of this movie is The Truman Show but as a dog, and part of this movie is Animals by Pink Floyd, where the pigeons and actors are the sheep, the agent is the dog and the studio execs, directors and corporate bosses are the pigs (three different ones).
I find a bit of a different, more personal story in this movie - one of a "gifted child".
There are a lot of children who are born with great intelligence, which makes them soar high above other students without putting in the work. Eventually, however, their natural abilities aren't able to surpass the momentum of growth others accumulated. They never learned how to learn, and thus they can't raise higher.
When bolt gets thrown into the real world, and his powers aren't doing anything for him, this is exactly how it felt to me when I noticed all I have achieved in my life had been a lie. I may have been smarter than everyone else at some point, but eventually they surpassed me, and I was left with no experience, no learning skills, and no actual knowledge. I was left behind without anything.
But at the end of the day, you don't need to be special, you don't need to be better than others. Being yourself is often more than enough.
the first paragraph resonates so much with me :(
“Being yourself is often more than enough.”
Damn, that first paragraph hit me right in the feels there....
Love that Bolt inspired you to look into the WSS ❤
You may already know this:
Most working dog breeds are nervy. This a desired trait in working breeds. It makes them more attentive and faster to react to a threat.
But their sensitive nerves can also make them nervous and scared. Scared dogs are dangerous dogs.
Make sure you choose an ethical breeder that health tests and proves their dog ('proving' meaning they compete in a sport such as IGP, obedience, dock diving). This reduces the risk of you ending up with a euthanasia case.
If you already knew this, good on you for doing research!
Oh yeah for sure, I always do my research with dogs, I’ve had them all my life growing up and my parents were always super responsible when it came to that, instilled the same in me. Thanks for the comment though, always nice to have additional advice or just generally see people taking shit like that seriously.
This was one thing my favorite movies as a kid. And I think it changed me mentally. It helped me to understand that there were people who cared about the people, and the people who cared about the money. It helped me to understand that some people will try to manipulate people to get what they want.
The film is perfect in my opinion. And as long as no one try’s to make a sequel, it’ll forever be one of the greatest movies ever made.
It’s so funny that in the outro you said this video wouldn’t be popular. This video introduced me to your channel and frankly I saw other videos from you I’d love to watch. Good job on making a great video!
As a person who was in a cult once, and was conditioned to just being another npc in that group, this movie really touched me, I watched it for the first time in years because I wanted to watch movies with my girlfriend at the time, and it brought me to tears man
hi angry russian owl from hlm1
I saw this movie back when it first came out and I enjoyed it enough. Of course my 8 year old brain didn't pick up on the potential criticism of big Hollywood studios so this video gave me a new appreciation for the movie. It kind of makes sense that Disney doesn't acknowledge this movie as much now.
I've not eatched Bolt in about 6 years and hearing you talk about that scene where Bolt is trying to save penny made me cry like how it did back when i was 11, i forgot just how much i lived this movie so thanks for reminding me to watch it again
"i don't expect this to do well in the algorithm"
well... you're on my recommended and I last watched animation/film content 3 months ago 😂😂 cheers mate, just subbed!
Hahah, got lucky with this one for sure, appreciate it mate 🙏🏻
Bolt is an underrated classic to me. The movie just hits me in the feels so many times. The meta commentary in connection to Disney is awesome. It’s something that I didnt think about until now.
This movie was my ABSOLUTE favorite as a kid. I also had two bolt plushies, and had a phase where I tried to watch it every day. My version of the movie came with a little comic book, and I played the Wii game with my dad :)
Those are some of those special memories you’ll never forget for sure 👌🏻
I also grew up with bolt. I would watch it for countless hours on road trips, usually watching it at least once per trip.
You really opened up my eyes to that imagery of Penny dangling alone in a burning studio.
It’s a really clear picture of what Disney and Nickelodeon do when they kill a show.
They leave kids suspended alone while the executives escape.
I almost forgot how great this film was and much it spoke about how manipulative big corprations are to there artists and actors as to them the only thing worth giving shit about is exposure and money
Bolt and Wall-e have always been my favorite movies since I was about 6, I watched them so much and I'm sure there are deeper connections that I still haven't noticed in them but this honestly helped me understand Bolt better and how I thought of it. Disney has been apart of my life for all my life and it's crazy to think that one of their own movies goes against them now and shows how bad they truly are. Wonderful video, can't wait to see more
looking back to wall-e, i also love the movie even until now because it’s a great critique of capitalism and how it’s been causing so much distress on our environment, from our physical environment such as nature to our food environment
it’s an eye-opening movie and i appreciate it a lot
Omg are we twins? Wall-e and bolt were some of my all time favourites when i was around that age to! They both have such hard hitting messages while not leaning heavily into cringe or akward humor or the heavily annoying sidekick trope, rhino to me is actually a much better and actuality properly used version of the for jokes side kick character, same with mo and the caption in wall-e
Alot of joke characters serve very little purpose but to crack jokes,
Rhino however saves bolt and mittens from the animal catchers, and gives both mittens and bolt a pep talk when they feel like giving up
With bolt after they fell out of the truck
And with mittens in the alley way
He even holds the door open prepared to get crushed to death in order to let bolt in to save penny
And mo’s obsessiveness with cleaning leads him to follow wall-e and discover the truth, he jams the escape hatch which lets eve and wall-e stay on the ship, effectively saving them and the plant,
He does this again when wall-e is crushed by the plant identifier and eve is trying to get him out mo finds the plant and throws it towards eve, and that inspires others to help get it over to them.
He even tells the other robots to go away when eve and wall-e start getting all flirty after wall-es memories are back
The caption also has great character depth
Hijacking the programs to send eve and wall-e a message after Auto turned of his comunication access, he tricks auto with a hollogram to keep him busy, and actively fights against auto and stands and walks for the first time in order to let everyone go back home to earth!
Even the 2 side human characters who fall in love help bring the plant to eve in the end and show some level of competence
Those movies do the whole “joke character” so welll
Im not sure mo or the caption or those humans even count as joke characters there well writen and used!
These movies dont ruin there tones by adding in unnecessary humor in order to “soften the blow for kids”
I teared up during this. Your passion is infectious, I am going to rewatch this movie for sure
I remember this movie fondly as a kid, but never really revisited. As an artist in school during the writers and actors strikes this was so cool to watch and follow. I also have my Film Analysis class today, so I just wanted to mention that media is totally up to free interpretation, death of the author and all that. You showed your evidence and explained how it connected, death of the author and all. Awesome video! ☺️
This movie is so underrated and it warms my heart to see it being discussed again. I vividly remember me and my little sister ranting around the house about how mad we were at the producers for not giving Bolt a normal life, to the point my aunt thought this was a real dog.
Dude this has got to be one of my favourite videos in recent memory, your very obvious passion makes it such a purely fun watch. It's actually taken me 10 minutes to write this out because I keep stopping and getting absorbed in the video again. Simply too good. 😂
Dude, appreciate this comment so much!
I haven't watched this movie in a few years now but the scene with the fire and Penny and Bolt just, got tears streaming down my face even today. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid and just the other day when i was at work i brought this movie up to a coworker and it was heartbreaking to hear them say they never watched this movie, they hardly even recognized the name of it, and i recommended to let her kids watch it. Even when i was a kid and this movie had been out for a while, people my age had never even heard of it, and the ones that did then and now, they get so overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion and we both end up in tears.
I definitely agree with your interpretation of Bolt. However, this movie means so much to me due to a different meaning it had for me when i was little and even now. A personal meaning. When i was a child this movie helped romanticize freedom and danger and uncertainty, over a life of comfort and financial stability, because at the time it was the closest thing i had to actually getting out there. It made me feel alive, because i was and still am in an abusive family situation. I won't get into specifics, but my family has always been religiously abusive, like a cult, yet we live in a comfortable and financially stable household. It took until i was 20 to temporarily escape to the outside world for the first time and then i was dragged back in. This happened 4 times. And in 4 or 5 months, i'll be trying to leave again. I won't speak about the first or fourth time i left, but on my second attempt to leave i fled to California to live with some internet friends. The 2 and a half weeks, where there were multiple times i should've died, that i spent on the streets of Cali away from my family and in the company of strangers who didn't give a damn about me, were the best 2 and a half weeks of my life. Another time i escaped i was almost killed by a roommate that allowed me to live with her, and i was always in so much danger around her and when i was by myself. I don't regret those experiences though and would go back to those ways of life in a heartbeat despite the risks, over a comfortable and financially stable abusive home. Despite almost dying when i got the same chance as Bolt and Penny to escape and discover life, it was everything i had hoped and dreamed it could be. This movie taught me i don't have to keep living in an abusive situation, that i can get out. If i keep pushing, and fighting, and giving all i have, if I'm willing to die for it, i will make it. Before i leave for a 5th time, I'm gonna watch this movie again all the way through, and hopefully I'll make it out like Bolt taught me i could when i was little.
Thank you for making this video, i hope more and more people remember and discover this movie, it's truly lifechanging.
Honestly bolt was one of my favorite childhood movies and i almost completely forgot about it thanks for reminding me about it!
i had this video on a DVD. no matter how many times i would watch it, the scene where Bolt barks to save Penny will never fail to make me cry. even when now you just put that few seconds and one bark, it still made me tear up a little. it just evokes such raw emotions in me.
Did not have 'watch a video essay on Bolt' on the agenda today but I'm glad I did. Keep up the good work James :D
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This is an excellent video essay, and analysis of the movie!
And I love this interpretation!
As someone who’s adored the early 2010s 3D Disney movies, like bolt and chicken little. This era of Disney had the last bits of heart before it became so soulless with frozen (2013)
The part where bolt attacked the actor (or was it someone that looked like him? Idk 🤷) for doctor calico was also a really good and it kinda showed how the audience can’t discern the difference from the role the actors play and themselves.
But this video essay absolutely hits just right, you actually hit the nail on the head with this one!
Like you put into words the thoughts and feelings I’ve had over the years when watching the movie from age 6-now this is beautifully done!
The only part I have slight constructive criticism on, is the subtitles. But as someone who has had to caption my own stuff it’s a DRAIN, and the parts you have done are pretty good! And you did a great job
This was amazing, thank you. This movie really meant a lot to me when I was younger, and now you’ve got me crying over it at 20. Well played! ♥️
This reignited my love for Bolt. I loved the movie when it first came out, but now I'm tempted to rewatch it after your review. I remember loving Bolt and Mittens as a kid and drawing them over and over. I can't believe I spaced that this movie exists.
Who knew there was so much depth to Bolt. I remember watching it when it came out and enjoying it but not thinking much about it. Loving the more niche, creative videos, definitely thinking about pledging to the patreon for more!
As someone who found their best whisker friend on their porch one Winter and learned they were abandoned at least once in their life, Mittens saying “They leave you wondering what you did wrong” hits different.
I thought in the scene where the agent brings in Bolt’s replacement he was actually lying about the baseball glove story just like he’s lying to Penny about her dog, literally saying “I think its Bolt” gaslighting the shit out of her by not only trying to convince her that this random dog is her dog but also feeding her a fake story that tells her to just pretend what they’re doing is ok and go along with it.
This video is just amazing it’s actually crazy the parallels you brought up with Disney and how accurate they are. The people that made this movie had to have done that on purpose, Disney would never let this kind of film slide today. Great video my man.
Now that I'm older I realize if Penny were wiser, she'd probably realize she could just fire her agent at any moment. He works for her, getting her gigs and onto talk shows. But he's taking advantage of her and her mothers lack of that knowledge and controls them as much as he can.
Thanks! Showing this movie this way actually got me emotional again. My son and I enjoyed it years ago and you brought back the feelings from then.