Bolt (character)

Bolt is the name of the white American Shepherd Dog and protagonist from the 2008 animated feature with the same name. His character development in the movie embodies the story’s main messages about trust and loyalty.

In the movie, Bolt has spent his entire life from early puppyhood on a TV-set where he has been kept isolated from the outside world by the producers of a hit TV-show. In the TV-show, Bolt must use his superpowers to constantly save his owner and co-actor Penny, whom he loves dearly, from the evil plans of the malevolent villain “Dr. Calico ”. Having had no contact with the outside world, Bolt believes that he actually has the superpowers possessed by his TV-figure. This is a delusion the directors efforts to preserve by the use of live effects and stunts, tricking him, week after week, into thinking his adventures are real in order to make his performance more authentic.

Upon trying to escape from the studio, he knocks himself unconscious against a window and gets accidentally sealed in a box and shipped to New York. After having been stranded in the outside world, he discovers that his sense of reality, and therefore his sense of identity, has been severely skewed. Alone, lost and armed with nothing but the hope that his beloved owner Penny still loves him, he embarks on a journey through America to get back to Hollywood, accompanied by a abounded street cat named Mittens, and a hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino. Along the way, Bolt is forced to acknowledge his limitations and trust other characters to help him, while still holding on to the hope that Penny is waiting for him in Hollywood. In the end, Bolt learns that his deepest virtues; his bravery, loyalty and canine faithfulness, rather than his perceived superpowers, is what makes him a hero.

The character Bolt was designed and developed by Chris Williams and Byron Howard together with the chief character designer Joe Mosier. Much of the inspiration for the character was provided by John Lasseter. The voice was provided by John Travolta who’s earnest and gentle vocal performance did much to make Bolt into the character he is.

Personality
According to executive producer John Lasseter, the film's emotional center is Bolt's journey and the personal evolution it provokes in him. As such, Bolt has a very contrasty personality which varies and develops much in the movie. However, the character does have some general attributes. He is an earnest, focused individual who despite his erroneous view of the world, is very adoptable to new situations and places and quick to find solutions to problems. And like most canines he is very loyal to his owner, his “person”, who he travels through America to be with. He is also courageous. In the end of the movie, Bolt risks his own life to save his owner Penny from a burning building.

Characterization
While these are his most fundamental attributes, Bolt personality develops a lot in the movie, and the dog shows a range of different traits and tendencies. Sometimes, Bolt is earnest, stubborn and acrimonious, seemingly indifferent to everything that does not have to do with Penny. Other times the character is lively and impulsive, and at times also few-worded, introvertive and sad. Bolt, being a dog, also features some typical canine behavior. At times he is playful, as when he is learning how to be a dog, playing with Mittens. He is also affectionate, warm and loving, particularly towards Penny.

Having spent 5 years isolated in the TV-studio, Bolt is often socially inapt when meeting and interacting with different characters in reality, such as the cat Mittens and other dogs. His career at the TV-series has left him with a view of himself as a very important individual, a self-image that becomes evident when he speaks of himself and his mandate to find Penny. His mission, being to find and rescue Penny, is his only priority during the first half of the movie, and it affects his personality in many ways. His compulsive view of the world becomes apparent when he meets Mittens, an abounded alley cat that he callously captures thinking that she is another evil, feline minion of The Green Eyed Men. In the beginning of the movie, Bolt takes the dominating role, dragging the protesting cat with him, unsympathetically ignoring her objections. Mittens has a profound effect on Bolt's character development as she tries to explain to Bolt that he isn’t a superdog, sarcastically pointing how his perceived superpowers fail him repeatedly. Bolt ignores her logics but it becomes increasingly difficult as the dog learns lessons of pain and humiliation on the way. However, he is subconsciously holding on to his delusional view of the world, perhaps because giving up on his superhero persona would make him feel vulnerable or powerless. Bolt's stage of denial stands for an important chapter in his character development. It is possible that Bolt's sense of pride might be one of the many things that keep him from listening to Mittens and realizing that he is “just” a normal dog, but the character never gave the impression of being arrogant. He is, however, strong, earnest and relentlessly focused.



However, in contrast to this side of his personality, Bolt holds a sweet-natured, innocent and loving side that he eventually allows to shine through his tough exterior as he gets to know Mittens and other characters. Upon finally giving up on his superhero persona about halfway into the movie, his personality changes fundamentally. This is mostly evident through his attitude towards Mittens, whom he know treats with respect and consideration, even going as far as letting her teach him "how to be a dog". Bolt’s ability to give up on his pride, expose himself and his vulnerability to Mittens, asking her for help, serves as one of the movies most important values, namely the importance of trust. According to the creator, Chris Williams, that kind of unyielding trust is typical for the canine race.

"if you’re trusting and you give yourself over to somebody, you definitely become vulnerable and you can be hurt. But it’s necessary to take that risk in order to find real fulfillment in life. A dog really embodies that and that’s why we love them”

The theme of “trust” is essential throughout the movie as Bolt must trust not only Mittens but also Penny who he yearns to be with again. Trusting that Penny’s love for him was real and that she misses him is what keeps Bolt going throughout his journey. Eventually, Bolt must learn to trust himself as well, acknowledging his limitations without letting that make him doubt what he is capable of. When Bolt rescues Penny from the burning building, he does so knowing that he does not have any superpowers.

Bolt's character development in the movie, together with the contrast between his tough, earnest personality and his innocent, caring sides makes him a very complex character, but one that can be hard to fully define and understand, much unlike Rhino the hamster who stands for the comical relief in the movie.

Personality and Traits
As he develops so much in the movie, very little is known about Bolt's actual personality, his interests and tendencies. He seems to be a very fervent, lively and impulsive individual, often seen performing dangerous stunts even in the real world, such as jumping on to a speeding locomotive. In the movie, he develops some sort of masculine stubbornness and it takes a lot for him to be beaten down and accepting that he does not have these powers.

In accordance to his superhero persona, he often gives the impression of being adventures in the real world. However, it is unknown to which point Bolt enjoyed the fictional adventures he shared with Penny at the TV-studio. It is likely that his fear of losing Penny made the entire experience stressful for Bolt, rather than thrilling or stimulating. It is also likely that he saw his superpowers merely as a means to an end, and the end is protecting his person. In the movie, Bolt speaks very little of his superhero roll and seems more focused on getting back to Penny. It would also explain why he is able to accept that he doesn’t have any superpowers after only a few days, despite having spent almost five years in his delusional state.

When speaking Bolt seems theatrical and eloquent, often using articulate expressions, hyperboles and descriptive metaphors, much in contrast to Mittens who speaks with a certain street slang. Bolt refers to some of the feline characters as “degenerated creatures of darkness”, calling Mittens’ arguments about his lack of superpowers “preposterous”. He often comes with typical, hero-like one-liners, including but not limited to “It ends here”, “You leave me no choice”, and uses terms like “mission” and “classified” quite frequently. Upon calming down after having given up his superhero persona, Bolt speaks less and seems more introvertive. Compared to Mittens, Bolt is a few-worded character and the animators relied heavily on body language to make him expressive.

Bolt is, as mentioned, a very caring individual who will stay faithful to his closest ring of friends. His canine trust and guileless credulity makes him a susceptible target for other characters, such as the fast-talking, cynical Mittens, who, at times, manages to hurt Bolt's feelings.

When relaxed, he seems to possess the common doglike playfulness, and he enjoys chasing sticks, playing with Rhinos hamster ball and digging. Sometimes, when the situation allows for it, Bolt likes wrestling and chewing on his favorite squeaky toy, Mr. Carrot. Bolt also enjoys rainy nights, playing with garden sprinklers, and much like most dogs, he likes to stick his head out of moving vehicles to feel the wind against his face, and in difference to most dogs, he seems to like watching fireworks and is disgusted by the idea of lapping water from toilets.

Background
Bolt's past isn't completely explained but as a puppy, he was adopted by 8-year-old Penny from an animal rescue shelter, implying that he may have been separated from his mother at a young age.

Penny takes him in and names him Bolt, and they eventually become the stars of a live-action series.

To gain a more realistic performance, the TV producers have gone to extreme lengths to get Bolt to believe his his TV life, as well as his powers, are real in order to result in the most realistic performance out of him, and he doesn't get to live like a real dog. During the filming of a cliff-hanger, Bolt escapes under the belief that his arch-nemesis, Dr. Calico, has kidnapped Penny, and ends up shipped to New York in a package of Styrofoam packaging peanuts. Desperate to find Penny, he is directed by a trio of conspiring pigeons to a sassy alley cat named Mittens who bullies pigeons out of their food.

Since Calico has a thing for cats, Bolt believes Mittens is one of his agents and threatens her to tell him where Penny is. Deciding to play along after seeing Bolt's tags, Mittens directs him to Hollywood, but Bolt brings her along against her will.

Along the way, Bolt notices his "powers" aren't working, but he brushes it off as a side-effect of the Styrofoam from the box he was shipped, much like kryptonite for superman. He also experiences pain and hunger for the first time, and Mittens trains him to use "the Dogface" to beg for food when they end up at an RV park. While suckering people out of their food, they meet a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino who is a huge fan of Bolt's show and like Bolt believes it is all real. He convinces Bolt to let him tag along and leads them to a bridge over a railroad after Bolt states they'll "need a fast set of wheels." When Rhino mentions a "magic box", Mittens finally realizes Bolt is a TV star, but is unable to convince Bolt when they're captured by animal control. Bolt breaks free but it turns out Rhino let him out of the truck's cage, and the lightning bolt on his fur smudges, which finally knocks the truth into Bolt, depressing him. But his spirits are lifted after a brief pep talk from Rhino (who has yet to realize the truth himself), and they manage to save Mittens from the pound. The trio continue their journey and along the way, Mittens teaches Bolt what it means to be a real dog and how to act like one, like playing fetch, sticking his heads out a car window, etc. At first, when he was feeling depressed when he thinks Mittens doesn't believe in him as a super dog, she also cheers him up at one point by letting him in on a "little known cat-secret". Cats hate dogs because they wanna be dogs as she explains dogs have the greatest gig in the world. But when they end up in Las Vegas, Mittens refuses to continue on and tries to convince Bolt that Penny is just an actress and doesn't love him, but Bolt refuses to believe that. Mittens then reveals, while ranting, that her owners abandoned her and left "their declawed cat to fend for herself". Bolt sadly says goodbye to Mittens and wishes her the best, and continues on alone. Rhino then convinces Mittens to follow Bolt with another inspiring speech and they are off to LA as well.

Upon arriving at the studio, Bolt is shocked to see Penny hugging a lookalike of himself and leaves with a broken heart, not realizing it was all a rehearsal and that Penny still misses him.

Outside the studio, he runs into Mittens who explains to him she was in there when it happened and saw that Penny missed Bolt when she cried a little while hugging her mother: Penny truly does love Bolt and misses him dearly. Bolt then suddenly hears something and senses something's wrong and that Penny is in danger. He, Mittens, and Rhino run to the studio, which is on fire due to the lookalike panicking and knocking over some torches, and Bolt makes it inside. He locates Penny and they share a heart-warming reunion which is cut short when they have to get out. Bolt leads Penny to an air-vent but she begins to succumb to smoke asphyxiation. Penny tells Bolt to save himself but he refuses to leave her side. Bolt then realizes his bark echoes out the vent and barks in to the vent alerting the firefighters to him and Penny's location before passing out. They're rescued and sent to the hospital, while Penny's mother informs their agent that they quit.

Some time later, Bolt's show jumps the shark with an alien abduction plotline with his lookedalike, and a Penny lookalike starring in the show (the show explaining the new Penny's different appearance as a result of facial-reconstruction surgery) while Bolt and Penny haved moved to a rural home and neighborhood with Mittens and Rhino, who Penny has adopted, and Bolt finally gets to be a real dog, Penny's dog.But most important of all, Bolt has learned something very important. You don't need superpowers to be a hero, so long as you have courage and belief.

Development and Animation
The character Bolt changed much during the 18 production months, both when it comes to his visual appearance and personality. A series of directors, filmmakers and animators influenced the development of Bolt. The directors, Chris Williams and Byron Howard, created Bolt from scratch, but relied heavily on the help from the design team lead by chief designer Joe Moshier and various filmmakers who worked at the studio, such as Wayne Unten. Also John Lasseter and John Travolta, the producer and the voice actor, affected the development of the character. Particularly John Lasseter worked very closely with the directors to create an interesting premise for the character.

Character Role Development
After the release of Meet the Robinson, Disney animators and filmmakers had an extensive training program to prepare for the work on what would later be called Bolt. At the time, former director and storyboard artist, Chris Sanders was in lead of the project. Chris Sanders and started working on a character, a dog, whose overall appearance and personality was conspicuously different from the “current” Bolt.

Sander’s character would be named Hendry and, in difference to Bolt, he was an actual actor who one day finds himself lost in the Nevada dessert. Hendry would meet a radioactive hamster and a one-eyed cat; two characters that would help him find a new home. When John Lasseter became Chief Creative Officer at Disney in 2006, he demanded to see Chris Sanders project. John Lasseter along with other directors from Pixar and Disney viewed a couple of early cuts of the film but was not impressed. They suggested series of changes to improve the character Hendry and his story. Chris Sanders refused and was, therefore, replaced by two new directors, Chris Williams and Byron Howard. John Lasseter was quoted saying that “Chris Sanders is extremely talented but couldn’t take it to the place it had to be”, adding that “the story was too quirky for his own good”.

John Lasseter took over management for the project as the chief producer, working very closely with Chris Williams and Byron Howard to improve Chris Sanders project and a series of changes was made to improve the story and the character Hendry, who was no renamed Bolt. Byron Howard was put in charge for the animation of the character whereas Chris Williams was to focus mostly on the story, and under the new direction a new character emerged, more similar to the “current" Bolt.

John Lasseter was spending most of his time shaping up the plot, providing the animators with his vision of who the character was supposed to be, as well as his role in the movie.

A new premise emerged about a more naïve dog who actually believes that he is a superhero. The animators saw more potential in the new plot featuring this delusional character, with a completely false understand of his world, and then to have that understanding stripped away, hence letting the character discover a new world and what is really important. Byron Howard and Chris Williams worked with ways to make Bolt relatable and distinguish his personality. As such, Penny was added, functioning in the movie as the goal of Bolt’s journey, playing the role as Bolt’s loved “person”. “I think that for people to love a movie they have to love the characters and care about the relationships” said Chris Williams about Bolt, “So we definitely wanted to make sure that people really loved Penny and Bolt and wanted them to be together”.

The new story emphasized Bolt’s relationship to his owner, making the entire plot more centered on the typical canine attributes, which according to the directors was mainly innocence, loyalty and trust. According to director Byron Howard, the new Bolt was more true to what a dog is in comparison to Chris Sanders Hendry.

“A dog is so pure. A dog is loving, loyal and practically nothing else. So to be able to take a character like that, that is so trusting, and put him into a premise like this really seemed to work. And to give him such an over the top, ridiculous, fictional frame work for his understanding of the world, and have all that go away, and then be left with one idea which he holds on two which is “I love my owner and she loves me” and that is so dog. So we kept referencing back to that idea, that this is a movie about trust. A movie about the risks and rewards that comes with giving your heart to somebody, and it argues that it is worth the risk.”

John Lasseter agreed with Byron Howard’s and Chris William’s new concept, emphasizing the potential for ironical value in a story about a dog who doesn’t know how to be a dog. “The thing that appealed to me the most about Bolt from the very beginning was the potential for growth in the main character”.

As the development Bolt’s personality and role in the movie continued, it became apparent that Bolt would have a sort of “duo personality”, being a contrasty mix between his adventurous action hero persona and his more sensitive, loving and sympathetic side. John Travolta was chosen amongst the directors, as they thought he would bring the right blend of toughness, humor and appeal needed for Bolt’s voice.

John Travolta was chosen among several other alternatives as he is someone who has had a lot of success playing tough characters in his career. In the animators opinion, one of the reasons he has been so successful is because there is an innate sweet quality in him, and therefore, as bad and mesmerizing as a character can be he is still making them likable. This ability was very desirable amongst the storyboard artists and filmmakers, as they thought it the perfect combination for playing a dog who thinks that he’s a very threatening, menacing figure but underneath it all is really a normal loving puppy who loves his owner.

“We were really fortunate in having John Travolta voice our main character,” said Chris Williams in a recent interview.'' “It plays to two of John’s biggest strengths. It was a thrill working with an icon who’s been in so many great movies, and I think his performance really brought something special to the character of Bolt.”''

Voice work
John Travolta took a liking to the character Bolt, even before he started recording his voice. Despite being asked several times over the years, the actor had never worked with any animated feature before, and was consequently comparably inexperienced in the field of voice casting. Bolt was the first animated character that he agreed on providing the voice for. According to the actor himself, Bolt was the first time that “indicated as the right character”. In an interview with CBS, Travolta explained that he was intrigued with Bolt’s personality after reading the script. “When I read this script and saw this character, so guileless, so kind of naive and fun and touching I just said to myself; maybe this is the one to do”.

John Travolta also said in an interview that he was already in touch with his “inner dog” when Disney contacted him;

''“Whenever anyone asks you like what kind of animal you remind yourself of, people always choose the dog for me, and you know I didn’t disagree with them. “ When asked in an interview with MoviesOnline, whether he felt like he can relate to Bolt, Travolta answered yes, saying that he has some very close friends that he, much like Bolt, is very loyal to. “I am a big guy in that area and loyalty of commitment to my friends”'', the actor added.

Providing the voice for Bolt would prove to be a long and complicated challenge for Travolta, partly because it took time for the actor to find a suitable voice for the character. In order to find a suitable voice for Bolt, Travolta took inspiration from his performance from earlier action movies such as Broken Arrow and Face/Off, mixing it up with a certain naiveté and guilelessness suitable for Bolt’s character. As a result, John Travolta’s vocal performance for Bolt would distinguish itself compared to the voices for other characters such as Mittens and Rhino, in that it was serious and unmanipulated rather than cartoonish, and hence, more true to Bolt’s earnest nature. According to John Lasseter, this distinct performance was desired for Bolt’s voice, and that’s why they rather than choosing an experience voice actor, decided to pick an actor.

''“I think one of the things that we are able to tap into with Bolt are a lot of the great roles that John has played. He’s played real heavies, real tough guys and he’s always great. And I think that one of the reasons for that is that there is, if you don’t mind me saying this, sort of an innately likeable, genuine, sweet side to John that always is there, and so I think we knew that he was going to be the right guy to play Bolt.”''

In many ways, the character Bolt was animated after Travolta’s voice, expressions and his personal interpretations of the dialogs. Bolt’s mimics in the movie was inspired by Travolta’s performance and the animators would, when working with the storyboard, take inspiration from and sketch after, John Travolt’s facial expression. His facial expressions were therefore taped during the recording sections by a video camera. As such, John Travolta would give the animators different takes of every dialog which at times could mean up to 20-30 different versions of the same sentence for the animators to choose from. A “Chinese menu” as John Travolta called it.

The effort of providing the voice for an animator character was very different from the earlier voice work John Travolta had done for commercials, and he relied heavily on guidance from the other filmmakers, not least from Chris Williams who worked closely with

Travolta to assure that his voice work was pertinent to his vision of the character.'' “Chris Williams was a revelation to me, his affection for Bolt was infections and I was so tickled by everything we were doing and his choices. The collaborative effort was huge”'', John Travolta said about the director.

Character Design Development
As Bolt’s personality developed, so did the design of the character. Bolt’s original appearance, as the dog Hendy created by Chris Sanders, was very different from the current Bolt. Hendy was given a more distinguished, cartoony look and red fur. The character would also be biped, meaning that he would stand on two legs and look much like a human being. He would also be wearing clothes.

As John Lasseter took over management for the project, Hendry was scrapped and replaced with a startlingly white American Shepherd Dog. This character was of a slightly bigger size than Bolt, but shared some attributes such as the natural four-legged appearance and shepherd-like ears and tail. He would also have a longer, more pointy muzzle. This character was illustrated by Director Paul Felix and the Art Department who worked to create inspirational paintings and concept art. The idea of having a shepherd as the main character came from Chris Williams, who had decided that he wanted to main character to be a American shepherd rather than just “a pongo with different ears”.

However, as the storyboard work began, the design team and chief animators like Wayne Unten, Joe Moshier decided to once again change Bolt’s appearance. They more realistic American shepherd design didn’t fit in the movie’s backdrop. A lot of the animators were also annoyed with Bolt’s paws and ears, thinking that his ears looked too long and his paws were too small. Bolt was redesigned to be smaller and sturdy in contrast to the earlier, tall and feeble design. He was also given a more adolescence appearance in order to look more vulnerable and innocent, with bigger paws, shorter legs and bigger head. This new design was more suitable for Bolt’s character and was also more appropriate for the action scenes. His face was also changed, with a slightly wider snout and a more expressive and distinguished profile.

According to Joe Moshier, this change was necessary for Bolt to be “Bolt”:

''“The storyline was very similar. He was still a TV hero dog, but, the way we were designing it, he was an adult dog. Proportionally, he looked stronger, much longer legs. He just looked like he would be successful and accomplish any goal he wanted to achieve. Storywise, his physicality didn’t lend itself to much pathos and doubt. So, we decided to make Bolt look slightly more adolescent. That’s why he’s short, now, for a white American shepherd. He looks like his task would be a little more challenging at his size. “''

The new design was still heavily inspired by the white American shepherd. Joe Moshier and the other animators decided to bring a white American shepherd to the studio to draw and analyze. The shepherd dog was suitable inspiration for Bolt's character design due to its long, pointy ears, a trait that Joe Moshier tried to caricature in order to allow the animators to emphasize Bolt's expressiveness. Another shepherd-like feature was the long, elegant tail, giving the character a more graceful appearance.

The animator and visual development artist, Jim Kim, was very important in the project. Jim Kin worked with the design team’s different designs, putting them in different orthographic poses, experimenting with the expression. He worked to give Bolt his communicative facial expressions.

To make sure that the way Bolt walks and moves seemed believable, the animation studio would study the appearance of several different dogs to get a realistic feel for canine movements and anatomy. When animating Bolt's model during the production, one of their many goals was to successfully marry the realistic, natural body language of real dogs with Bolt's more anthropormorphic facial expressions, to make the character dynamic and expressive. By now, after months of redesigning, the character Bolt looked and behaved like we remember him from the movie. The detailed animation of the characters in the film required a huge step up in quality for Walt Disney Animation Studios compared to previous titles and a lot of effort was put into details, like how Bolt's fur would fold under his red dog collar, and cover parts of it as his moved. As such, the production of Bolt ended up being a very expensive project and required much effort from every single animation department during a stressful few months, and more than half of the the animation crew was let go as soon as the animation of the film was finished.

Trivia

 * Given dates, seen on posters and in magazines that appear in the movie, Bolt was born in January 2003 and was 8 weeks old when adopted by Penny.
 * The number on Bolt's dog tag is the address of Disney's feature animation building.
 * Bolt was adopted from the Silverlake Animal Rescue center. There is a real animal rescue organization, named Silver Lake Animal Rescue League, located in Michigan.


 * Bolt is seen talking to himself in one of the early scenes, trying to calm down. He referred to himself as “Bolty”. Penny is the only other character to use that name on him.


 * Bolt's named was changed to "Volt" in Russia Since the word "bolt" can be used as a vulgar word meaning a male organ in Russian,


 * During the making of the movie, the animation department enjoyed adding concealed, visual metaphors. When Bolt escapes from the studio, he is wearing two things, other than his naked fur; his dog collar and his iconic lightning bolt tattoo. The collar was representing his canine loyalty and relation to Penny while the lightning bolt was representing his delusional view of the world and perceived superpowers. When Bolt returns to Penny after this great adventure, he is still wearing his collar, while his lightning bolt has been smudged off his fur, symbolizing how he has left his superhero roll behind while still believing in his relation for Penny.