Bolt (character)

Bolt is the name of the white German shepherd 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 an 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. Bolts 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.

Bolts 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 Bolts 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 Bolts feelings.

When relaxed, he seems to possess the common doglike playfulness, and he enjoys chasing sticks, playing with Rhinos hamster ball and plodding around in snow. 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.

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