The 48th Disney animated feature is directed by Chris Williams and Byron Howard, starring the voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell, Diedrich Bader, Nick Swardson, Greg Germann, Susie Essman and Mark Walton.
The film’s plot centers on a white dog named Bolt who, having spent his entire life on the set of TV series, thinks that he has super powers. When he believes that his human owner Penny has been kidnapped, he sets out on a cross-country journey to “rescue” her.
Bolt: 10 Fun Facts
Mittens, the street-wise alley cat, was originally called Mr. Mittens, because her owners never took the time to figure out if she was a boy or a girl.
The creative journey began with the desire to evoke the painterly style of classic Disney Animated Features and American painters such as Edward Hopper, George Bellows and other Ashcan School Artists from the early 20th century.
To get a feel for the locations where Bolt and his entourage would be traveling, art director Paul Felix, director of lighting and look Adolph Lusinsky and others packed it up and hit the road. Exploring such locations as New York, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Rhino, the hamster, was originally supposed to be a rat. During the initial story retreat to develop the idea for the film, Rhino was morphed into a hamster riding inside a plastic ball.
The design for the main character Bolt was loosely inspired by the American White Shepherd.
It takes 4-5 months to get one shot all the way through production – from layout to animation to lighting (a shot averages 4 seconds in length on “Bolt”).
There are a total of 28 sequences in the film comprised of 131,738 frames and 1,239 shots. 110 terabytes of data are active at any second in the production.
Throughout production, each member of the crew working on “Bolt” would pin pictures of their pet in the “Production Pets Gallery.”
The production actually has a pet hamster named Doink! who has become a beloved crew member and is observed as reference for the animators.
Director Byron Howard served as the supervising animator for the character Cobra Bubbles in “Lilo & Stitch.”