How 'Bolt' is a Critique of Disney

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!

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

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.

Love that Penny just steals someone's hamster.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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)

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

This movie and Meet the Robinsons are so heart felt and they are made with such a care, they are definitely underrated gems

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.

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.

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

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