How 'Bolt' is a Critique of Disney 

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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".

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

Gee thanks, now im crying even harder

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

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.

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

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.

Bolt sounds like a very sweet dog

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.

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!

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

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".

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....

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?

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.

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)

hi angry russian owl from hlm1

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

That Agent just got Dark Souls character lore treatment.

Agreed!

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

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

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

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?

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.

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

Dude when will you get over the fact that I kicked your dog into the sun

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.

It's very likely intentional

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

So does bad art

I really appreciate this 🙏🏻

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

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.

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!

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.

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?

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!!

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

Of course they thought it was mediocre, they're part of the ones getting criticized

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 🙏🏻

Pinned comment

Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is not accurate at ALL. Where did you hear that??

This is so true Lmaooo 😂

r/im14andthisisdeep

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.

i wish the general population appreciated long form content more. seeing shit that happens with tiktok/shorts just makes me sad.

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

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.

Those are some of those special memories you’ll never forget for sure 👌🏻

Hahah, got lucky with this one for sure, appreciate it mate 🙏🏻

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”

Dude, appreciate this comment so much!

What a coincidence! What country are your from, if I might ask?

@@100lovenana France.

Not really? Sometimes even adults aren't allowed to adult and have the power. There's still a hierarchy.

you do realize most celebrities are under contract right? they probably couldnt back out even if she wanted to.

And yet people ignored it for decades.

🙏🏻🙏🏻