A story of a dog who always thought he was super, a girl who's always known he's super, and the journey that helps him to see that being a hero requires no superpowers whatsoever, Disney's newest animated feature Bolt is not only a fun time but a movie that gets you at the heart. Its premise: What happens when a television super-dog who doesn't know that his FX-assisted reality is fake suddenly finds himself in the real world? Its answer: a search for identity, value, and place and the discovery of unwavering loyalty and genuine friendship. A simple story about a dog, a cat, a hamster, and girl, Bolt is not a movie with twists and turns around every corner or a profound political or environmental commentary to top it all off; but in paying more attention to the evolution of realistically endearing characters than a revolutionary plotline, its simple yet priceless message of friendship's value is what rightly takes its center stage.

For Bolt (John Travolta), life has always been one great adventure. Able to smash through walls, melt through locks, and "super bark" his way through any situation, he has always been ready to save his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) from whatever evil villain might be after her today. What he doesn't know is that the evil villains always after him (and Penny) are actors, and the powers that he uses to evade them time and time again are special effects. That is until Bolt suddenly finds himself in a world much bigger than the one he is used to and must face and entirely new reality.

Although at first Bolt is focused on nothing other than the mission and purpose he has always known—finding Penny and saving her—when he soon realizes that neither his powers nor the life he has always known are actually real, Bolt finds himself unsure of what to do. While Bolt never doubted his ability to save Penny before, without his powers Bolt suddenly finds himself wondering if he has any value at all. "If I don't chase bad guys, what am I?" he asks. Add to that the possibility that Penny's love for him isn't even real either, and Bolt's crisis becomes even larger. If he's not Penny's "good boy," then who is he?

Cue a cross-country journey in which Bolt must deal with those questions. Introduce a jaded stray cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) and a star struck hamster named Rhino (Mark Walton) to help him along the way. And head towards a reunion in which Bolt discovers that while it is slightly different than the one he has always known, he still holds a place of meaning and value in this world.

Although both Mittens and Rhino are initially central to Bolt's realization that the life he has always known isn't real, as they continue on together, they both become key to helping him see that his life as it is still has value. As the fearless Rhino joins in their adventures, he shows Bolt that even the most powerless of animals are still capable of great things, and that loyalty will always be more powerful than any "super bark." Teaching Bolt how to be a regular dog and indirectly sharing about life as a pet, Mittens helps Bolt to see that you don't need to be a superhero to be a good friend. Even though Rhino never quite gets that Bolt isn't super and Mittens continues to struggle with the disappointment of her own past, through their continued companionship they provide Bolt with a living example that friendship is real. And in doing so, they also help Bolt to believe that his relationship with Penny is more than just a farce and know that he can still be the friend she needs with or without his "super bark."

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