Bolt (3D)

A young girl called Penny, armed with high tech gadgetry and her faithful dog, goes head to head against an evil scientist with a cat and his minions.

Hang on, isn't that the plot to Inspector Gadget?

Cineworld actually have more showings of this film per day in 3D than in regular format., which makes sense because this is the first Disney animated film to be designed and 'filmed' in 3D. Their other efforts; Chicken Little (2005) and Meet the Robinsons (2007) were both converted to 3D after they were produced. As such, the 3D effect is used very well in this movie. The last film I saw in 3D was Beowulf, which I felt didn't work well. It only used the 3D effect in about half of the film, and the effect was to add depth to objects and people who still looked flat and two-dimensional. It was very distracting. Bolt has none of that . It doesn't rely on throwing things at the audience to exaggerate the depth illusion, but instead uses it in a subtle and effective way to add depth to each and every scene.

You've probably heard the basic plot. Star of a hit TV show, Bolt thinks everything is real, mostly due to the production crew maintaining that illusion for him. When an accident separates him from Penny, he sets out across the country to rescue her with a couple of companions he picks up on the way. Now if that sounds formulaic and predictable, then think again. Bolt takes a fresh approach to this story, Mittens the cat desperately trying to convince him his powers aren't real, while Rhone the hamster believes Bolt is the genuine article.

For those of you planning to see this at the weekend, be warned: The screen last night was almost sold out, and the Orange Wednesday folk were trailed all through the zip-barriers, all the way to the cinema door and out to the complex's door. Anyone coming to the queue after I got there would have been queueing outside. Luckily, I'd picked up both the tickets and the glasses for this on the way home last night, so I bypassed the lot of them. I had to work very hard to hold in the evil laugh. Seriously, I nearly gave myself a hernia.

In a rather interesting twist, all the trailers for other Disney/Pixar movies were also shown in 3D. Monsters vs Aliens looks to be a hoot, and as usual the Pixar trailer for Up gives away almost nothing of the plot while still managing to instill a deep desire to go and see it when it's out.

Score: A -
A genuinely funny movie, light on the Disney touch and a fabulously realised world. Extra points for the comedy hamster.

OQ: Now I'm concerned on a number of levels.