‘Bolt’ brings the comedic thunder

Bolt races to the rescue! Not to save a poor little girl, though. Instead he comes to save a bleak Thanksgiving Day weekend at the box office. Apart from the drudge that is “Twilight” and “Transporter 3,” and barring a sojourn to an art house theater to see “Synecdoche, New York” or “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “Bolt” is the best new option in theaters.

“Bolt” tells the story of a dog named Bolt (John Travolta) who is the star of his own action-packed TV show. His co-star and owner is a little girl named Penny (Miley Cyrus) who is constantly on the run from an evil genius named Dr. Calico (Malcolm McDowell).

The problem is that Bolt thinks all of this is real. So when he gets off the set and lost in the real New York, he has to find his way back to Penny while coming to grips with the fact that he is just a regular dog. With help from an “evil” cat named Mittens and an enthusiastic fanboy-hamster named Rhino, Bolt goes on an adventure across the country that is sure to become an instant hit with kids an adults alike.

The movie feels like a cross between “Toy Story” and “Homeward Bound,” embodying the best qualities of each while never seeming fake or borrowed, with the possible exception of the New York pigeons that seem copy and pasted from “Animaniacs.” Travolta manages to meld his voice into his character well enough that it’s easy to forget it is his voice coming out of a dog. That’s a tough job for such an audibly distinctive actor, and he pulls it off masterfully.

Another standout character is Rhino, voiced by story artist Mark Walton. Walton voiced the hamster in early production, intending to be replaced by someone with more star power, but did the voice so well they let him do the character in the final cut.

Fresh, fun, familiar and family-friendly, “Bolt” is a heartwarming story about a girl and her dog. Occasionally unoriginal, the movie is nevertheless one of the best things to come from Disney’s animation department without Pixar’s help in a long time.