Progress on menus is good, so I'm going to waste words tonight on one of the recent movies I've been quite inspired by instead. And for once in my life, I'm not referring to Wall-E.
Let's talk about BOLT. It came out in November of 2008; I watched it in theaters immediately following Keanu Reeve's "memorable" performance in The Day The Earth Stood Still. Despite following one of the worst movies of the year -- if not all time -- Bolt proved absolutely inspirational.
There were a few problems plaguing it: Disney's last strand of computer-animated offerings had been lackluster at best, horrible at worst. The company reputation was sagging around the edges. Disney Princesses were fast becoming the only palpable property worth the company's funding. If you're like me -- grouchy, balding, and frequently unshaven -- you probably sat down preparing for the worst.
As it turns out, I sat spellbound for two hours and soaked in a level of CG genius previously unknown at the gates of Disney. Each time I've watched it again, I've revisited my state of amazement. Industry in-jokes, movie references, genuine WTF comedy, lines about snapping necks... Surely this can't be from the land of Goof Troops and Winnie the Pooh.
I'm not writing all this just to offer some sort of movie review (although it's amazing, go watch it). My point is, Bolt altered my entire perspective on the Walt Disney company, and for the first time, I began considering what it would take to go to work on that lot every day.
If you find me shooting Disney films twenty years from now, you can trace that back here and chalk it up to Bolt.
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