Brave, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Bolt is the canine equivalent of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) of "The Truman Show" fame — he lives his whole life in a TV show but doesn't know it. And because he's a dog, the Kafka-esque/metaphysical angst that assailed Truman (once he discovered that his life is all about fabricated fragments of a ratings-grabbing action series) touch Bolt's heart only briefly. He has other things to worry about, like why his superpowers (turning freeways into concrete rubble at a single bark) can't work outside the studio, and whether Penny (his human costar on the show) really loved him or her sweet winsomeness was just acting.
Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams, "Bolt" is the thinking kids-and-parents' Disney animation, one that actually invites semideep discussions concerning reality and identity and job commitment, over postmovie burgers.
Having said so however, it's still heavily customized entertainment, rigged to manipulate the senses (the much-advertised 3-D effect is top-notch, if a little wearing), open tear ducts and extract giggles with Hollywood commercialism vengeance.