Bolt ( ***1/2 )

November 20, 2008 10:57 a.m. EST

95 minutes

In theaters November 21, 2008

Rating: PG, Animated comedy

Bolt's no dolt. And he's no mutt either.

He's the canine protagonist of Bolt, a smart, funny, edgy, and heartwarming CG-animated comedic adventure with lots of loopy laughs aimed both at kids and ex-kids, I kid you not.

Bolt's also an American White Shepherd, the star of a hit television show about a superhero with superpowers. But because he's been kept on the soundstage his entire life (Remember Jim Carrey in The Truman Show? This is sort of The True-Dog Show.), he believes that his powers are real; that the black lightning-bolt mark on his fur is real; that the actress playing his owner, Penny, is real; and that the villains from whom he must occasionally rescue her are real.

So when Bolt, voiced by John Travolta, is accidentally shipped from his studio in Hollywood and then stranded in Manhattan, he must find a way to get back to Penny, voiced by Miley Cyrus, by traveling from coast to coast without benefit of the superpowers he has until now believed he had access to.

Along the way, he befriends and is aided on his journey by a sarcastic, world-weary cat named Mittens (Susie Essman) -- who lets Bolt know that his belief in his powers is nothing but a delusion of grandeur -- and Rhino (Mark Walton), an obsessive fanboy hamster who, in his ever-present plastic ball, watches enough TV that he knows everything there is to know about Bolt's accomplishments.

Debuting co-directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard -- working with the aid of executive producer John Lasseter, whose experienced and talented fingerprints appear to be all over this splendid feature -- open with an action sequence that shows off both the powers of their superpooch and the digital 3-D format that Bolt was designed for and that it's being shown in in certain equipped theaters. (The digital 3-D process, by the way, is certainly not a necessity for the enjoyment of Bolt, but it is certainly one bright, dynamic illusion.)

Working from a literate and layered script by Williams and Dan Fogelman, the co-directors have conjured a vibrant, well-crafted, intricate, touching, and enormously inventive cartoon, one which also offers a sly satire of the television business and Hollywood's dog-eat-dog mentality.

Their array of supporting characters are very funny, including a group of pigeons whose pigeon English is a hoot. And the several extended action sequences are dramatically justified, visually exciting, and easy to follow.

In a year with spectacular animated offerings the likes of WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda, Bolt is a notch below their staggering level of quality. But it's close enough to get excited about.

Bolt is not only adorable and engaging, but a surprisingly bracing dog and pony show -- sans pony but with plenty of other critters. Oh, and it's also in 3-D: dazzling, double-barreled, delightful.