Daily Dialogue — June 10, 2016

RHINO: Do my eyes deceive me? Is this some apparition I see before me? Or, could it be my hero? My gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! (Laughs) You’re Bolt, the Super Dog! You’re…fully…awesome!
MITTENS: Wait a minute, you know this dog?
RHINO: Oh, I do. He is fully awesome.
MITTENS: Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve established that. Who are you?
RHINO: I’m Rhino.
MITTENS: Rhino, the hamster?
RHINO: Well, you know, my ancestry isn’t all hamster. I’m one-sixteenth wolf with a, you know, a little wolverine in there somewhere, but…tha…tha…that’s besides the point. We have before us a legend: Bolt, the Super Dog! He can outrun speeding missiles and…and…and burn through solid metal with his heat vision. Ooh, ooh, and best of all, he can obliterate large structures with his super bark!
MITTENS: Wait a minute, You’ve seen the super bark?
BOLT: Have you been observing me?
RHINO: Oh, yeah. I watch you all the time.
BOLT: That’s incredible.
RHINO: Ahh, it’s nothing, really.
BOLT: But I’m always so vigilant. No one can evade my detection. You’re a phantom.
RHINO: Uh, if you say so. Oh, hey, check it out — wahzoo! Take a gander at this Bolt action. Scary, huh? It’s like we are twins.
MITTENS: Yeah, scary.
RHINO: So, where’s Penny?
BOLT: She was kidnapped by the Green-eyed Man.
RHINO: Kidnapped? This is terrible! She could be in — 
BOLT: — Grave danger, I know, but I’ve captured this cat.
RHINO: An agent of the Green-eyed Man, I presume?
BOLT: Oh, you presume correctly. She’s taking me to Penny.
RHINO: You! You are vile vermin. How do you sleep at night? Penny’s the most wonderful person ever, and she loves Bolt, and he’s awesome, and you’re a monster! How dare you disrupt their relationship with your evil — die! Die!
BOLT: Whoa, whoa, whoa!
RHINO: I can take her, Bolty. Die! Die! Die!
BOLT: Easy, easy, Rhino. Easy, boy.
RHINO: You’re right, we need her alive.
MITTENS: Uh, we?
RHINO: Yes! Bolt, I can be a valuable addition to your team.
BOLT: I’m listening.
RHINO: I’m lightening quick. I have razor-sharp reflexes. Hoo-wah! And, I’m a master of stealth. (Chuckles) Plus, I’ll keep the cat in check.
BOLT: The road will be rough.
Rhino: I have a ball.
BOLT: There’s no turning back.
Rhino: Guess I’ll have to roll with the punches.
BOLT: Easy won’t be part of the equation.
Rhino: Promise?
BOLT: Gotta warn you: going into the belly of the beast. Danger at every turn.
RHINO: I eat danger for breakfast.
BOLT: You hungry?
RHINO: Starving!

— Bolt (2008), screenplay by Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Dog. Today’s suggestion by Will King.

Trivia: Since the word “bolt” can be used as a vulgar word meaning a male organ in Russian, the film was released as “Volt” in Russia, with the hero called Volt. The film is also called “Volt” in Hungary, France and for the French-language release in Canada. Besides, the name of the film is “Lightning” in Croatia, Slovakia, Estonia and Poland and “Thunder” in Bulgaria.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “Bolt is a dog raised on a television set from a puppy and doesn’t know about the real world. Shipped across the country by accident, he’s trying to make his way home. Cats are the minions of the evil Green-eyed Man on his TV show, so Bolt takes Mittens, a streetwise stray, prisoner thinking to force her to reveal the location of Penny, his human companion on the show. Mittens shares none of Bolt’s illusions. Rhino the hamster is an avid fan of Bolt’s TV show. This scene brings Rhino to the team as the comedy relief, and also shows the first cracks in Bolt’s illusion, as he doesn’t understand Rhino’s references to watching him all the time (on TV). With the group complete, the adventure can now get underway.”