Bolt, opening today, overcame a rough start to become the first feature completely overseen by Pixar for the new Walt Disney Animation Studios banner. All images © Disney Enterprises.

We all know the importance of Bolt (bowing today): it marks the first feature completely overseen by Pixar's John Lasseter and Ed Catmull for the new Walt Disney Animation Studios banner. And we know the difficult history Bolt endured prior to the new regime as American Dog (with director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) being replaced by Chris Williams (the Glago's Guest short) and Byron Howard (Lilo & Stitch lead character animator) because his experimental, picaresque vision didn't jibe with the brain trust's.

So, with a new plot (canine TV star believes he's a real superhero, only to be accidentally let loose in the real world, where he's befriended by a jaded cat and hamster fan boy) and a new character design, a crew was quickly assembled and set on an 18-month production schedule to make the release date.

As Catmull points out, it was important that the new team meshed together so well and handled the accelerated schedule: there was no time for lethargy yet the heightened sense of urgency helped cut through all the fat.

And, as Lasseter, reiterates, "We brought over the notion of a filmmaker-led studio from Pixar and the stories come from them. We create a brain trust, and we're all very honest with them about their movie. There are no mandatory notes at this studio. But other than that, it's all the filmmakers here at this studio. We're like cousins. Every now and then, we'll take a film up to Pixar and show it to the brain trust up there, or the Pixar films will come down here and show it to the brain trust down here, but everything is kept very, very separate."

As the new boss, Lasseter had set high standards for the Disney animators. He wanted the craziest, over-the-top action opening sequence ever seen in an animated film, and the team delivered.

For Williams, "There's something in our DNA where we're always referencing back to Disney classics. But at the same time, we work with John Lasseter now and he's always going to be pushing you to create really great original characters that resonate. And that's very much the Pixar way, where you want to do something new and exciting. So I think we're in a place where we can benefit from that Pixar approach to constructing story, but at the same time, have this heritage that people are always talking about: those classic Disney movies. You always feel that flavor, I think."

Howard emphasizes that you never lose sight of that power of emotion. "I was watching the opening of Dumbo the other day: the scene where these storks bring babies to the zoo. And without saying a word, you see this mother elephant reaching up to the sky, hoping it's going to get a baby. And she doesn't and your heart breaks. You're hooked. These are emotions that exist in Disney films and no matter how funny you try and make them, at the heart, we're going to go for that key emotional response. That's the way John told us how he starts his films, too. 'What's the biggest emotional punch that you're going to get? What does your film revolve around?' And then everything stems from there."

And emotion was key as Bolt (John Travolta) guilessly searches for his "owner," the teenage co-star, Penny (Miley Cyrus), across the country while bonding with Mittens, the cat (Susie Essman), and Rhino, the hamster (board artist Mark Walton).