Bolt is a fictional character that appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 48th feature, Bolt (2008). He is depicted as a White Swiss Shepherd with superpowers such as a "super bark" and the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes. When he found himself lost, Bolt discovered that he was an actor in a television show, and must take it upon himself to get back home, learning how to be a normal dog in the process. Bolt's journey and personal evolution as a character are core to the film's main themes. Created by Chris Williams and Byron Howard, Bolt is introduced as a dog who is unknowingly the star of his own TV show. His ignorance is crucial as the cast and crew go to extreme lengths to make Bolt think he is actually a super dog in order to make the performance more authentic. The character is voiced by John Travolta. Much of the inspiration for Bolt was provided by John Lasseter, who also oversaw his visual development with chief character designer Joe Moshier. Aside from the film, the character also appears in the direct-to-video short film Super Rhino, the two video games Bolt and Disney Infinity, and the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom trade card role-playing game. In addition, photos of Bolt appear in Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and Big Hero 6 (2014). Bolt's character, alongside Travolta's vocal performance, has received mostly positive critical acclaim from film critics and became a breakout character, leading to strong sales of merchandise and toys following the film's release. Development Characterization and design The character known as Bolt was originally conceptualized as a bipedal Jack Russell Terrier named Henry, designed by Chris Sanders. In this script, Henry would be aware of the fact that he is an actor. Henry, as well as Sander's idea for the movie, was eventually scrapped when John Lasseter and some colleagues from Pixar reviewed the project. The character was subsequently redesigned after a White Spitz Breed, although changes were done to the muzzle, ears, and overall body structure to give the character a more distinctive and expressive appearance. Some aspects of his design, such as his distinctive ears, were inspired by American White Shepherds in order to emphasize his expressiveness. To make Bolt's movement seem more realistic and in line with that of real canines, the animation department studied the body language and locomotion of real white shepherds