‘Bolt’ a superdog in for a surprise

Movie: "Bolt"

When: Opening Friday at local theaters

Cast: Voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus

Directors: Byron Howard, Chris Williams

The story: Bolt, the German shepherd star of a TV show about a superdog with superpowers, doesn't realize his amazing feats are only make-believe -- until he's forced to make a coast-to-coast journey through the real world.

The buzz: Computer-animated animals are big at the box office ("Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," anyone?) and so is Disney ("High School Musical 3," anyone?), so "Bolt," opening in regular and 3-D versions, seems to have plenty of momentum -- or it would, it if weren't opening against the teen-dream vampire melodrama "Twilight." This computer-animated romp also marks the directorial debut of two Mouse House veterans: Byron Howard (an animator on "Mulan," "Lilo & Stitch" and "Brother Bear") and Chris Williams (whose writing credits include "Mulan" and "The Emperor's New Groove").