Once upon a time across a bridge there lived a magical people called Magics. Those people had one magical power and they could shapeshift into one animal. There were many different lands and regions, and one particular region was called Catland.
In Catland there was a king. His name was Jeremy. He was the fifth king, and he was a magnificent jaguar. He also had two children: and an older daughter named Eliza and a son named Bolt.
His children came from a long line of cat heritage. Having any other animal was a problem. Some animals could be excused, but some certain animals, like any animal that was any type of canine was inexcusable.
Eliza turned into a beautiful cat. Her ears were fluffy and her pelt was gray. She had a fine dusting of white on her back, like snow when it first starts to stick on the ground. Eliza was a fine princess and acceptable as a cat. She was welcomed into her family and her father simply adored her.
Bolt, on the other hand (or paw) was a different story. The day he got his magic would be a memory that he and his family wouldn’t forget. It was definitely the beginning of the end.
King Jeremy liked to race cars and he often brought his children to watch. He also had a whole team of mechanics to himself; he was the king after all. Bolt and Eliza-he always called her El-sat down with some of the mechanics on the bleachers around the racetrack while the king went as fast as he could.
“That’s a beautiful car right there,” said a mechanic named Tom.
They both nodded. Spending the day sitting on a bench outside of a racetrack was neither childs’ idea of fun. It was the royal equivalent to spending a day at a clothing store, a dry cleaner, or even a supermarket.
Suddenly, Bolt was filled with the unexplainable urge to chase after the car. And before the thought of Hey, let me go chase the big speeding red thing, he was already somehow chasing after the car. And somewhere in his mind, he thought, ‘hey, why am I so low? And how in the world am I keeping up with this car?’, somewhere in his mind he registered his sister and the mechanic (who they were friendly with because they were at the racetrack so often) yelling “Hey” and “Wait.” But the energy was flowing through him, he didn’t want to stop and he couldn’t even think, so he kept going. Until his father looked in the rearview mirror, that is.
As soon as the king saw a dog, he was yelling, “Get that dog away from me!” and speeding up even faster.
Suddenly Bolt wasn’t moving incredibly fast anymore In fact, he wasn’t even moving, though his paws-now his mind screamed “I have paws?” were windmilling through the air. Someone was holding him in the air. He twisted around frantically and saw his sister El.
She gave him a mischievous smile. She had already gotten her magic, turned into a cat and gotten the power of sensing other’s real feelings. She was delighted to see that her brother had gotten his, too.
“If I let you down, you promise not to torture dad?” She asked him, half joking, and set him on the ground where he turned back He was sure that this was the best day of his life. His father came back, but without the reaction that Bolt was hoping for. Instead he moaned, “A dog is the enemy of cats! And what kind of special ability is superspeed to a cat?” And from that day, Bolt knew that his father would rather not have him at all.
His father tried to teach him how to be a cat. They practiced purring, which was really just making Bolt purr as a dog-which he was good at but it hurt his throat and dog’s can’t purr, so it not only hurt him but discouraged him to talk at all-and they also practiced falling out of trees, which sounds exactly like what it is.
And then the day came. In Magic communities, there was a big ceremony where when you reached a certain age, you get your collars. This was showing that you had a home and a family that wanted you back if you got lost. Bolt didn’t have that. His father didn’t give him a collar, and in fact he sent him away to live with a family on the Central Island, on the border of Catland, with a man (a jaguar) who had two kids: one hadn’t gotten his magic yet, and a unicorn. They were kind, and took Bolt in. Soon Bolt was part of the family, and had made friends and had gone on a dangerous adventure. And during this adventure his friends learned about another one of Bolts’ magical secrets.
There was one, other magical thing about Bolt. You see, there were also magical beings called Legends. They had powers that no one else did. And Bolt was one, but a dog based one. “Stamp it out,” his father had told him.
Bolt and his friends were facing an enemy, a huge red dragon. “Dinner is served!” he said when he saw the group: Bolt and his friends Cherry, Growl and Birch.
“Not on my watch!” Bolt ran to the front of the group and transformed. “What protection is a little white dog?” sneered the dragon.
Bolt paused then, and time slowed as he contemplated. Should he become the Legend? Should he listen to his father? Or was it time to let that go, and save his friends? Be what he was, not what others wanted of him? And he decided to go with the latter.
Black fur replaced the white fur, and in seconds he was a strong and sleek dog with big, beautiful wings just like the night sky. The dragon ran. Victorious, Bolt flew.