Chris Sanders was making American Dog, a road trip about a dog who thinks he’s a superhero, when Disney took him off it in 2006. It became Bolt. See what Sanders and Lasseter have said.
Before “Bolt,” there was a weirder dog movie with a radioactive rabbit in it.
It was called American Dog, and it came from Chris Sanders, the co-director of “Lilo & Stitch.” He also voiced Stitch.
Then, in December 2006, Disney took Sanders off his own movie. The film that came out two years later was “Bolt.”
So what was American Dog, and what happened? Sanders has talked about it, and so has John Lasseter.
What was American Dog about?
A dog who has no idea what the real world is like.
The dog was “born and raised on a movie set,” Sanders told TheWrap in 2025. He thinks he’s amazing at everything, so when he gets loose in the outside world, “it’s devastating for him.”
From there, it turned into a road trip, Sanders said.
The dog’s name was Henry. His traveling companions included a radioactive rabbit and a one-eyed cat, according to TheWrap.
What would American Dog have looked like?
Like a painting, sort of.
The art style took inspiration from American painter Edward Hopper, TheWrap reported. And the story reels were set to John Williams’ score for “1941,” with another big moment set to the 1975 disco song “Boogie Fever.”
It was a computer-animated road comedy, The Playlist noted, a big change from the hand-drawn “Lilo & Stitch.”
Why was Chris Sanders taken off American Dog?
New bosses, mostly.
Disney bought Pixar in 2006, and Pixar’s John Lasseter and Ed Catmull took over Disney’s animation studio. American Dog was one of the movies already in the works.
Sanders said he could tell it was coming when he got called into a meeting with Lasseter, Catmull and producer Clark Spencer.
“I knew. I was like, I’m going to get taken off my own movie,” Sanders told TheWrap. They thanked him for his time and told him they’d be “changing leadership,” he said.
“It was the hardest thing, career-wise, I have ever experienced,” Sanders said. He drove out to the desert for several days to deal with it.
It happened Dec. 13, 2006, the same day Disney laid off about 160 people from its animation division, Cartoon Brew reported at the time.
What did John Lasseter say about American Dog?
That he liked the idea, but not where it was going.
Lasseter told /Film in 2008 that he always thought the premise “had a lot of potential for heart.” But Disney was “having kind of creative differences with reaching that potential,” he said.
“I love Chris Sanders. He’s a great guy and brilliant talent,” Lasseter said. Taking him off the film was “the right thing to do for the movie,” he added.
What has Chris Sanders said about it since?
He’s been pretty even-handed about it.
“It had the normal amount of problems, I think, that those movies have,” Sanders told The Playlist in 2013. “I take fifty percent of the responsibility for that thing.”
But he also thought it “wasn’t exactly Pixar’s cup of tea.”
Even before Lasseter arrived, the script had a tough audience. Then-CEO Michael Eisner wasn’t thrilled with it, TheWrap reported.
How did American Dog become Bolt?
Disney handed it to directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard, Lasseter told /Film.
The radioactive rabbit didn’t make the trip. Bolt is a TV-star dog who believes his superpowers are real, and he crosses the country with a cat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino, according to D23. D23 lists American Dog as the film’s working title.
Lasseter said the new team focused on making the animals feel more like real animals, and on making it believable that the dog would think his TV show was real.
“Bolt” opened Nov. 21, 2008, and made about $310 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
Here’s Disney UK’s trailer for “Bolt”:
What happened to Chris Sanders?
He went to DreamWorks and did fine.
After a later meeting where Catmull asked about him art directing instead, Sanders realized he had to leave if he ever wanted to direct again, he told TheWrap.
At DreamWorks, he co-directed “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Croods,” and later wrote and directed “The Wild Robot,” TheWrap reported.
Where can you watch Bolt?
“Bolt” is streaming on Disney+, according to JustWatch.
What are some fun facts about American Dog?
Eisner had a funny note. In one version, the other characters plan to ransom Henry back to his studio. Eisner said no studio would spend a million dollars on one shot, then paused and said Disney would, but other people wouldn’t believe it, Sanders recalled to TheWrap.
Bolt was made for 3D. It was Disney’s first animated feature conceived and designed for 3D, according to D23.
Rhino was voiced by a Disney story artist. Mark Walton did a temporary voice for the hamster and was so funny that he got the part, Lasseter told /Film.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
TheWrap, Feb. 5, 2025: ‘The Wild Robot’ Director Chris Sanders Looks Back: From ‘Lilo & Stitch’ to ‘How to Train Your Dragon’
Peter Sciretta, /Film, Nov. 21, 2008: Interview: John Lasseter
The Playlist, March 25, 2013: Interview: ‘Croods’ Directors Kirk DeMicco & Chris Sanders
Amid Amidi, Cartoon Brew, Dec. 18, 2006: Chris Sanders No Longer Directing American Dog
D23 Disney A to Z: Bolt (film) and Lilo & Stitch (film) entries
Box Office Mojo: Bolt (2008)
JustWatch: Bolt U.S. listing, checked Oct. 11, 2026
Disney UK on YouTube: Bolt Full Trailer
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