Balto

When Nome is stricken by a diptheria epidemic, the only way the antidote can reach the town is via the local sled dog team, which is led by the arrogant Steele. But when the team becomes lost in a blinding blizzard, it is up to Balto to rescue them, compelling him to embark upon a journey so perilous that he is forced to rely on his half wolf lineage in order to survive, during which he finally learns to celebrate and appreciate this aspect of himself, realising that this uniqueness is a gift.

Unlike with Disney animated features, the cinematic release of "Balto" didn't follow a lot of studio-generated hype. Perhaps that was a shame; perhaps had the hype been bigger, more people might have gone to see it. But no amount of hype can describe the warmth, sincerity, compassion, and wholesomeness of this story. For it is a true gem, which even non animal lovers will enjoy. Balto is a cinema canine who deserves to be placed in the realms of Lassie, Benji, and Rin Tin Tin, cinematic and family icons who have touched the hearts and softened the tear ducts of millions of moviegoers for over half a century.


Balto-A Great Movie About A Great Dog   December 15, 1999
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

My family loves this movie! When we watch it (for the millionth time), we all can't help but to cheer for Balto and growl at the self-centered Steel. Though embellished, the movie captures the spirit of the true story. Kevin Bacon and Bridget Fonda are wonderful as Balto and Jenna, the animation is fantastic. As an Alaskan who grew up hearing the original story in history class, I highly reccomend this movie to anyone, it's a fabulous tale.


A powerful story   April 11, 2004
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

My only regret with this movie, is that I did not catch it at the cinema! However when I first rented it from a video store, I instantly fell in love with it (and ended up re-renting it out quite a few times before finally receiving a VHS copy of my own later on). Now it is on DVD and so I have happily purchased this to keep forever more, it really is an absolute favourite of mine.

Story Summary:

Our main character is a half-dog, half-wolf protagonist who is shunned by the townspeople and rejects the outside life of the wolves, he doesn't belong anywhere. This story sees the children of the town threatened by a virus and when it seems that the life-saving medicine will be impossible to obtain, our protoganist throws himself into the world of both realities for the sake of others and getting his chance at proving his worth to the world, but not without it's trials and tribulations of course. Place in an overbearing and selfish lead husky, a gentle canine love interest, a cynical goose partner, and some fun polar bears, then be prepared for a ride filled with danger, love and humour. All carried along with a powerful message that "You don't need a pedigree to help someone" and of acceptance of the self so as to cherish those personal qualities that make you different and attempt to rise above the odds by acting to your fullest.

Elements:

The animation is wonderfully done, very impressive and carries the story well. As mentioned before, the music is also a treat, the end credits vocal fits the whole movie extremely well and is as powerful as the movie's message itself, the instrumental soundtrack also gives a powerful underlying atmosphere to all the dynamic scenes. The plot is played out well, as firstly you are gradually introduced to the main characters through fitting scenes and get a good feeling for who they are and how they carry themselves out in life, an important factor for following a character driven plot. Then there is a good variety in the action, causing our protagonist to be pitted against an array of odds that keep you gripped and doesn't let the pace die. As mentioned, the voices are all acted out very well.

Conclusion:

Either way this film is a must-see in my opinion, and one I have happily seen many times myself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Sidenote:

However on another note, I believe the VHS cover would of been better than this new cover, it seemed to have a more powerful composition with a nice variety of colour. If I remember right, it doesn't outrightly say "true story", it was more like "the story that became a legend" which could still be in a fictional sense since it is a word often used in mystical themes, rather than the word "true" that pulls away any doubt of this not being from something or other based in reality. If I remember correctly that is. Either way, since I didn't enter this movie initially thinking in a forward manner of "This is based on a true story" I felt the ending words had an added impact. But this is an extremely minor point, and this movie is very impacting either way in my opinion.

So, as stated, this is based loosely on a true story. For the purpose of this version of the original story things have been re-invented and so on. I do not believe this being an alternative interpretation detracts from this movie, incase you wondered, and I feel it's very impacting and influential. When I first watched this film I had no idea of this being based at all on a true story, so when the final words came, "Based on a true story", I was very touched as the underlying achievement is extremely impressive. To see the bare facts you may wish to see other documentation in company with this movie, however.

All in all, a great and influential story.


A great classic, which deserve to be more known   August 27, 2004
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I'm 20, and yet I've never heard of Balto before this year. But now I'm an absolute fan of this movie, and I've must seen it a few dozens of time now... Why? Outside of its classical aspects, this is simply a well done animated movie. To me, there's everything you need to make a great movie : great animation, attractive characters, a beautiful story, a good production... There's no dead time, no songs (except for the excellent credits one), and it's a really good thing. But above all, I love the soundtrack, composed by James Horner (= Titanic, Braveheart...) There are probably the most awesome and varied themes I've ever heard in this kind of movies. And I'm sure everybody would have put it up among Disney's greatest movies, if it had been one! So if you've never seen it, give it a try!


A great cartoon that's based on a true story!   September 1, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Balto is part dog and part wolf and he lives in a cold area of the world, so as you might expect, he's somewhat of an outcast from the sled dogs. Balto has a MAJOR enemy in a big husky named Steele. However, when something bad happens, Balto has a great chance to be a hero by doing something that could possibly save a life. "Balto" has both live action and animated parts to it, but it's mostly a cartoon, and a GREAT one at that! If you don't believe me, then look at a lot of other great movies that you know of. How many other movies or items at all, do you know of that have over 20 reviews and that average 5 full stars?

I've seen just about all of the Disney masterpieces, and like most of them, "Balto" is a classic. Unfortunately, "Balto" seems to be very underrated because it looks like it hasn't been widely watched like it should be. If you like any other Disney movies, or just great movies in general, do yourself a favor and purchase "Balto" before it's too late! "Balto" has some parts that are suspenseful, especially for a cartoon, it has great animation, and best of all, it's a movie you'll never forget.