Balto (1995)

Absolutely brilliant

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

I grew up watching this movie multiple, multiple times as a kid. I had not seen it in probably 15 years when my mother dug it up on Netflix last night and I got to relive this dog-lovers classic. But unlike the last time I watched, I did no research done on the actual true story...but that's for later.Balto is the story of a half-dog/half-wolf who is the subject of intolerance by the living beings of Nome in the year 1925. Even though he has friends like Boris, the Russian Goose, and Muk & Luk, 2 goofy, fun loving polar bears, He desperately tries to fit in, but no matter what he does, the townsfolk don't trust his wolf side and the dogs of the town wish he would simply cease to exist, especially the vicious husky Steele. But when a sickness overtakes a wave of children in the town, including young Rosie, who's dog Jenna takes a liking to Balto, Balto takes it upon himself to help save the children, with Boris informing him "A dog cannot make this journey alone....but maybe a wolf can."Now with every "based on a true story" line there's got to be alterations to the story. and some alterations, like adding in comic relief in the form of a Russian goose and a british-accented polar bear are totally acceptable.But there are details that are left out. For example, The sled run was not made by one dog team, it was actually multiple mushers and 2 leaders - Togo (who we can assume is whom Steele is based upon.) and Balto, a trained, single breed Siberan husky. Togo ran most of the run, but Balto only ran the last leg of the course, and therefore got all the fame. If you really want to know the true story, just dig up the trivia section.The voice actors do a really good job, although Kevin Bacon sounds too good to play the role of a stray dog like Balto. Bob Hoskins definitely got the Russian snow goose role down very well, although having Robin Williams there would've been really, really fun (But too recognizable...and expensive.) Bridget Fonda for Jenna, She's got the beautiful girl voice. Phil Collins, the guy from Genesis for Muk & Luk, he's not bad but it feels out of place because of his british accent. Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas (Bob & Doug McKenzie) Would've been perfect, but they came later for brother bear. Jim Cummings? What can you say, the guy's a Voice-over legend but you can hear the traces of Tigger in his voice (Tigger from Winnie the pooh, Cummings also provides his voice) And finally, the uncredited Frank Welker as the bear. No really. give him credit. He made a killer angry bear.Animation-wise, it's very well done. Amblination/DreamWorks always have been able to hold a candle up to Disney (even though Disney's got the firehose to douse it.) look for a cute little reference to E.T. during one scene.As long as it's still up on Netflix, give this one a view.

I began watching this movie with middle high expectation especially towards the characters. And it didn't disappoint! Balto is an outcast among his fellow dogs in this village because he is part wolf. He constantly mocked by this Husky called Steele who is full of himself. The humans in the village shun him claiming he is dangerous, but this little girl named Rosy is kind to him. Rosy and other children is later stricken by diphtheria and need medicine which is being delivered by sledge. And from that time on the excitement begins. Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins and Jim Cummings do great jobs as Balto, Boris and Steele, respectively. Some of the characters also have some clever lines here and there. One of my favorites are when a scared Boris say he "almost had people bumps". But the peak of the movie was the emotional impact the diphtheria- struck village had on me. It was really touching. I won't say more, it would ruin the experience. The animation is neat, not spectacular, but it has some good scenes and some longer passages with good coloring and backgrounds. Aside from that it is the average traditional animation. The only minor problem is Steele's co-dogs who have this mildly annoyingly formulated of talking. It is not throughout the movie, so it is just nitpicking.Balto is a great family movie and is overall highly recommendable.

I love Balto as shows.I give balto all 3 shows a 9 or 10 we watch balto a lot in my house. My husband and I think it would be great if something happened to balto not dead missing and Boris is telling his kids how he met balto how he got separated from his mom who his dad is and his kids have to go find him that would be great. Have balto hurt and can't get home have his kids come together where ever they are even aloo, Kodiak, and what ever the others name is have it where they have to find their father and get him home, maybe they have to go through some things to get there. But first have all the children there and Boris telling them how balto came to be with him and learn all about their father and what they learned will help them find balto. The show could show aloo out in the wild with the wolf pack and all of a sudden have a vision of something happening to her father. Then she goes home and gathers up her brothers and sisters to help her in finding her father and bringing him back home safely. It may be something that happened to him while he was out in the plane with Duke or some other way he gets injured and cannot make it back home. I am not submitting this to have it posted I am submitting it to be able to have another balto cartoon or movie to watch. The first three are great and one that explains how balto ended up in Nome Alaska would just tie everything together.

This movie's rating on IMDb is far too low. I didn't know this movie was so underrated.When it comes to animated movies, Disney is at the top of the food chain and Pixar comes in at a close second. So it's amazing that this non-Disney, animated film surpasses even some Disney movies -- I don't count the movies like High School Musical. Current Disney is trash aside from some good work like Tangled and Princess And The Frog. - -.-- This is the section where there are possible spoilers. Read at your own risk --The story is told by Rosy, all grown up and with a granddaughter. From there the animation takes over. Balto, whose mother was a wolf and father a dog, was an outcast among not only dogs but also humans. Due to his half wolf heritage he was thought to be wild with the humans, and most of the dogs thought he was beneath them for being only half dog and a stray. Enter Jenna. Kind and caring to all, even to Steele even though he didn't deserve it. She gave him hope that acceptance wasn't as scarce and limited to two polar bears and a goose.However, his luck changes for the better-- giving him a chance to prove himself to not only the dogs but to the humans as well. The town is hit by an epidemic of diphtheria. And, due to the snow, the medicine is delayed on all modern forms of transportation. The town has little option left and decides to send in the best sledding team to retrieve it from the last layover. Balto was not picked, obviously, but after the team leaves he sets off to find them because a huge snow storm is approaching.-- End of possible spoilers --I won't go any further, or I'd risk truly spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet but is looking it up on IMDb to see if it's worth watching.This movie will always have a special place in my heart. The story has all the elements it needs. Drama, conflict, romance, etc.The cast selected to VA was amazingly picked. Kevin Bacon did a wonderful job, as did Bridget Fonda, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings an Phil Collins. And the score was excellent. James Horner is a master composer, his work with Titanic is one of his most popular works, it's a shame that this one isn't for it is on equal ground... at least in my opinion.There you have it. Great animation, a interesting and eye catching plot, an amazing cast and musical score. Few films, real live action or animated/CGI, can pull off all of them. Balto did. So if you've never seen it, I recommend you do so and don't judge it until you've watched everything start to finish. I'll always have a fondness for it, I hope after seeing it you will too.My rating: 10 Stars out of 10 Stars.