Balto

1995

Action / Adventure / Animation / Drama / Family / History

79
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 70% · 24 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 70% · 50K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 51439 51.4K

wolf pet cartoon villain dog-sledding race alaska

Plot summary

An outcast half-wolf risks his life to prevent a deadly epidemic from ravaging Nome, Alaska.

Director

Simon Wells Photo
Simon Wells

Top cast

Juliette Brewer Photo
Juliette Brewer as Rosy
Lola Bates-Campbell Photo
Lola Bates-Campbell as Granddaughter
Danny Mann Photo
Danny Mann as Kaltag
Kevin Bacon Photo
Kevin Bacon as Balto
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
600.34 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 18 min
Seeds 33
1.18 GB
1920*1040
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 18 min
Seeds 59

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Bumdark 8 / 10

A beautifully-crafted animated tale for the whole family

2D Animation has fallen on some very tough times in recent years, with the advent of 3D computer-generated movies. It's not that one is really better than the other is; they're simply two different mediums. It's that one should not suffocate the other one in the market, as they both have their own specialties and peculiarities.One of the last fully 2D hand-drawn movies made was 'Balto', out of Steven Spielberg's Amblimation Animation Studios (which then closed down forever following 'Balto''s lukewarm reception). It was a cruel twist of fate that 'Balto' was released at the same time as Pixar's groundbreaking 'Toy Story', for the latter definitely attracted all the glances and sucked Balto's steam dry. Considering all that 'Balto' is about, that's somewhat of a crime against animation in itself.But enough of the melodrama. 'Balto' is based, of course, on the true story of the real-life 1925 Serum Run to bring back antitoxin to stricken Nome, Alaska, which was overtaken by a vicious bout of diphtheria. Although the real story wasn't quite as stylized as depicted in this movie, the film certainly holds a proud candle to the real men and their dogs that risked their lives against insane odds and became heroes (even though in the end, only one dog was remembered).In the cold winter of 1925, the town of Nome is cheering their dogsled teams as they fiercely compete to win the annual race. One of the onlookers is Balto (Kevin Bacon), a wolfdog with a gentle spirit and a brave heart. However, his half-wolf status results in him being feared by the townspeople and disdained by the other pedigreed dogs (led by the cunningly malicious Steele), and he finds himself depressed and lonely most of the time. His only friends consist of an unlikely trio: a flightless Russian goose named Boris (voiced by Bob Hoskins, and with an accent and mannerisms that can't help but crack you up), and two polar bear siblings, Muk and Luk (Phil Collins), who can't swim.Balto soon falls smitten with Jenna, a beautiful husky who belongs to a little girl named Rosy, who is the only human so far to be friendly to Balto. However, as the infection hits, all the children – Rosy included – fall dangerously ill, and the town is out of medicine. I'll let you look up the conditions on getting new antitoxin for yourself (this is a review, not a historical paper), and now Nome must send their best and fastest dogs on a dangerous race against time to retrieve the waiting serum at the town of Nenana – some 700 miles away or so. The team faces deadly blizzards, treacherous ice and unpredictable climates, and soon, as can be predicted, they end up hopelessly lost. It's now up to Balto and his ragtag team of mismatched friends to battle their way through the Alaskan winter wilderness to try and bring the medicine back home, and save both the team, and the stricken children back in Nome.Being a music aficionado, the first thing that I fell in love with about this movie was James Horner's beautiful score. I would even be bold enough to state it can rival his work on 'Titanic' (1997), though I suspect many wouldn't perhaps agree. The pieces are always moving and magical, and truly bring the scenes to life in ways that couldn't have been accomplished without it.The hand-drawn animation in this movie is excellent, one of the best in many years. The winter scenery is beautiful, and the characters are all well-drawn and animated. The voice acting is largely solid (especially for Boris, for whom I've already expressed my amusement), yet some of them seem to fall a bit short. Kevin Bacon seems slightly flat as Balto, and Bridget Fonda (Jenna) seems slightly dispassionate at times.There are many things to be enjoyed concerning this film. For me, it's that while it does follow a traditional formula seen in animated family movies, it seems to leave out all the annoying bits (such as those irritating sing-along songs, for starters). There are the standard bumbling sidekicks, but they're more akin to comic relief than to actually accompanying the hero through his entire journey, and that's not to mention the humor in this film is genuinely funny and pleasant, not forced or contrived like in most animated movies.Some would be a little surprised to find some of the themes in this film are rather more grim and dark than in most other family-oriented animation films; there's a very real sense of impending mortality, especially towards the children of Nome, as demonstrated in one scene where we see several small coffins being made. In contrast, there are also some truly beautiful scenes, such as a little trick Balto teaches Jenna that leads to a mountainside being illuminated by artificial Northern Lights.If you haven't seen 'Balto' yet, do yourself (and the movie) a favor and grab it while it's still available in some areas (took me weeks to find my own DVD). Sure, it's applicable largely to younger audiences, but any adult capable of connecting with an emotion now and then will likely enjoy the movie to some extent. I for one love it and heartily recommend it to anyone who craves some good and decent 2D animation, those markets being so barren these days.* * * * * For reminding us what traditional animation was like with its magic and beauty, I award 'Balto' 8.5 bottle of antitoxin out of 10.PS – Was I the only one who was surprised to learn it was Phil Collins who voiced Muk & Luk? Was I also the only one who totally failed to recognize this legendary singer's voice? So shamed
Reviewed by briancham1994 6 / 10

Not bad

I like films with dogs and this one had all the right ingredients - a brave and relatable hero, the compelling stakes, the evil villain, the comedic sidekicks and so on. However, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. It feels too typical and sentimental, such as the framing story. It was a joy to watch but some moments took me out because they were so exaggerated or contrived.
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