Set in Nome, Alaska in the winter of 1925 (and loosely based on a true story, Batlo (Kevin Bacon), a wolfdog, is an outcast in a town that mistrusts him. The exceptions consist of Boris(Bob Hoskins), a Russian Snow Goose who is Balto's adoptive uncle, a young girl named Rosy(Juliette Brewer), and Rosy's pet Siberian Husky Jenna(Bridget Fonda). When an outbreak of diphtheria strikes the town's children, including Rosy. With transportation routes by air and sea closed, the only viable route is via a lone dog sled team making a treacherous journey between Nome and Nenana. Balto despite his stamina and strong sense of direction is kept off the team by the ego and superiority of Steele (Jim Cummings), a malamute who's a figure of authority and respect in the town. However when the sled team gets lost only Balto can save them by learning to embrace the part of himself he saw as a weakness as a strength.
Released in the Holiday season of 1995, Balto marked the final film from Steven Spielberg's short lived animation label, Amblimation (though the animators were relocated to Dreamworks), prior to the release of Batlo Universal had released two other Amblimation films, An American Tail: Fivel Goes West and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, which were both eviscerated by critics and met with lukewarm box office. Universal's interest in theatrical animation was waning at this time, and with the failure of these three films, Universal scrapped a planned animated adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Balto was better received critically than the preceding Amblimation films (albeit wit reservation), but even with the improved critical reception, its proximity to the release of Disney Juggernaut, Toy Story meant paying family audiences were syphoned away. It's a shame Balto wasn't given a wider berth from other animated films because Balto is actually a solidly told adventure story.
While the movie is based on a true story, the movie keeps only the scantest of details and shouldn't be taken at face value for historical facts. This is not a knock against the movie, but if I don't say it someone else will. While animated movies based on historical events have a divisive response to say the least (Don Bluth's Anastasia and Disney's Pocahontas being prime examples), Balto takes the bare bones of the 1925 serum run to Nome and filters it through the lens of Jack London. In many ways Balto is a traditional dog adventure story fitting well with the established examples like White Fang. Kevin Bcaon plays Balto really well with a cocky swagger but also conveys the loneliness that his "half breed" status has afforded him, he doesn't fit with the sled dogs of Nome but he also doesn't fit with the wolves either and it's a story about self-acceptance and not letting the label the world has decided for you define your identity. While the character of Balto is quite endearing, he's also put through an adventure that has weight and stakes we care about. Jenna, who serves the story as Balto's love interest and one of the few points of light in Nome for Balto is also loyal and protective of her owner Rosy, admittedly the earlier scenes with Rosy can sometimes be a bit too overt with how they're done as a way of creating emotional weight to the movie, but the more subdued scenes with Jenna and Rosy are really well done and Bridget Fonda does a great job voicing Jenna conveying her determination, sincerity, and principles. Steele also makes a really strong villain, with his army of sycophants and his ego he's definitely more than a little reminiscent of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and his snarling smugness with a punchable superiority complex and Jim Cummings excellent delivery make him a villain you love to hate.
The animation is also really well done this time around. With Simon Wells directing this movie sans his collaborator on the previous films, Phil Nibbelink, the bounciness present in Fievel Goes West and We're Back has been dialed back considerably and it's a much more focused film that allows breathing room for emotional and character based scenes. The movie uses a mixture of traditional animation and subtle CGI touches to good effect with a particular stand out moment involving a grizzly bear with fur that's aggressive dark creating a good use of negative space that's really striking, and a good sequence with a frozen lake that gets ambitious experimenting with perspective.
Balto is not a perfect film as it does have some notable drawbacks, the first is that there are way too many comic relief characters in this movie. Some like Boris the snow goose have a clear place, but others like Muk and Luk the Polar Bears voiced by Phil Collins (yes, seriously) and a trio of Steele's sycophants who are the subject of a running gag used six times in the film are aggravatingly bouncy and just feel like distractions from the story and characters. While the animation in Balto is really good throughout the majority of the film, there are moments where the animation gets a bit more rubbery and elastic than it should.
Balto is a solid animated adventure film. With a likable protagonist and stakes we care about, the film takes on a beautiful but harrowing journey through frozen Alaskan wilderness and tells a story of overcoming prejudice and societal labeling. While the film suffers from having too many comic relief characters and some inconsistency to the animation, it's a heartfelt story with sense of adventure.
Released in the Holiday season of 1995, Balto marked the final film from Steven Spielberg's short lived animation label, Amblimation (though the animators were relocated to Dreamworks), prior to the release of Batlo Universal had released two other Amblimation films, An American Tail: Fivel Goes West and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, which were both eviscerated by critics and met with lukewarm box office. Universal's interest in theatrical animation was waning at this time, and with the failure of these three films, Universal scrapped a planned animated adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Balto was better received critically than the preceding Amblimation films (albeit wit reservation), but even with the improved critical reception, its proximity to the release of Disney Juggernaut, Toy Story meant paying family audiences were syphoned away. It's a shame Balto wasn't given a wider berth from other animated films because Balto is actually a solidly told adventure story.
While the movie is based on a true story, the movie keeps only the scantest of details and shouldn't be taken at face value for historical facts. This is not a knock against the movie, but if I don't say it someone else will. While animated movies based on historical events have a divisive response to say the least (Don Bluth's Anastasia and Disney's Pocahontas being prime examples), Balto takes the bare bones of the 1925 serum run to Nome and filters it through the lens of Jack London. In many ways Balto is a traditional dog adventure story fitting well with the established examples like White Fang. Kevin Bcaon plays Balto really well with a cocky swagger but also conveys the loneliness that his "half breed" status has afforded him, he doesn't fit with the sled dogs of Nome but he also doesn't fit with the wolves either and it's a story about self-acceptance and not letting the label the world has decided for you define your identity. While the character of Balto is quite endearing, he's also put through an adventure that has weight and stakes we care about. Jenna, who serves the story as Balto's love interest and one of the few points of light in Nome for Balto is also loyal and protective of her owner Rosy, admittedly the earlier scenes with Rosy can sometimes be a bit too overt with how they're done as a way of creating emotional weight to the movie, but the more subdued scenes with Jenna and Rosy are really well done and Bridget Fonda does a great job voicing Jenna conveying her determination, sincerity, and principles. Steele also makes a really strong villain, with his army of sycophants and his ego he's definitely more than a little reminiscent of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and his snarling smugness with a punchable superiority complex and Jim Cummings excellent delivery make him a villain you love to hate.
The animation is also really well done this time around. With Simon Wells directing this movie sans his collaborator on the previous films, Phil Nibbelink, the bounciness present in Fievel Goes West and We're Back has been dialed back considerably and it's a much more focused film that allows breathing room for emotional and character based scenes. The movie uses a mixture of traditional animation and subtle CGI touches to good effect with a particular stand out moment involving a grizzly bear with fur that's aggressive dark creating a good use of negative space that's really striking, and a good sequence with a frozen lake that gets ambitious experimenting with perspective.
Balto is not a perfect film as it does have some notable drawbacks, the first is that there are way too many comic relief characters in this movie. Some like Boris the snow goose have a clear place, but others like Muk and Luk the Polar Bears voiced by Phil Collins (yes, seriously) and a trio of Steele's sycophants who are the subject of a running gag used six times in the film are aggravatingly bouncy and just feel like distractions from the story and characters. While the animation in Balto is really good throughout the majority of the film, there are moments where the animation gets a bit more rubbery and elastic than it should.
Balto is a solid animated adventure film. With a likable protagonist and stakes we care about, the film takes on a beautiful but harrowing journey through frozen Alaskan wilderness and tells a story of overcoming prejudice and societal labeling. While the film suffers from having too many comic relief characters and some inconsistency to the animation, it's a heartfelt story with sense of adventure.