Balto

Balto

Buried like a bone in a snowdrift, Balto never achieved the theatrical success it should have, but it's worth digging up. The film is structured on the true tale of a lead sled dog, Balto, that brought a diphtheria antitoxin to the small town of Nome, Alaska. The film balances comedy, villany, and drama very well and the voice work is above average. Safe family viewing, as even the villain's comeuppance manages a civilized resolution. The only problem is that the film never explains why these events in Alaska inspired New Yorkers to build a statue to the dog in Central Park. Maybe Balto eventually got mugged there. --Keith Simanton

Production: MCA Universal Home Video
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.1
Rotten Tomatoes:
52%
G
Year:
1995
78
5,171 Views
Part Dog. Part Wolf. All Hero.
The true story of an American hero.
His story became a legend. His adventure is one you'll never forget.

Star:
Balto!

Nikki:
Is that...?

Kaltag:
Balto, how did you find us?!

Balto:
Is anyone hurt?

Steele:
[angrily enunciating] Everyone. Is. Fine.

Star:
Yeah, but our musher hit his head! And he didn't get up.

Dog:
And he's not movin'.

Balto:
[takes up the sled harness] Alright, follow me. I can lead you home.

Steele:
[stops him, hostilely] We don't need your help!

Star:
M-maybe we should listen to him. [Steele growls at him and he ducks for cover in fear]

Nikki:
Well...how would you get us home?

Balto:
[cautiously] Well, I...I marked a trail, like this. [scratches bark off a tree to show them]

Steele:
[abrasively crushes the tree and confronts him] I'll get us back. I'm the lead dog. I'm in charge!

Balto:
But... Then, let me take back the medicine. They're getting sicker.

Steele:
[jumps between Balto and the sled] Touch that box, and I'll tear you apart.

Nikki:
[betting with Kaltag] Two bones: Steele takes it.

Kaltag:
[accepting the bet] You're on.

Balto:
[firmly] Steele, I'm not leaving without that medicine.

Steele:
[angrily pushes him away] Who do you think you are?

Nikki:
Oooh, this is gonna be good. [chuckles]

Balto:
[trying to reason with Steele] Since...since when do you need a pedigree to help someone? [moves toward the sled, but Steele blocks his way again] Steele, let me help you. [tries again, but Steele knocks him away]

Kaltag:
Ooh, he'll feel that tomorrow!

Nikki:
I think he's feeling it now!

Kaltag:
Ouch!

Balto:
I don't want to fight. [goes for the sled a fourth time, but Steele again stops him, this time biting him and brutally throwing him aside]

Kaltag:
Hey, that can't be legal!

Nikki:
Yeah!

[Balto, undeterred, tries again to get the medicine, but Steele still won't let him; this time, he knocks the sled over]

Nikki:
[shocked] Hey, that stuff is fragile!

Star:
What's with Steele? All Balto wants to do is help.

[Steele viciously throws Balto against a rock, but he gets back up; he then grabs Jenna's bandanna around Balto's neck, but ends up pulling it off falls over the cliff behind him as Balto watches on]

[Jenna is worriedly at the window of a hospital room, observing Rosy, who is not well. Balto comes by]

Balto:
Jenna? [clears his throat and lowers his voice] Jenna.

Jenna:
[turns to Balto] Balto, hi. [turns back to the window]

Balto:
Hi. Look, uh... just a shot in the dark, but I was wondering if, I don't know, maybe you'd like to go chase a few sticks by moonlight. [chuckles, then sighs. He then notices Jenna is distracted] Jenna?

Jenna:
Rosy's in there.

Balto:
[confused; looks in the window] In a hospital? Why?

Jenna:
She feels warm, and she has a terrible cough. [turns to Balto] Balto, what's wrong with her?

Balto:
Uh, I'm not sure, but I know how to find out. Come on. [takes Jenna to the boiler room door] I have the keys to the city. [expertly disables the door's hinge and pushes the door open] After you.

Jenna:
[admires Balto's paw, very impressed] Balto!

Balto:
[laughs awkwardly] Uh... big paws kinda run in my family. At least.. uh, one side of my family. [takes Jenna into the room] Stay close.

Jenna:
[laughs nervously] No problem there. It's so gloomy down here. Not that I'm scared or anything.

Balto:
Gloomy? You kiddin'? It's the most beautiful spot in the world. Dogs travel for years just to be right here.

Jenna:
Here? I can't imagine why.

Balto:
That's 'cause you're looking at the bowl half empty. See this? [pushes broken bottles] It's the Polar Ice Caps.

Jenna:
Balto, those are broken bottles. And they're not half empty, they're all empty.

Balto:
[looks at the lamp from the grate] The sun.

Jenna:
Oh, Balto...

Balto:
And, to the north... [walks out of the way of the light, causing it to reflect off the bottles and create the illusion of the Northern Lights]

Jenna:
The Northern Lights! Oh, Balto, you're right. It's beautiful.

Balto:
[looking at Jenna] Yeah. Beautiful.

[last lines]

Balto:
Jenna! [runs over to play with Jenna]

[A loud applause erupts from the humans and dogs]

Star:
Way to go, Balto!

Kaltag:
He has the most endurance, the most fidelity, the most intelligence--

Star:
They should build a statue of him! [flinches, thinking he'll be hit again]

Kaltag:
[smiles] You said it!

Star:
I did?

[The screen shows an overhead shot of the humans and dogs congratulating Balto, before panning up to the night sky, where the Northern Lights are shining. They form the silhouette of a wolf, which howls. The silhouette then turns into Blaze, shifting the film back to live-action. The elderly woman and her granddaughter have finally reached Balto's memorial]

Rosy's granddaughter:
This is it, Grandma! Blaze found it.

Grandma Rosy:
What does it say?

Rosy's granddaughter:
"Dedicated to the... indomable?"

Grandma Rosy:
"Indomitable."

Rosy's granddaughter:
"Indomitable spirit of the sled dogs."

Grandma Rosy:
"That relayed antitoxin 600 miles from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome... in the winter of 1925."

Rosy's granddaughter:
"Endurance, fidelity, intelligence." Balto really did do all that, didn't he, Grandma?

Grandma Rosy:
Oh, yes, sweetheart. He really did. [places a musher's hat on her granddaughter's head] And today, they run the Iditarod Dog Race over the very path he and the others took.

Rosy's granddaughter:
Can Blaze do that too, Grandma? [Blaze briefly looks up, before dropping his head again]

Grandma Rosy:
Maybe. With practice. [Blaze proceeds to bark] A lot of practice. [laughs]

Rosy's granddaughter:
[walks Blaze away] Come on, Blaze. Come on! Mush!

[The elderly woman happily watches her granddaughter walk off, then gazes up at the statue with a contented sigh]

Grandma Rosy:
Thank you, Balto. I would've been lost without you.

Rosy's granddaughter:
Grandma Rosy! Grandma Rosy, come on!

[Grandma Rosy pleasantly walks off to join her granddaughter. The intro to "Reach for the Light" by Steve Winwood begins to play as Balto's statue stands proudly in the sunlight]


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