AC20: Random Movie Review - Balto

As we all know, Disney had many competing studios trying to make traditional 2D animated films just like them. Some managed to achieve that while others not so much. So today we are looking at a film that is loosely based on a true story about a dog who helped save children from the diphtheria epidemic in the 1925 serum run to Nome. Quite a inspirational story as well as a moving one too. This was also the last film made by Amblimation which you guessed it was Steven Spielberg's animation company. So I think the question there is what actually happened. Was Disney's reign at the box office really that bad? Or maybe the company went against the traditional traits of many American made animated films at the time. Well whatever happens, I'm sure there was good reasoning for it. So anyway, let's have a look at this film:

In the live action New York Central Park, a grandmother called Rosy (played by Professor Sprout herself, Miriam Margoyles while Juliette Brewer voices her past and animated self) tells her grand daughter about her days in Nome, Alaska back in 1925. We then shift to animated Nome, Alaska in 1925 where a wolfdog hybrid named Balto (voiced by that EE guy, Kevin Bacon) is an outsider to Nome where everyone except for a red husky dog called Jenna (voiced by Bridget Fonda) and her owner Rosy, don't trust him due to being part wolf. But when the children of the town get sickened by a diphtheria epidemic and the medicine available can only be bought back by a sled with a pack of dogs leading it, Balto enters a dog race to see if he can help bring the medicine back to Nome. However his plan to help gets sabotaged by an Alaskan Malamute called Steele (voiced by the legendary Jim Cummings) who makes Balto growl in front of the musher and therefore he leads the dog pack instead. But Balto later learns of their troubles getting the medicine back home and goes on a journey to help the dog pack and bring the medicine home while using his wolf abilities to give the pack the edge they need.

As a family film with an all star cast and based on true events, its actually not too bad. The dogs are well animated and have their own personalities which I can only guess also reflects on the actors who voice them. Its a well thought out story and its very heart warming and moving if not a bit emotional at times. Some elements I felt were left unresolved and the animation on some of the human characters didn't look quite right. But overall its an OK film that kids will love so its a good time waster for them. 8/10