Random Movie Review - Togo

Not too long ago, I reviewed the classic 1995 animated Universal film Balto which was an animated film based on the true story of the 1925 serum run to Nome in which dog sled teams were tasked to bring back medicine to the Alaskan town of Nome who are trying to survive an epidemic (but not quite like the one we are trying to survive from at the time of writing this up). So after a couple of decades, Disney decided they wanted to do their own version. Ironic that it's not considered a live action remake of Balto because of that film being made by Universal and not Disney and Disney wanting to remake all their best animated classics with a very mixed response from everyone. But anyway, let's see how this Disney+ original fares:

So unlike Balto which was largely focused on the dogs than the humans (and talking dogs no less), Togo has no talking animals and is largely focused on the human side of things. Throughout the film, we get two settings; one in 1913 and the other in 1925. 1925 is of course focused on the medicine run through dangerous conditions with the dog sled team led by their human owner/leader Leonhard Seppala (played by acting legend William Dafoe). While in 1913, Leonhard welcomes a husky pup that he calls Togo which proves to be quite a handful. But overtime, Leonhard manages to train him up to a point where he is far more energetic than the other dogs and through various things, both of them become local celebrities. But its a tough task and it will only get tougher.

So after watching this film and reading up about it, I'm surprised to learn that despite Balto being the one that got a statue, its Togo that is the true hero as he made the longest medicine run of them all. Anyway the film is good. Considerably more serious than the Universal film about Balto, but it has its moments. Moments like seeing Leonhard and Togo bond along with the other dogs and just seeing the run play out in a more dramatic fashion than the animated film. Comparisons over, both films are good in their own way. If you want the more serious version of the story, this is it. If you want a more child friendly version, then Balto is the one for you. Even though both films are about two different dogs, they are both all about that epic medicine run. So yeah overall a fantastic film, but maybe not one for dog lovers to enjoy unless you can handle the emotional moments. 9/10