Balto

Balto (1995) is set in Alaska in 1925. Diphtheria breaks out in Nome and children are dying. The serum is hundreds of miles away and a blizzard has grounded the aircraft. The only way is by dog sled. The event is real. The 1925 serum run entered history; the Alaska Railroad carried the antitoxin as far as Nenana and dog teams ran the rest. The film dramatises it heavily. Its most contested departure from history is the focus. The narrative is built entirely on Balto. In fact the longest and most dangerous leg was run by another lead dog, Togo; Balto ran the final stretch and became the name the public knew, and a statue of him stands in Central Park in New York. The opening and closing are live action. Miriam Margolyes plays one of the children of that time as an old woman, visiting the real Balto statue in Central Park. Kevin Bacon voices Balto. The role had first gone to Kevin Anderson and was changed because Universal wanted a bigger name. Bob Hoskins voices Boris and Phil Collins the two polar bears. It failed commercially, taking eleven million dollars in America against a 31 million budget and standing in the shadow of Toy Story. Strong home video sales produced two sequels. It was the third and last film made by Amblimation, which closed in 1997. It runs 78 minutes. Good for: animal adventure, short family animation, and stories built on real events. Less good for: it is far from the historical record and erases Togo's part entirely. The polar bears are added for comedy and break the tone. The theme about being half wolf is handled far too explicitly.