Togo

Ericson Core directs and shoots the film himself. The Alaskan story was made in Alberta: work began on 21 September 2018 and ended in Cochrane in February 2019, most dogs coming from a kennel in Canmore. Diesel, who plays Togo, is a direct descendant of the real Togo 14 generations down. The numbers explain why the film looks at Seppala, not Balto. The 1925 serum run covered 674 miles, roughly 1,085 kilometres, split between 20 mushers and about 150 dogs. Seppala went 170 miles out to meet the serum and 91 miles back with it, so his 261 mile share leads the next longest by over 200 miles, including one drive of 84 miles in a day. The film parts from the record twice: Togo is sole leader here, though a half brother, Fritz, sometimes shared it, and he ends his days with Seppala, while the real Togo went to a musher in Maine. The sound editing won a Golden Reel award for 2019, and the script was nominated by the Writers Guild. A good fit if you want a structure that keeps cutting between the puppy years of 1913 and the 1925 run. Not for a viewer unwilling to watch a 12 year old dog’s endurance used as the source of tension.