Balto (film)
| Balto | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Simon Wells |
| Written by | David Cohen Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby Roger Schulman |
| Produced by | Steve Hickner |
| Starring | Kevin Bacon Bridget Fonda Bob Hoskins Jim Cummings Phil Collins Sandra Dickinson Juliette Brewer Miriam Margolyes |
| Music by | James Horner Barry Mann Steve Winwood |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Running time | 78 min. |
Balto is an animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and originally released in movie theatres by 1995.
Plot
The story begins with a live-action segment in Central Park, New York City. A grandmother, her granddaughter, and their pet dog search for the Balto memorial statue. They find the memorial, and the grandmother sits down to tell her granddaughter her story.
The movie fades to a dogsled race, where to sled teams are racing to get to Nome. The two teams must negotiate a narrow chasm between two slabs of ice. As the sleds get closer, it its clear that the two teams will not be able to pass through the chasm side-by-side. Against the orders of his musher to slow down, Steele, the leader of one team, surges ahead, but the other team keeps up. Steele then snaps at one of the other team's dogs, causing it to stumble and bring the team to a halt. As the stricken team's musher curses Steele, Steele's team continues on toward Nome.
As the three-mile-marker soars into the sky, Balto is seen fishing his Russian goose friend Boris out of a hole. They go to the edge of the road to watch the sled race end. At the same time, two parents have just given their daughter, Rosie, a sled and a hat. They ride out to the road, where Balto sees Rosie's attractive dark-red and white husky, Jenna, and falls in love. As Rosie waves her hat to cheer on the sled team, the wind catches it and blows it into the road. Balto, seeing a chance to impress Jenna, runs out among the sled dogs and retrieves the hat for Rosie.
While walking in an alley, Balto hears Rosie call for Jenna and runs to her, sliding to a stop with his nose right up against Jenna's. Balto tries to talk to Jenna, but he cannot get the words out before Jenna runs off at her master's call. As Balto walks back through the alley with Boris, they are cornered by Steele and his gang, who torment Balto because of his wolf heritage. Later, as Balto walks toward his home (a wrecked boat), he feels that he is not welcome anywhere. His depression is short-lived, however, when two polar bears, Muk and Luk, show up with their various antics and think they are drowning in shallow water, as they cannot swim.
Later, Balto stares at Nome from a distance. He tells Boris that he is thinking about Jenna.
In Nome, Rosie is sick. She tries to play with Jenna, but a cough brings her to a halt. Jenna watches the doctor examine Rosie through a window. At this time, Balto comes up behind and asks Jenna what she is looking at. She explains that Rosie is sick, and Balto brings her to the underfloor space of the doctor's office to find out. Balto dazzles Jenna with a replica of the Northern Lights, but her amazement is cut short by their discovery that Rosie is afflicted with diphtheria and the doctor is out of antitoxin. As they exit the under-floor space, they are cornered by Steele, who tries to seduce Jenna. Jenna tricks Steele into burning himself, and Balto and Jenna attempt to flee, but Jenna is caught and cannot follow Balto.
In the telegraph office, the operator contacts Anchorage requesting the diptheria antitoxin. All routes to Nome are blocked, and the nearest train line runs only to Nenana. A decision is made to have a sled team pick up the medicine from the Nenana train station and take it to Nome. The next day, a race is held to determine who will be on the team. Balto sneaks into the race and wins, but he is disqualified after the musher finds out that he is part-wolf. Steele and his accomplices will go to fetch the medicine.
Later, as they are on their way home, Steele loses his way in a blizzard and slides down a hill. The musher is knocked unconscious and the team have no way of making it home without help. When the news reaches Nome, Balto decides to go out to find the sled team with Boris, Muk, and Luk. On the way, they are attacked by a large bear which threatens to kill Balto and his friends, until Jenna comes to the rescue and fights the bar off. The bear and Balto end up on a frozen lake, and the bear breaks the ice, causing Balto to become trapped under the ice floe. Luk and Muk dive into the water to rescue Balto, and realize that they actually can swim. Jenna wants to accompany Balto, but she hurt herself fighting the bear and must go home with Boris and the polar bears. Jenna gives Balto her bandana as a good-luck charm. Boris leaves Balto with a message: "A dog cannot make this journey alone. But, maybe, a wolf can." Balto thinks that this is just Boris making fun of his heritage.
When Balto comes across the sled team, everyone is glad to see him, except Steele. Balto and Steele get into a fight, which eventually results in Steele plummeting down a cliff with Jenna's bandana. He gets up and runs away. Balto resets the sled and leads the team out of their predicament. However, when they come across the trees, Balto found that the markings he had made on the trees were corrupted by Steele. The team runs around, lost, when they suddenly come upon another downhill slope. Balto and the team lose control and the medicine crate falls from the sled, almost going over the edge. Balto saves the crate, but the cliff gives way and Balto and the medicine tumble down the cliff.
In Nome, Jenna is waiting for Balto to return when Steele comes in, carrying Jenna's bandana. He tells her that Balto is dead, but she does not believe him. She sets out to a hill, using a lantern and broken bottles to create the Northern Lights as a beacon to guide Balto home.
At the bottom of the cliff, Balto digs himself out of the snow and sees a massive white wolf standing before him. Thinking he has lost the medicine and let the children of Nome down, he looks away, only to find that the crate is lying intact on the snow. Balto remembers the message Boris left him with earlier and realizes the true meaning of what Boris had said. He builds up the strength to stand up and howl with the white wolf. When the rest of the team hear the howl, they think wolves are coming to attack them, until they see Balto clawing up the hill with the crate full of medicine. Balto again organizes the sled team and they press on. Where Steele ruined Balto's markers, Balto uses his sense of smell to find the way home. The team escapes an avalanche and falling icicles in a cave.
Later, in Nome, all hope has been lost, when the town is awakened by a howl. Balto and the team burst over the snow and arrive in Nome to great fanfare. Balto, once an outcast, is now a hero. All of Steele's former friends have left him because he lied about Balto's fate. In the hospital, Rosie recovers from the illness. She hugs Balto and tells him, "I would have been lost without you." Then, Balto hears someone clearing her throat. Jenna is waiting. Balto and Jenna are ecstatic to see one another and nuzzle each other.
The movie fades back into the live-action sequence in Central Park. At the end, the grandmother sighs says, "Thank you, Balto. I would have been lost without you." With that being said, it has been revealed that the grandmother is Rosie. SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE
Historical accuracy
The film is very loosely based on Balto's true story.
- The sled run to get the medicine was actually a relay, and Balto was only the leader of the last team to carry the medicine to Nome. *All of the other characters, such as Jenna, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Steele, etc., were fictional.
- Balto did not rescue any of the sled teams.
- The medicine did not actually go by train from Anchorage to Nenana. The first of the teams to set off on the relay actually started from Anchorage. [1]
Trivia
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- The animator for Jenna based his drawings on actress Audrey Hepburn. [2]
Voice actors and their characters
- Kevin Bacon - Balto
- Bob Hoskins - Boris
- Bridget Fonda -Jenna
- Jim Cummings - Steele
- Phil Collins - Muk and Luk
- Jack Angel - Nikki
- Danny Mann - Kaltag
- Robbie Rist - Star
- Juliette Brewer - Rosy
- Donald Sinden - Doc
- Sandra Dickenson - Sylvie
Sequels
Balto inspired two made-for-video sequels: Balto II: Wolf Quest (2002), and Balto III: Wings of Change (2005)