alcantaraj-16594 At first, I thought the film was a very predictable "meh" film, due to the fact that it's a narrated film, some plot points were cliches like "the outcast gets to prove himself" cliche and it was uninteresting. But, when the race scene was done, I thought to myself "Oh, it's a different kind of story." After that, I started liking the film a lot more. Thanks to the film's very first scene, you already know how the story ends but some parts of acts 2 and 3 made the film unpredictable in a way. The story gripped me and I found myself caring for Balto. Also, I HATE STEELE!!!As for flaws, I did not like where the animated part of the film ended. WHERE IT ENDED, NOT THE ENDING ITSELF. Also, the voice acting, at times, was "meh."

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com It's rare that one finds an animated movie that has so much heart that isn't connected to Disney. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any others that stand out than this movie. Balto (1995), was loosely based off the real life events of an actual husky dog of the same name. The only difference is that the story was changed slightly to give the character of Balto a little more background. That is why it's loosely based off the actual events. Kudos to the four writers because it made this movie very enjoyable.Here, Balto lives on the edge of a town because he's not a husky. Yet somehow, everyone in the town, including the humans know his name? How is this possible (this is really the only thing I didn't understand)? His ancestry comes from dog/wolf, which leaves him in a bad spot because no one wants to trust him and the snooty pure bread husky dogs don't want a mutt joining their dog team. What Balto dreams most of, is running with the husky dogs and pulling the sleds they pull. And little does he know, but his chance will come sooner than he thinks, when a virus breakout comes on the town and he decides to fetch the medicine for the sick.The cast in this film is horrendously good too. Kevin Bacon voices our hero, Balto. Bacon is able to make his role really sound courageous and emotional when it needs to be and that's good. Voicing his love interest is Bridget Fonda as a little girl's husky named Jenna. Even if this is Fonda's first time doing voice acting, she did a great job. She knows how to give Jenna the right tone of voice and emotion at the same time. And I got to admit, Jenna and Balto make an adorable dog couple. Thank you animation department! Let's also not forget our antagonist named Steele voiced by famous voice actor, Jim Cummings. Cummings, who can do this work in his sleep, also gives a convincing performance as the thickheaded, husky with way too much hubris.And along with Steele are always the knuckle head followers of the antagonist. All of which have their own quirkiness about them, which make them funny. But that's not all. Accompanying Balto on his travels are three other friends. Two are a duo of polar bears named Muk and Luk, which are both voiced by musician Phil Collins. Surprisingly, even Collins gives a memorable performance. But the character I found the most entertaining when it came to comic relief was Boris the goose (the other friend) played by Bob Hoskins. Boris is such a great character because of how well he knows Balto and the problems that he faces. It is because of that, that he does his best to make sure his closest friend is in good hands. If you don't fall for Boris, I don't know what will.The art department did a nice job at keeping the view big and broad. Since the setting was in Alaska, it is only respective that the picture be epic looking. Mainly because, Alaska is epic period. Also I like the sounds a lot. Cracking ice to crunching snow. The one sound that I got chills from was hearing the wolves howl. I couldn't stop from getting goosebumps. I have no clue why but it gave me the shivers and that made me like it more. Adding to that was the soundtrack provided by composer James Horner and boy did it work. Excluding a few previous works that Horner has made that were mishaps, Horner really knows how to evoke the right emotions at the right time. It made watching Balto fun and invigorating.The characters alone is what makes the cake in this movie. The icing to the cake is James Horner's music, the grand backgrounds and involving sound effects.

Karlamon I was only one year old when Balto got released in theaters, but I didn't even hear about its existence until recently. I love animation, I love dogs and I felt sorry to hear that this film wasn't very popular when it was released, so I decided to watch it on DVD. What I got was an amazing, inspiring and heart warming animated film which turned out to be one of the best I've ever seen.I was surprised about how much I was connected to the main character Balto. Because he is portrayed as a husky-wolf hybrid, the people of Nome fear of him for being part-wolf, the wolf packs reject him for being part-husky and the other dogs make fun of him for it. As a result, he is an outcast who doesn't know where he belongs, and only relying on Boris, a goose who is afraid of heights to take care of him. I showed a lot of sympathy towards Balto because I've been in similar situations and seeing him being left out was very emotive.The story is loosely based on the true 1925 serum run in Alaska. A disease spreads onto the children of Nome and a snow storm cuts all transport from delivering medicine, so a team sled dogs are sent to pick it up. But poor Balto isn't allowed to help out because of his wolf heritage. When the team is reported missing, Balto sets off on a daring quest to rescue them and get them home safely. This shows how courageous and determined he is to get the medicine to the sick children. That said, he is a very caring character and thats another reason why I really liked him.There's a bit of peril and emotional moments in this film, but plenty of comic relief is present to ease them, mostly involving Boris and Muk and Luk (the two polar bears). I personally liked the recurring gag when Kaltag hits Star in the head for saying something random. It gave me a smile each time. And the romantic moments of Balto and his girlfriend Jenna are extremely sweet indeed. Again, I found it sympathetic when Steele (the films ruthless antagonist) tries to spoil things for Balto by bullying him and trying to take Jenna from him.I found the animation to be very well done. With nice character designs and detailed Alaskan backdrops, all of which are well-drawn and gently animated, it allows to show how much work and effort Amblimation put into this traditionally animated masterpiece. James Horner's music is very atmospheric and dramatic and I liked how there were no random musical numbers to interrupt its flow.The voice acting is just as great. Bob Hoskins (as Boris) and Bridget Fonda (as Jenna) do a good job while Phil Collins voices Muk and Luk adorably and Jim Cummings is great as evil Steele. However, I would have to commend Kevin Bacon's performance for Balto. He voiced Balto sensibly. Not overacting, bland or hip, but he gave the character a more of a calm, humble, shy and likable personality similar to mine. Its another similarity me and Balto have.In conclusion, I would have to say that I absolutely adored Balto, and thats because of its great animation, story, casting and a protagonist who I could really relate to. I'm glad that I found out about this underrated classic and its a good thing others have too. If you like animation or dogs and you haven't seen it already, then I believe that Balto well deserves your attention. You will fall in love with it just like I did.Grade: "A"

kdnor2011 I think it's obvious to see why Balto was ignored during it's theater release, coming out not to long after Toy Story (which is a better film). But I'm glad to see that it's popularity has grown in the 16 years since it's release.Balto is a half wolf, half dog that is basically an outcast in his town of Nome Alaska. When the children of the town develop a fatal disease, a sled team must go and receive medacine. Unfortunattly the team get's lost and now Balto must go find them and help them get the medicine back to Nome.I'm not going to lie and say the movie is flawless, the story is nothing new, the characters are kinda bland and the comedy reliefs are a little more annoying than funny, thankfully they don't follow Balto throughout his journey.With nice animation, a good cast, and a solid story, Balto is worth picking up.