Wonderful character development!

Sadly Over-hyped

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Good concept, poorly executed.

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."

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"

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.

The way Balto is wrote, the way its animations were made, the way the story and it's main character plays and roles, makes Balto one heck of a touching movie. I know we are in 2011, but i only got to see this fantastic movie today (it wasn't released in my country, but i got the VHS from a friend). And it was 1 hour well spent! Kinda makes us think what an animal can do for us, even if we can't really talk to them! Even if a lot of people thinks that this kind of story is old, or too used, this movie is still awesome. I can put it side by side with Disney's greatest creations! I even thought the movie was made by Disney! Just like a bunch of people said back there, you MUST see it, only a person with no heart will not like this movie!