| Balto | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster byJohn Alvin | |
| Directed by | Simon Wells |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by | Steve Hickner |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jan Richter-Friis (live action) |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | James Horner |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $31 million[2] |
| Box office | $11 million[3] |
Balto is a 1995 animatedadventure film directed bySimon Wells, produced byAmblin Entertainment and distributed byUniversal Pictures.[4] It is loosely based on the true story of the dogBalto who helped save children infected withdiphtheria in the1925 serum run to Nome. The film stars voice actorsKevin Bacon,Bridget Fonda,Phil Collins, andBob Hoskins. Though primarily an animated film, it uses alive-actionframing device that takes place inNew York City'sCentral Park and featuresMiriam Margolyes as an older version of one of the children. This is the third and final film to be produced bySteven Spielberg'sAmblimation animation studio, before the studio's closure in 1997.
Although the film was afinancial failure due to being overshadowed by the release ofToy Story, its subsequent sales onhome video led to twodirect-to-video sequels:Balto II: Wolf Quest (2002) andBalto III: Wings of Change (2005), though none of the roles were reprised.
InNew York City, an elderly woman and her granddaughter are walking throughCentral Park, looking for a memorial statue. As they seat themselves for a rest, the grandmother recounts a story aboutNome, Alaska.
In 1925, awolfdog named Balto lives on the outskirts of Nome with his adoptive father, a Russiansnow goose named Boris, and twopolar bears, Muk and Luk. Being a half-breed, Balto is ridiculed by dogs and humans alike. His only friends in town are a little girl named Rosy and her redhusky Jenna whom Balto has a crush on. He is challenged by the town's favorite sled dog Steele, a fierce and arrogantAlaskan Malamute, and his teammates, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star.
That night, Rosy and all the children in Nome are stricken withdiphtheria. Severe winter weather conditions prevent medicine from being brought by air or sea fromAnchorage, and the closest rail line ends inNenana. After authorization to transport the antitoxin by rail is given by theGovernor of Alaska inJuneau, a dog race is held to determine the best-fit dogs for a sled dog team to get the medicine. Balto enters and wins, but gets disqualified after Steele exposes his wolf-dog heritage. The team departs that night with Steele in the lead and picks up the medicine successfully. On the way back, conditions deteriorate and the disoriented team ends up stranded at the base of a steep slope with the musher knocked unconscious.
When the word reaches Nome, Balto sets out in search of them with Boris, Muk, and Luk. On the way, they are attacked by a hugegrizzly bear, but Jenna, who followed their tracks, intervenes. The bear pursues Balto out onto a frozen lake, where it falls through the ice and drowns. Muk and Luk save Balto from a similar fate. However, Jenna is injured and cannot continue. Balto instructs Boris and the polar bears to take her back home while he continues alone. Balto eventually finds the team, but Steele refuses his help and attacks him until he loses his balance and falls off a cliff. Balto takes charge of the team, but they lose their way again since Steele had sabotaged the trail. Balto falls while attempting to save the medicine from falling down a cliff.
Back in Nome, Jenna is explaining Balto's mission to the other dogs when Steele returns, lying that the team including Balto, is dead. However, Jenna sees through his deception and she assures Balto will return with the medicine. Using a trick Balto showed her earlier, Jenna places broken colored glass bottles on the outskirts of town and shines a lantern on them to simulate the lights of anaurora, hoping it will help guide Balto home. When Balto regains consciousness, he is ready to give up hope, until a large,white wolf appears and he notices the medicine crate still intact nearby; he realizes that his part-wolf heritage is a strength, not a weakness, and drags the medicine back up the cliff to the waiting team. Using his advanced senses, Balto is able to filter out the false markers Steele created.
After encountering further challenges through an ice bridge, anavalanche, and anice cavern, and losing only one vial, Balto and the sled team finally return to Nome. A pity-playing Steele is abandoned by the other dogs who realize the truth about him. Reunited with Jenna and his friends, Balto earns respect from both the dogs and the humans. He visits a cured Rosy, who thanks him for saving her.
Back in the present day, the elderly woman and her granddaughter finally find thestatue of Balto and she explains that theIditarod trail covers the same path that Balto and his team took from Nenana to Nome. The woman, who is actually Rosy, repeats the same line "Thank you, Balto. I would have been lost without you". She walks off to join her granddaughter and her Siberian Husky Blaze. The Balto statue stands proudly in the sunlight.
Screenwriter Elana Lesser first recalled being told the story ofBalto by her grandfather as a child, and as an adult, decided that it would make an excellent animated film. She and her husband, fellow screenwriter Cliff Ruby, pitched a screenplay toAmblin Entertainment inUniversal City, California, and executivesDouglas Wood and Bonne Radford subsequently relayed it to co-directorsPhil Nibbelink andSimon Wells at Amblin'sLondon-based animation studio,Amblimation. AlthoughSteven Spielberg agreed that the story had potential, he was initially concerned that such a film would not be colorful enough. To reassure Spielberg, Wells showed him several color studies by production designer Hans Bacher, which showed that the film would not simply depict black and white dogs against a desolate scenery. Nibbelink and Wells had initially developedBalto together, before Nibbelink left to continue working onWe're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993), and screenwritersRoger S. H. Schulman and David Steven Cohen, and several uncredited writers, did further development.[6]
Balto was officially put into production in March 1993, under the working titleSnowballs.[7][8] To have a source for the dogs'character animation, the filmmakers set up special drawing classes, in which they brought in about sevenSiberian Huskies and videotaped them walking around in the studio, while the animators studied their movements and anatomy.[9] During these classes,Kristof Serrand, who was assigned to supervise the animation on Boris, gave a lecture on thelocomotion of dogs.[10] FormerDisney animatorJeffrey J. Varab, who had trained underEric Larson and joined Amblimation during production onWe're Back!, was assigned to co-supervise the animation on Balto alongside Dick Zondag. At the behest of Wells, Varab also gave a dog anatomy lecture that focused on how Balto was to be drawn, drawing on his prior knowledge from his work onThe Fox and the Hound (1981), and citing preliminarycharacter sketches drawn by character designerCarlos Grangel and originalmodel sheets of Tramp fromLady and the Tramp (1955).[11] Prior to his departure from the project, Nibbelink gave a lecture on how to apply spacing and weight to the dog animation, using the "bouncing ball" animation exercise, which he had learned fromFrank Thomas while working as an animator at Disney alongside Varab.[12] Wells and several other crew members took special trips toFinland to studydog sledding.[13]
The tight budget necessitated many difficult decisions; for instance, it was calculated that in most shots, theeffects animators could not afford to include both footprints and shadows, and had to figure out what they could get away with omitting.[6] Another principal difficulty that the crew faced was that in order to achieve the snow colors and textures that Bacher's production design mandated, thebackground artists needed to useoil paint, instead ofgouache orwatercolor, like most other animated films. Because oil paint dries slower than gouache, the filmmakers had to schedule in extra days to allow each background to dry before they could shoot their scenes. According to producerSteve Hickner, an advantage that came from the longer drying time was that the artists could "work back into their art" days later, while the paint was still wet.[14]
Principal animation lasted from 1993 to 1994, with each animator completing five seconds of animation a week on average; Ken Keys, one of the animators on Steele, stated that he was "throwing away nine drawings to keep one".[15][16] Although the film was mainlyhand-drawn animated, considerablecomputer animation was implemented into the film's more challenging visual elements; all of the falling snow was animated using an early CGI particle animation system.[6][13] All of the ink-and-paint work was also done using the 2D animation software programToonz, makingBalto the first animated film to use it. The program was still in its trial stages at the time, which necessitated an intense interaction with the developers.[17][18] Additional animation was provided by the Danish studioA. Film Production.[19] Each shot wascomposited digitally and transferred to film through a "Solitaire"film recorder, before being spliced into the leica reel.[9]
Wells stated that the casting process was easy, explaining "Basically, you pick your dream [actors] and see if you can get them."[20] Because the characters were designed before the voices were cast, the actors were given several inspirational character sketches to look at before each recording session, in order to get a sense of the characters they were portraying.[6] Initially, it was reported thatKevin Anderson had been cast as Balto.[21] Anderson had finished all of his voice-over work and the animation had been done around his performance, but late into production,Universal Pictures insisted on having a bigger name in the role, so he was replaced byKevin Bacon, who had been filmingApollo 13 (1995) at Universal around the same time. Because of the completed animation, Bacon had to precisely match his timing to Balto's mouth movement.[20] According to Bacon, "It was very hard. I didn't like it. They would play his dialogue in the way that he had said it in my head right before I'd say my line."[22] Wells, however, said that he "did a terrific job and was really enthusiastic".[20]
Similarly,Brendan Fraser, who was filmingAirheads (1994) at the time, was originally cast as Steele, because Wells had envisioned Steele as a school quarterback jock carried away by his sense of importance, and said that Fraser fit that personality well. According to Wells, "I liked Brendan a great deal, and we did one recording session with him that was terrific." However, Spielberg wanted to feel a clearer sense of Steele's "inherent evil", so Fraser was replaced byJim Cummings. Wells stated that Cummings "did a fantastic job, and totally made the character live, so I don't regret the choice".[6] Cummings was officially cast by January 1995, though Anderson was still listed at the time.[21] According to Cummings, several other on-camera actors were brought in to replace Fraser, before the role ultimately went to him. Spielberg, having been too busy withSchindler's List (1993) to attend Fraser's recording sessions, and not wanting to reject yet another unsatisfactory performance based on footage viewings, also insisted on directing Cummings personally, and completing his recording in one day.[23]
Jennifer Blanc also originally voiced Jenna, but she was also subsequently replaced byBridget Fonda.[21] Fonda explained in an interview withBobbie Wygant that she was offered the role of Jenna via phone call, and accepted after being shown arough cut on tape, which showed some shots in finished form, some still in pencil test form, and some missing. When asked how hard it was to be doing voice-over work for animation for the first time, she explained, "It was odd, it was different. It was challenging. It was exhausting in that I had to be more active, and more outgoing vocally than usually. And syncing up to animated is very difficult. But, y'know, it was just so imaginative, and satisfying in a different way."[24]
Bob Hoskins voiced Boris, having previously worked with Spielberg onWho Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) andHook (1991). Wells stated that his performance was helpful in shaping Boris, praising it as "a lot more emotional and effusive than we had originally conceived the character to be", but also recalled that, while struggling with Boris's accent, Hoskins briefly vented his anger that he "used to have a career", before "playing a goose".[6][20]Phil Collins had never done voice-over work before, but actively expressed interest in the dual role of Muk and Luk, and even called Amblimation to ask for the role. Wells praised his voice for Muk as "just head and shoulders better than anything else we heard".[13] In his autobiography,Jack Angel stated that he, Danny Mann, andRobbie Rist were flown to London to record their respective roles as Nikki, Kaltag, and Star together, and he brought his wife, Arlene Thornton. Angel added that even though they had no personal interaction with Spielberg, he flew Angel, Mann, and Rist out again after they had finished recording their roles, because "somebody apparently didn't get it right the first time".[25]
Screenwriter Frank Deese, who was already writing a script draft forSmall Soldiers (1998) that Amblin later rejected, was hired by Radford to script the live-action prologue and epilogue segments in 1994, though he received no credit in the finished film.[26] The two segments were filmed on-location inCentral Park later that year, over a period of one to two days. Closing down the area for filming proved to be a challenge, due to uncooperative locals. However, Wells greatly enjoyed working withMiriam Margolyes, and was impressed with how well she worked with Lola Bates-Campbell, who played Rosy's granddaughter.[20]
Thefilm score was composed byJames Horner, who had previously scoredAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) andWe're Back!. According to Wells, because Horner worked inCalifornia, and Amblimation was based in London, he "preferred to present his score as the orchestral finished product, and make alterations based on notes from that finished product".[6] Horner also collaborated with songwriting duoBarry Mann andCynthia Weil to write an original song, "Reach for the Light", sung bySteve Winwood, which plays over the film's end credits. It was initially reported that the end credits would feature a song co-written byNeil Diamond andCarole Bayer-Sager, but this song never materialized.[21]
The film has many historical inaccuracies:
The film was theatrically released in theUnited States on December 22, 1995, and then international theaters on January 13, 1996, when it first premiered inBrazil.[46] Its release was vastly overshadowed by that ofPixar Animation Studios's first feature film,Toy Story, which had premiered one month earlier.[47]
The film ranked 15th on its opening weekend and earned $1.5 million from a total of 1,427 theaters.[48] The film also ranked 7th among G-rated movies in 1995. Its total domestic gross was $11,348,324.[47] Though abox office failure, it was much more successful in terms of video sales.[49][50][51][52] These strong video sales led to the release of two direct-to-video sequels:Balto II: Wolf Quest andBalto III: Wings of Change being created, though neither sequel received as strong a reception as the original film.
Balto generally received mixed reviews from critics. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Balto is a well-meaning adventure with spirited animation, but mushy sentimentality and bland characterization keeps it at paw's length from more sophisticated family fare."[53] The film received a "thumbs down" fromGene Siskel and a "thumbs up" fromRoger Ebert in a 1996 episode ofAt the Movies. Siskel found the film to be a weak attempt at apingLady and the Tramp, criticizing the animation style as "sketchy", and the story as "all over the map, from the rousing adventure, to the sweet and cloying scenes", whereas Ebert liked the film, stating that though it is not in the "category of the great animated film" and the animation not being as strong as that ofDisney, it was "adequate", the story was "interesting", and the film was a "nice, little children's adventure movie about a brave dog".[54]
Roger Ebert gave the film a three-out-of-four-star review, praising it as "a kids' movie, simply told, with lots of excitement and characters you can care about", and though he criticized Balto's refusal to fight Steele and stated that it compared poorly to Disney's output, he found it to be a satisfactory film in its own right.[55]Paul Merrill ofEmpire Magazine gave the film three out of five stars, commending the film as "enchanting, highly enjoyable and impressively crafted, not least for its adventurous 'camera work'", and praised the voice cast, "barnstorming" chase sequences and lack of "cheesy songs to slow proceedings down".[56]Nell Minow ofCommon Sense Media gave the film three out of five stars, calling it a "fun-but-tense fact-based film".[57]Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times praised the film for "avoiding the mythological grandiosity and freneticism that afflict so many animated features these days", and "making modesty a virtue".[58] Brian Lowry ofVariety gave the film a more middling review, praising its pro-social messages andJames Horner's "blaring" score, and finding the action sequences decent, but also criticized the humor as scant, and Balto himself as "rather blandly heroic".[59]
On the negative side, Nick Bradshaw ofTime Out criticized the film as a "half-hearted animated feature" that "rambles on" with "second-hand plotting and characterization", and criticized the animation style as "TV-standard".[60] David Kronke ofThe Los Angeles Times criticized the film's historical inaccuracy and slow-paced premise establishment, criticized the animation as competent at best, and criticized the voice cast, stating that "even as voiced by [Kevin Bacon], Balto doesn't have the sort of charisma to get kids to truly root for him."[61] Rita Kempley ofThe Washington Post gave the film a negative review, calling it a "mushy animated melodrama", criticizing its storyline as "prosaic" and "sappy", and unfavorably comparing the film itself toToy Story, and Disney's other output, and its artistry toDogs Playing Poker.[62]
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Balto was released on VHS and Laserdisc on April 2, 1996, byMCA/Universal Home Video in North America andCIC Video internationally. The VHS version was made available once more on August 11, 1998, under the Universal Family Features label.
The film was released on DVD on February 19, 2002, which includes a game,Where is the Dog Sled Team?. This version was reprinted along with other Universal films such asAn American Tail,An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, andThe Land Before Time. It was initially released inwidescreen onBlu-ray for the first time exclusively atWalmart retailers on April 4, 2017, before its wide release on July 4, 2017.
| Balto | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | December 5, 1995[63] October 29, 2018 (expansion) | |||
| Recorded | July 1995[64] | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios,London Todd-AO Scoring Stage,Studio City (additional score; expansion only) Scrimshaw Sound,Nashville Quad Studios Nashville Skylab Studios, Nashville Sixteenth Avenue Sound, Nashville | |||
| Genre | Pop,modern classical,film score[65] | |||
| Length | 53:30 (original release) 78:55 (2018 expansion) | |||
| Label | MCA (1995) Intrada (2018) | |||
| Producer | James Horner | |||
| James Horner chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Balto | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| LetsSingIt |   [66] |
| Filmtracks | [63] |
Balto: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack contains the score for the film, composed and conducted byJames Horner, and performed by theLondon Symphony Orchestra.[65] The soundtrack was released on December 5, 1995, byMCA Records. It includes the film's only song, "Reach for the Light" performed bySteve Winwood. The original album release went out of print when MCA Records went out of business in 1997.
A limited edition expansion of the soundtrack album was released byIntrada Records on October 29, 2018. This release includes newly remastered versions of the tracks from the original release and previously unreleased material, and alternate tracks that were ultimately unused in the finished film.[64]
The film received fourAnnie Award nominations, includingBest Animated Feature, and aYoung Artist Award nomination, but lost toToy Story andA Pinky and the Brain Christmas, respectively.[67][68]
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards[67] | Best Animated Feature | Balto | Nominated |
| Best Individual Achievement: Producing | Steve Hickner | Nominated | |
| Best Individual Achievement: Production Design | Hans Bacher | Nominated | |
| Best Individual Achievement: Storyboarding | Rodolphe Guenoden | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Award[68] | Best Family Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy | Balto | Nominated |
Two direct-to-video sequels that soon became a trilogy followed, made byUniversal Cartoon Studios, with their animation done overseas by the Taiwanese studioWang Film Productions, as Amblimation had gone out of business. Due to the significantly lower budgets and different production personnel of the sequels, Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda, and Phil Collins did not reprise their roles in either of them. Instead, Bacon was replaced byMaurice LaMarche as the voice of Balto, Hoskins byCharles Fleischer as the voice of Boris, Fonda byJodi Benson as the voice of Jenna, and Collins byKevin Schon as the voices of Muk and Luk. Aside from them, all of characters from the original were either reduced to background characters, or absent entirely. None of the sequels took any historical references from the true story ofBalto, nor have live-action sequences.
The first sequel,Balto II: Wolf Quest, was released in 2002 and follows the adventures of one of Balto and Jenna's pups, Aleu, who sets off to discover her wolf heritage.[69] A fewBalto II roles could not be reprised, due toMary Kay Bergman's suicide in 1999, which also delayed that film for two years.
Balto III: Wings of Change was released in 2004. The storyline follows the same litter of pups fromBalto II, but focuses on another pup, Kodi, who is a member of aU.S. Mail dog sled delivery team, and is in danger of getting put out of his job by Duke, a pilot of a mail deliverybush plane, while Boris finds a mate named Stella.[70]
