I was and still am a Balto kid like you wouldn’t even believe. If you think you know what the best dog/cat movie ever made is, think again, because Balto puts it to shame.
Think about it. Airbud could shoot a basketball, awesome. He was a novelty, who ended up dying of cancer of the brain, perhaps caused by the continuous trauma of punting a big rubber ball with his head.
“Homeward Bound” was a good, albeit outrageous, adventure of two dogs and a cat, and guess what, their adventure was pointless. Their owners were coming back to them the whole time. What’s more ridiculous? The exact same thing happened in the sequel.
“Milo and Otis”? Probably the most unlikely bromance ever conceived, and that’s not to mention the 20 kittens that were killed in the making of the movie, and the lead cat Milo, whose foot was purposely broken to give the animal an unsteady look.
“All Dogs Go to Heaven” was nice, but as with many animated greats, the sequel killed its notoriety.
What, might you ask, sets “Balto” apart from the rest of these well known movies?
It’s based on a true story. There really was a dog named Balto, and he really did lead a sled team all the way across the Alaskan wilderness to retrieve medicine for the sick and dying children of Nome. Yes, he saved the children, inadvertently saving the future of Alaska, which lead to Sarah Palin, who makes me happy.
So a tip of the hat to Balto, a real American hero.