Balto
There are a lot of non-Disney animation companies out there today. However, it is a rare occasion when one of those companies makes a better movie than Disney. That is what the staff of Universal Pictures animation company have done. Balto is an exciting and funny adventure that surpasses The Lion King and Pocahontas, both in story and in characterization.
Balto opens with a live-action sequence with a little girl and a grandmother in a park looking for a memorial. The little girl asks about the memorial and the grandmother tells her the story of Balto in Nome, Alaska. The movie then moves into the animation part. The animation is not as good as Disney, but the movie more than makes up for it in story.
We find a race going on while Balto (voiced by Kevin Bacon) fantasizes about running in a dogsled race. He knows it won't come true because the whole town fears Balto because he is half dog and half wolf. All the dogs hate him except for Jenna (voiced by Bridget Fonda), a beautiful (why do they make the female dogs look so good?) dog that all the male dogs want to be their girlfriend, including Steele, the villianous dog of the film.
When a dyptheria epidemic comes across Nome and strickens 18 of the children, they need a shipment of anti-toxin to be delivered from Nenana back to Nome by way of dogsled. Steele leads the sled team, without Balto, to Nenana but on the way back, the team gets lost and the person leading the sled team gets knocked unconcious.
When Balto gets word of it, he decides to go after the team. He takes his guide, Boris (voiced by Bob Hoskins, complete with Russian accent (Boris Yeltsin)), and two polar bears who can't swim, Muk and Luk (both voiced by Phil Collins). They have many adventures on the way, including one with a bear. He goes on alone after Jenna (who fought the bear) hurts her leg.
When he finds the lost dog sled, he tries to lead the team back but Steele is so selfish that he won't let Balto take it back. When Steele has an accident, Balto takes the sled back himself by way of a trail he had marked. However, Steele begins to ruin the trail Balto had made. Balto gets lost and many exciting adventures, that will have you gripping your seat, occur to the team.
Balto is rated G. There is nothing offensive in the movie, though the excitement maybe a little scary for little kids and Steele can be very evil at times. The movie has funny moments including a small scene that uses other movies for reference (i.e. ET: The Extra Terrestrial) in a cave. The characters provide much contrast to each other and the humor is genuine though sometimes a little cheesy. The movie is very suspenseful for a cartoon and it provides great entertainment that the whole family can enjoy.