LoginI can completely understand why people love this movie, because while for me it isn't the greatest animated movie ever(Beauty and the Beast gets that honour I'm afraid), it is a pretty darn good movie. It is certainly quite powerful and ambitious, and there are parts that tug at the heartstrings. The film isn't laden with humour as much as something like The Lion King or Castle of Cagliostro, but with the characters Boris, Muk and Luk it is evident.
The animation is surprisingly detailed. Critics complained of the animation quality being dull and tacky, and when I saw that I thought did we see the same movie. The colours were fine, maybe not the most vibrant colouring in the world like FernGully for instance, but the character animation and the backgrounds are immaculate. The music by James Horner, one of my favourite film composers, is outstanding. Maybe not his finest, as he has done some amazing scores, the one he did for Land Before Time really packs an emotional punch even on repeated viewing, but it is very powerful, poignant and haunting all at the same time and even enhances the drama.
Then there are the characters. Balto is a lovable and handsome dog, and Jenna is so beautiful and headstrong. In contrast, we have Boris who is hilarious and Steele a villain detestable in quite a substantial way. The voice acting is very good, Kevin Bacon while an unlikely choice initially does an above decent job, not monotonic or bland like some other celebrities who have voiced in animated films. Bob Hoskins gives great comic relief as Boris, and Phil Collins is amusing as Muk and Luk. Bridget Fonda does well as Jenna, but I have to say Jim Cummings is absolutely BRILLIANT as Steele; Cummings is a very underrated veteran voice actor, and his malevolent voice over proves what talent as a voice actor he has.
The film does have an engaging, sometimes tense sometimes heartwarming story, and while perhaps in need of a little more humour, the script wasn't actually that bad. All in all, very overlooked as an animated film. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Balto (1995) Reviews
Beautiful and very overlooked animated film
Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 24 March 2022 07:40
0 comments, Reply to this entry
Balto (1995) review
Posted : 11 years, 4 months ago on 31 December 2012 12:12
Ever since the time of Balto's release, I wanted to see it, but I was 4 years old and couldn't pronounce his name well yet. I eventually caught it, and the truth is, this is Amblimation's best film, so this was the company going out with a bang before becoming Dreamworks SKG. Sure, the movie deviates from some of the facts behind the 1925 sled race, such as the real Balto NOT being part-wolf, which I assume they made him as such to create conflict between him and Steele. But overall, it's a good movie.
My rating: 7/10
My rating: 7/10
0 comments, Reply to this entry
An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 3 months ago on 10 February 2011 11:22
Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, it is considers as many viewers as one of the most underrated animated movies ever made so I had some rather high expectations towards the damned thing. Well, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about this movie and I don’t think I have ever seen such an overrated cult-classic before. Seriously, I thought the whole thing was actually pretty lame. Indeed, everything going from the animation, the characters and the jokes was just really average at the best. Some fans argue that it flopped because it was released around the time as ‘Toy Story’ but I think it is a joke to compare such a timeless classic with this flick. At least, I have to admit it, it was actually based on a rather amazing true story and the whole thing probably had actually some potential but I don’t think they really managed to deliver something really compelling with this. Anyway, to conclude, I really didn't like this movie and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you are a fan of animated features like me.
0 comments, Reply to this entry