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I 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
10/10
