Review of Balto (1995) by Timothy S — 13 Jan 2011

In reviewing animated movies at my age, I come across as a tough critic. It's easy to say that a cartoon would be loved by kids because that would be true about almost all of them. But there are very few that I honestly enjoy as an adult. There are good qualities about "Balto", but I can't really say that I liked it enough to recommend it.

The story is an endearing one, and it probably would have made a great live action movies along the lines of "Eight Below" or "Iron Will". But instead of relying on strong storytelling, it falls back on the old animation standbys like cute, talking animals and inspirational life lessons meant to teach the kiddies a thing or two. At least there are no musical numbers, and that fact should have added to my rating a little on its own.

The animation is impressive, and there are some undoubtably thrilling moments. This is more of an action orientated flick than something like "Once Upon a Forest", but not enough to overcome the cutesy moments that keep this strictly in the kids zone. It fails to make the jump to enjoyable, grown-up entertainment. It comes closer than most, though.

The voice work is pretty standard, but other than the central issue of the dog sled team surviving, there's no real conflict. The rival dog really isn't such of a bad mutt in the grand scheme of things. The romantic aspects do hold some appeal in a "Lady and the Tramp" sort of way.

Like most cartoons, "Balto" depends on a lot of its ancestors for help in telling the story. It has it's moments, but not enough of them.