Balto was originally released in theaters on December 22, 1995. Produced by Amblimation studios and directed by Simon Wells, this movie is loosely based on the true story of the 1925 Serum Run to Nome. Other big names attached to the project include Steven Spielberg as executive producer and James Horner as the soundtrack composer. On the casting side Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda, and Phil Collins were brought on as voice actors. Balto was well-poised to be a major success at the box office.
Unfortunately, that success eluded Amblimation. This movie had the misfortune of releasing within a month of Toy Story and led to financial disaster for the film. The movie had a budget of $31 million, but only made $11.3 million at the box office. The damage was so severe that Amblimation closed its doors. Balto might have been lost to time, but home sales turned out to be a savior. The movie performed so well on video that two sequels were green-lit by Universal Pictures.
DVD Information
Cover Scans & DVD Menu Screenshots
Blu-ray Information
Blu-ray Cover Scans
Plot Summary
DVD (NTSC) Information
On February 19, 2002 Balto was re-released on DVD in North America. Unfortunately, the NTSC was bare-bones when compared to what other regions received. For a limited time, the Brazilian release of Balto was available, included the documentary, and it was playable in North America. Unfortunately, the Brazilian version is long out of print.
Technical Features:
DVD Encoding: Region 1 (Only for United States and Canada)
Languages: English, Spanish and French
Available subtitles: English (Only)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Bonus Material:
Where’s the Sled Dog? Game
1995 Theatrical Trailer
Film Highlights (DVD Rom only)
Cast & Filmmakers Biographies (DVD Rom Only)
Other DVD Recommendations
DVD Newsletter
Cover Scans and DVD Menu Screenshots
I scanned the DVD covers myself. Thank you to CTWolf for these DVD menu screenshots.
Blu-ray (NTSC) Information
Balto was released on Blu-ray for the first time on July 4, 2017 in North America. Unlike the DVD versions, the Blu-ray release is bare-bones across various regions. Other than the movie being upscaled to 1080P with better quality sound, there are no bonus features on the disc– not even a menu. Seeing Balto in HD and a relatively cheap disc price of under $20 are the only improvements fans are getting.
Technical Features:
Blu-ray Region Code: A (North America, South America, U.S. Territories, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other areas of Southeast Asia)
Languages: English, German, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish
Available subtitles: English, German, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for English, DTS Digital Surround 2.0 for other languages
Blu-ray Cover Scans
Plot Summary
It’s 1925 in Nome, a remote town in Alaska. Before automobiles or snowmobiles were a common part of life, sled dogs were the most reliable way to transport supplies and people. Every dog in Nome is either a pet or a working dog. Balto is the lone exception being an outcast on the outskirts of town because of his partial wolf heritage. Despite the town’s fear and hatred of him, he dreams of being a sled dog someday.
In town Balto often tries to earn the affections of the beautiful husky, Jenna. This puts him in direct conflict with the town’s champion sled dog, Steele. Thanks to a mix of jealously, bigotry, and arrogance, Steele and his teammates often bully Balto without mercy. Each night Balto finds himself on the edge of town with his best friend Boris, a Russian goose and Muk and Luk, two polar bear cubs to keep him company.
One day Jenna’s child owner, Rosie falls ill. She’s taken to the doctor and is diagnosed with diphtheria, a deadly bacterial infection. Worse yet, the town’s only doctor is out of anti-toxin and there’s an outbreak of the disease. To save the children the fastest sled dogs race to be selected. Balto races with them and easily wins. However, his chances of making the team are sabotaged when Steele forces him to bear his fangs in front of the officials. Declared dangerous, Balto is driven off.
Steele and the team set off for Nanna to bring back the anti-toxin for the children. On the way back to Nome, the team gets lost in the wilderness. Word gets back that Steele’s team is missing and the town decides it’s too dangerous to send more dogs. Overhearing the conversation, Balto sets out to find the missing team and lead them home. Borris tries desperately to stop the wolf-dog, but is won over after seeing the sick children. The two are joined by Muk and Luk on the trail. Back in Nome, Jenna catches Balto’s scent and follows him out of town.
As they make progress in finding Steele, Balto carefully marks the trail. As Muk and Luk play in the snow, they’re attacked by a large grizzly bear. Balto tries his best to fight. He’s pinned and at the last moment is saved by Jenna. During the fight Balto and the bear crash into the frozen lake. Balto is saved by Muk and Luk. As the group prepares to resume the search, they discover Jenna was injured during the fight. Boris and the bears take her home while Balto goes on alone.
He finds Steele’s team lost and idle. When he offers to lead everyone home, he’s stopped by the champion dog. Steele refuses to let Balto take charge of the team or bring home the medicine. A fight breaks out and the wolf-dog refuses to fight back. During the scuffle, Steel ends up going over a cliff. While the malamute is down, Balto takes charge of the team and they leave without him. Letting his anger get the best of him, Steele sabotages the trail as he uses it to return to Nome.
Unable to find the correct trail, Balto gets lost and nearly runs the team off a cliff. He and the medicine end up falling off a false cliff.
Back in Nome, Steele has returned. Basking in admiration and glory, he tells the town dogs the rest of the team died on the trail. He also mentions he ran into Balto, but that the wolf-dog died in an accident. Unconvinced, Jenna declares Balto is coming home with the medicine.
Sometime later Balto wakes up in a snow drift. Unsure of what to do, he notices he’s being approached by a white wolf. Ashamed of being part wolf, Balto looks away. The wolf howls tentatively and Boris’s parting words return to him. “A dog cannot make this journey alone, but maybe a wolf can.”
Finding strength and determination, he places his paw inside the paw print left by the departing wolf. He howls and the wolf returns to howl with him. He begins the task of hauling the medicine back up the cliff and joins the rest of the team. After a close call with an avalanche and a treacherous trip through an ice cave, the team clears the most dangerous parts of the journey.
Just as everyone has given up hope, Balto howls announcing his safe return. The anti-toxin is given to the children and the town recognizes the wolf-dog as a hero.