Not only is this an exciting film for dog lovers, but it is a true story, therefore making it educational. However, this film is a little tense for a G-rated film.
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Balto
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Is it age appropriate?
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Not age appropriate for kids under 4, age appropriate for kids over 5; suggested age 5. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Brave dog saves kids in adequate fact-based film.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 5 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence & scariness:
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What Parents Need to Know
About Balto
Parents need to know that this animated tale features positive themes of friendship, acceptance of those who are different, bravery, and selflessness.
Read our full review by Nell Minow
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about Balto's struggle to fit in. Was it fair of the other dogs not to accept him? Can you think of examples this type of unfair judgment that you've witnessed?
Our Members Say
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title iffy for age 6 and give it
Good Dog!
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
More to life than ABC's
Lots of "edutainment" videos teach letters, numbers, colors, etc.; but for complex social issues there are not many sources. If you want your children to grasp honor, duty, self-sacrifice, humility, dedication (I could go on. . .) Balto is one of the best sources out there. Balto is based on a true story, so the example he sets is tangible and teachable. I plan to take my soon-to-be 5 year old twin boys to the Cleveland Museum where Balto's history is kept alive. Hopefully this will spark an early interest in doing "research"! Best of all, adults can watch Balto without being bored so it truly is a family film.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
Balto - Turely a magical film!
Based on a true American legend, the story takes place in 1925 in a small, snow-covered town of Nome, Alaska. There lives an animal by the name of Balto. He is part wolf, part dog. He lives as a tramp and a loner. One day, the community started to break out with a certain sickness. Quick action had be taken now in order to obtain the special medicine needed to cure it - but the nearest provider was over 650 miles away. The only way to retrieve the medicine across the frozen, harsh terrain was to set out on a dog-sled team. This would be no easy task. They need to find the best dogs for the mission. Even if they do, they have to face the most severe threats of the Alaskan plains. Time is of esence. Determinded to get the medication, Balto, along with is friends, set out on a dangerous adventure that would be mean the difference between life or death.
Moral content: The story comes together as one big quest, won over with courage, perseverance, and love. I believe the main character, Balto, is an ideal figure on how a hero should be. He is humble in his ways and strives to do what is good, dispite his downcast (and somewhat hated) reputation by the town. His friends, though few, are loyal to him and stay by his side.
Violence: Very brief; Balto is grabbed and thrown at a jagged wall of rocks, which leaves him passed out momentarily. Steel falls off a steep cliff and is banged along rocks and debris on his way down.
Sexaul content: None. Though, it's a little intimate when Jenna lays herself over Balto to warm him up.
Language: Mild threats; Steel tells Balto that he'll turn him into a "cat toy" and that he'll "tear him apart".
Summary: This has to be one of the best animated films I've ever seen. Unforgetable characters, lessons of bravery, humility, and endurance, a beautiful musical soundtrack, and the quest to save others. It didn't score high at the box office, but it has scored high with many Christian and morally oriented families, and it will continue live and pass down as a beloved, classic Universal Studios films. Balto gets my two paws... eh, two thumbs up!
- I rate this title iffy for age 5 and give it
Great Hero Movie
A movie for the whole family.
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