Balto (G, 1995)

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!