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...it says on the case that it's based on a true story...

Sorry gang...this is going to be long, only inasmuch as I am replying to several people in order to keep this to one posting. Please bear with me! I can answer a lot of questions and misconceptions about what has been said already (and will then post my own thoughts a little later in the topic, after a reply or two thereafter):


A very nice post! Ugh...WHERE do I begin? lol I could fill up a forum with my thoughts on how horribly inaccurate the Balto cartoon actually was (when one takes into account the true history of the 1925 Nome serum run that is). However, to respond to your points (and then a few others' below)...and with respect to each person I have quoted:

Yes, the wolf-dog thing is a problem. As it states in a footnote in the book The Cruelest Miles (by Gay and Laney Salisbury), on pp. 141-3, it states:

"The aggressiveness in wolf dogs does not necessarily come from the wolf heritage. In his book The Company of Wolves (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995), Peter Steinhart writes that wolves tend to back off from fights and retreat from danger. Wolves will rarely bite a pack member. A pack would not survive constant aggression and therefore conflicts are usually resolved before they reach that stage.

"The myth of the wolf sled dog teams continued into the 1900s in Alaska and was perhaps perpetuated by breeders and drivers trying to sell their dogs for top prices, particularly to beginners in awe of the idea. Wolves, however, are not stronger than sled dogs, nor do they have greater endurance. The biologist and sled dog enthusiast Raymond Coppinger writes in Dogs: A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution (New York & London: Scribner, 2001) that breeding a sled dog to a wolf 'would be at least an evolutionary digression, if not a degradation in the behaviors of both. Wolves have not been selected to be sled dogs.' Contrary to popular myth, a sled dog team does not run like a pack of wolves. 'A pack,' writes Coppinger, 'is about chasing something. Sled dogs are running because other dogs are running.' It is the sole motivation. 'There is a rhythm to their run and they can hear that rhythm and they run to it,' Coppinger adds. 'When you stand on the back of a sled, you can feel it. It is powerful.'

"Coppinger discusses one zoologist and wolf expert who as an experiment tried to train hand-raised, nearly one-year-old wolves to pull a sled. Despite months of training, the wolves would not fully accept being harnessed together in such close quarters. They became territorial and when they got tired they simply lay down. They refused to take directional commands. And finally, when a robin landed among the wolves while at rest, they began to climb over each other, entangled their chains, and fought. The experiment was a failure. The zoologist ended up pulling the sled home. Basically, wolves are not suited to run on a team. Being independent-minded, they ran at their own gait and were more concerned about defending their personal space than moving forward. These traits would compromise the effectiveness of the team and the safety of the driver."

I would venture a guess that the production team and writers of Balto felt that, had they included all of the other teams (all twenty which ran), it would have made the movie overlong. And, had they mentioned other famous dogs from the real event (Togo, Fritz, Scotty, Fox, Blackie, etc.), it would have distracted attention from their version of Balto. Of course, I am not defending any of these points. But I presume these were the reasons.

As to the question of Balto's being "too perfect", I submit that he was, early in the movie, very shy, unsure of himself, and quick to withdraw from a challenge. And he was very self-effacing and doubting OF himself. And quick to fall into depression. And he had that wolf-dog thing hanging over him (in the prejudice thrown at him by the humans and dogs of Nome). Those do come across as flaws and problems for him to overcome. But hey - he's the budding hero of a cartoon aimed at children. In almost all movies aimed at children (Disney, Universal, Bluth or other), heroes are frequently -- if not almost always -- idealistic and short on flaws. Children are not going to analyze a cartoon character the way an older child, teenager, or adult will. Boring? I don't know. I think the character was pretty interesting. Especially in watching him develop as a hero and grow in confidence.


As to Balto and the wolf-dog thing (and how "boring" he may or may not be), please see my responses above, about those things, to Rebel...

The fan base. Ugh, yes. I am frequently disturbed and often frustrated by the things I see many fans say. Especially those who are young adults or full-on adults...who really ought to have a firmer grasp on reality. Now, not ALL fans of the Balto series are like that. Many are very intelligent, firmly grounded in reality, and yet have vivid (and healthy) imaginations. And more power to them! But there are some...

And yet, I DO enjoy talking with many fans about the actual history of the 1925 Nome serum run, and even the cartoons. When one looks past the frequent silliness and conflicts which occur here (and other places which are fan gathering places), there are sometimes great opportunities for good and healthy (and intelligent) discussions and information sharing.


Again, let me clarify that I mean no disrespect to you either, but on the one hand, you acknowledge that it is a kid's movie, but on the other you then criticize certain characters as "stupid", "really dumb", and "childish". I don't understand why. Once again, the Balto movies were, most definitely, created for children as the target audience. Not teenagers. Not adults. Children. Not that it is wrong for teenagers and adults should not be able to enjoy them too. But they were not the target audience. So why should the production team take those demographics into consideration?


As to your first point, and as Fahu said, "it is a cartoon after all ,so it is acceptable that their appearance isn't completely realistic." Certainly we all know that the movie was only inspired by the real events. That much is very apparent. However, that is not how the movie was marketed. Even on the cover of the DVD packaging, it reads "The true story of an American Hero". Any person, child or otherwise, who sees that statement on the cover (especially without knowing anything about the real 1925 Nome serum run, or who has the "Region 1" version of the movie which didn't include the making-of documentary) may likely presume that what they end up viewing IS the real story. Need I tell anyone how often I get questions on my true story website, from parents, kids AND TEACHERS (and even book authors), as to whether or not Balto was actually a wolf-dog, and what parts of the movie are true (etc. etc. etc.)? And how many times have we seen, on Balto fan sites, young members (and sometimes even adults) carry on about how Balto was the real hero, the ONLY hero and will always be the best sled dog in their minds no matter what actually happened?

As to Balto's true breed, there is not a single reliable source -- not one -- which states that Balto was anything but a Siberian husky. Even his actual owner, Leonhard Seppala, made clear that "I bred and raised Balto, naming him after a Laplander who accompanied Dr. Nansen when he crossed Greenland in the eighties." (from the book Seppala: Alaska Dog Driver, compiled by Seppala's friend and contemporary Elizabeth Ricker, on p. 281). It is a matter of historical record and fact that Leonhard Seppala had a kennel outside of Nome (called "Little Creek") in which he owned, bred and raised only Siberian huskies, from an initial group of females and puppies imported from Siberia back in the early 1900s. He only had one dog known to have had mixed heritage, and that was Togo's father Suggen, who was half Siberian, and half Alaskan Malamute. Which means that Togo had some Alaskan Malamute in his blood. How much is speculative, because Togo's mother was a pure Siberian.

Your statement about Balto not leading until the final stretch, and how he came to lead, is highly-inaccurate. The Steele-Balto lead transition never happened. It is stated in several sources that Gunnar Kaasen, the musher of the real Balto's team, chose Balto as his lead dog while still in Nome, before mushing even a single mile out of it. It was later clarified in the book Seppala: Alaskan Dog Driver by Leonhard Seppala himself (Balto's owner), to wit:

"On my first trip to the States my attention was called to a newspaper report quoting me as saying that Fox and not Balto was the hero of the drive. I hope I shall never be the man to take away credit from any dog or driver who participated in the run. We all did our best. But when the country was roused to enthusiasm over the Serum Drive I resented the statue to Balto, for if any dog deserved special mention it was Togo. When the officials asked if I would undertake the mission of going for the serum I culled out from my entire kennel the twenty best dogs for the trip, leaving fourteen. Fox was the best all-around dog remaining there, and he was to serve as temporary leader for the slow work-team I left to do the hauling between the creeks and town. At the time I left I never dreamed that anyone could consider these dogs fit to drive even in a short relay, which was what occurred three days after I was out on the trail. As to the leader, it was up to the driver who happened to be selected to choose any dog he liked, and he chose Balto."

As to the accuracy of elements of the cartoon, and their "naturalness", I reiterate that we are talking about a cartoon movie. The target audience was (and remains) children. Not teenagers, not adults. Children. Accuracy and natural qualities are not pre-requisites of creating a cartoon. And while I don't mean to pick on you or anyone else who is a teenager, or young adult (or adult) who likes to complain about the "inaccuracy" of movies which show anthropomorphic animals, these constant complaints about the inaccuracies are perplexing. And sometimes frustrating. As if teenagers, young adults and adults expect that the producers of cartoon movies are supposed to take them into account over the real target audience. Um...no.


In actuality, colored glass had been produced as early as ancient Egypt, thousands of years ago. And was regularly produced in America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere through the intervening years up to the 1920s and well beyond. Some colors were used for specific types of bottles (medicinal, alcoholic beverages, food storage, etc.). So it is very realistic that one could find colored glass bottles in Nome in the 1920s. In fact, I have seen examples of them when I visited Nome (and the Carrie McLain Museum there, which has relics from Nome's history).


The real Balto was chosen by his musher, Gunnar Kaasen, while they were still in Nome, before they made a single mile in the run. That is confirmed in every resource on the real history of the 1925 Nome serum run. There are only a few obscure and very poorly-researched websites and books which indicate that Balto was not chosen at the outset, that he was put up at the front of the team late in their part of the run to replace a dog (Fox, in fact...a real dog who was on the real team Balto led) which had given up. This is based on erroneous and deliberately false coverage by a member of the press corps after the serum run. See my reply to Balto-the-WOlf-Dog above regarding the question of the Steele-Balto switchoff.

True...no one says "mush". Though it had some basis in historical fact once upon a time. Far more frequently, and officially, experienced mushers always said (and say) "hike".


Please see my comment on this to Balto-the-WOlf-Dog, above.

Hm. Yes, I notice now what you said. It was a bit confusing when I read it. My apologies. However, I still think the refraction thing is speculative as a discussion point. One wonders whether or not colored glass would refract pure light by separating it into its specific visible elemental wavelengths. Where your opinion falls on that is a little vague, though you seem to acknowledge that the colors do play a factor instead of just standard refraction.

One has to wonder about why anyone (in this topic or otherwise) would overthink and overanalyze elements in the cartoon, given the fact that it IS a cartoon, and not a science experiment or nature documentary. ROFL

I'm going to have to go along with the fact that there is very little information on the real serum run.

I meant that balto lead the final relay, his team picking up where Togo left off. I won't go into detail on that aspect as I'm certain that if I did the thread would become a balto-Togo war. Since we don't have enough of THOSE already /sarcasm.

Anyway, I heard from exactly one source that he was a hybrid, an old book I don't remember the name of. I never did trust it, as having a wolf- dog on one's team would be very dangerous. I have heard that they are infact more agressive then wolves.

Anyway, I don't think nearly enough wieght is put on the story itself, it's really downplayed. It needed more then the scene fade montage it got. Far less time could have been spent on the earlier, fictionous events.only one element of the movie is absalutly true, Balto lead a team into nome. Other then that, you could stretch the Steele-balto lead transition to be the Togo team- balto team relay transition, but not by much. As to the true story, I don't hold balto any higher then any of the other leads.

About the physics, as I said, we can't put much wieght on it because it is a cartoon. However, afterall this topic is about what we didn't like, at that aspect always bugged me a bit but eh, it's really rather irrelivant.

There were several things which bothered me about the movie, even though I still enjoyed it as a quaint, touching, largely fictional story. To wit:

1. The idea that, by making Balto a brownish-gray wolf-dog instead of leaving him as a mostly-black Siberian husky somehow increased the conflict and drama in the character's life. Odd, considering that the real dog had quite enough drama and conflict in his own life, entirely not of his own making. His real story, including the years before and after the serum run, would have made an equally-dramatic story. In fact, it is likely that they would have made an even more dramatic story than the one shown in the cartoon.

2. That the nineteen other teams and 148 other dogs were ignored and not represented, even if only briefly, in the cartoon (including Togo, Fox, Fritz, Scotty, Blackie, and many others). That they instead made it appear as though the 674-mile, one-way distance from Nome to Nenana (and, thus, 1348-mile round trip distance) seem like a quick and relatively straight process. In fact, it is HIGHLY unlikely (if not impossible) for one team to have made that distance in the short time required of the emergency (as it was, the run was made in five and a half days by a relay of twenty teams covering small quantities of the entire 674 miles). Even during the annual Iditarod Dog Sled Race, where teams make a run of 1,112 miles (from Anchorage to Nome), the best time was only a little over an hour short of nine days for one team (musher Martin Buser in 2002). And that's still a distance of 236 miles less than the Iditarod, and then in much better environmental conditions than the mushers of the serum run faced.

3. That most of the story in the Balto cartoon is completely fictional. The only elements of the cartoon which concur with the real history are: a. that the diphtheria epidemic struck the Alaskan town of Nome in the midst of winter, and by surprise; b. that a freak blizzard of great and terrible intensity built up very quickly during the days of the run, putting the mushers and dogs at great risk of their lives; c. that dog sledding was used to transport the diphtheria serum across the Alaskan frontier, from Nenana to Nome, after a small quantity of it was discovered and sent by rail from Anchorage to Nenana; d. that any other means of getting the serum to Nome, including airplane and ship, would prove ineffective against the weather and ice (and the blizzard); e. that it was mostly children who were stricken by the diphtheria bacterium, and that some died (the coffins which Balto saw the carpenter preparing during the cartoon); f. that wireless telegraph was used to send word of the epidemic and to call for help; g. that a dog named "Balto" led a team of huskies during the serum run. Other than that...

4. That the town of Nome pictured in the cartoon has elements which resulted from poor location research by the production team, i.e. a. there actually is an old, grounded boat just outside of Nome, named "Wendy K" (one of several photos I took of it during my trip up there in 2008: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/JerseyCaptain/Wendy%20K/WendyK.jpg). However, unlike the old fishing boat seen in the cartoon which would have been in use in the very early 1900s, THIS real boat was a tug boat which operated miles north of Nome during the 1940s. Though it is clear, from the design of the Wendy K, that the production team used the boat as inspiration for the fictional boat in the cartoon. Both have a smoke stack, and both are superficially similar in structure; b. the gold dredges seen along the beach in the cartoon Nome (making the industrial background noise you can just barely hear during the cartoon) are based on the Swanberg Gold Dredge, which sits just south of Nome, and is currently owned by the town as an historical relic. However, it was built and operated during the 1940s, nearly twenty years after the serum run...and using a design much different than that used during (and before) the serum run era. Here is a pic of the dredge I took during my trip there in 2008: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/JerseyCaptain/Nome%20Vacation/SwanbergDredge.jpg; c. any roads seen in town are dirt roads...even the "main drag", called "Front Street" (which was the business district of Nome). This would have been based upon old photos they probably found of Nome during the gold rush between 1900 and 1901. However, during 1901 (and well past the year of the diphtheria epidemic -- 1925), a "plank road" was installed on Front Street, which enabled people and dog teams to avoid slogging through slick and sticky mud. Plank roads were made of thick wooden boards, laid on top of long wooden runners.

5. That the only actual human participant in the events of the epidemic and serum run, who seemed to be represented with only fair accuracy (and without being named) was Dr. Curtis Welch...Nome's only doctor during the serum run. No other human being who participated (or who was involved in some way or another), be they musher, politician, nurse, newspaper man, child, or other Nome citizen (Native Alaskan, American or European immigrant) was represented in the cartoon.

6. The whole wolf thing...including the white wolf spirit. Unnecessary.

7. That the end of the movie showed crowds of people lining the wooden walkways of Nome's main street, behind fictional rope runners (which were not in use in Nome back then), cheering the team as it arrived. In fact, the final team in the relay (Balto's), arrived at 5:30 in the morning on February 2nd, 1925. Most people were either asleep, deathly sick, or both. Only a very few people were awake to see the team arrive.

8. The race in Nome to determine "the fastest dogs" for the run. Utterly fictional. Never happened. Mushers were not that random about assigning dogs to their teams. Most of them owned their own dogs and equipment, and took great pride in them...and would have selected the very best among their dogs (especially if they had enough to leave less-capable dogs behind...and not all of them did) for this emergency.

9. The real Balto may well have had occasional physical interactions with female dogs in Nome (as dogs were frequently allowed to wander freely in and around Nome). However, he could not have sired any puppies with one. Balto was neutered at the usual six months of age. This is a matter of historical fact. There are no direct descendants of Balto alive today. The real Balto never sired a single puppy.

10. That this cartoon is currently the only well-known theatrical information on the 1925 Nome serum run and on Balto...and it is horribly inaccurate. And it is still misleading tons of people about what happened, who was involved, and about Balto himself.

I could go on...and yet, in spite of these things, I happen to realize that it is still a cartoon...a children's cartoon. It's an entertaining and dramatic story, which is often touching. And the main protagonist, Balto, is a very sympathetic, heroic and pleasant character. I enjoy all of that. I just hate that it is still painting such a horribly inaccurate picture of the real events of that time and place...and that so many people still believe it to be an accurate representation in spite of the other resources which exist today (and are forthcoming) that set the record straight.

Not much really. I mean, I did address the wolf thing...especially the use of the wolf spirit. And the notion that one team could make that incredible distance against such odds.

But really, as I mentioned, I have no real problem with the fictional story itself. It is not a bad story when considered just as a neat little dramatic story about a wolf dog who had a series of adventures in the midst of a sickness which struck a town called Nome in Alaska.

Now, had they included characters doing songs, I would have liked the movie a lot less. I HATE, HATE, HAAAATE that very annoying trend, in modern cartoons and cartoon movies, of turning them into musicals. I hate ALL the songs in Balto 2 and 3 (except the Native American chant used as background transitional music in Balto 2). They do not really move the stories forward, and are sappy and ridiculous. No classic cartoons or cartoon movies (predating a certain point in the 80s, if memory serves) were reduced to musicals. Any music in them were part of the soundtrack or incidental background.

But, when taken in context to what the cartoon purports to represent, it is a terrible affront to what really happened all those years ago back in Alaska...and to all those who suffered and died (human and canine).

I cannot stand characters singing either. It was the chief element that killed balto 2 for me, way back in '02 when I first saw it at 7 years old. If Balto 1 had contained such an element, it's rather safe to say I wouldn't have become a fan. However, why would the movie mislead anyone? It's strikingly obvious how inaccurate it is. The run is far to downplayed, like I said, represented only by montage. While the fictional elements don't bother me to much, as it is a cartoon, that I'll representation does. It seems to me that essentially what they did was have Steele take the place of the teams through the end of Togo's run, and Balto's takeover represent Balto's team's takeover in the relay. Thus, they didn't nessisarily claim balto as having traveled a greater distance then he did, but the others were completely unrepresented. Steele's trip could easily have been replaced with the other, real teams, which would have added a great deal of validity to the story, even if it's fiction was retained, as it probably should considering it's a cartoon and not a documentary.

Need I quote to you from various guestbook comments and e-mails I have received from curious people wanting to know more about the real Balto? These are a recent sampling (and believe me, they appear as-is, unaltered from what was sent to me or posted...only the first is an e-mail...the rest are posted guestbook comments you can see on my website, in case you wish to see for yourself, which is clickable at the bottom of my posts here):

"Our girls love the movie 'Balto' and have watched the movie numerous times. We have been wondering, was Balto really part wolf as the movie depicts, or pure Siberian Husky?"

"My daughter, a fan of those terrible animated movies, insisted that they were the true stories because it said so in the credits. I knew better and groaned about this until the end of the cartoon.

Then we went to this website.

I knew most of the real story but found things here I never knew! Great research!!!!

As for my daughter... well, I will let her sum up her feelings:

Now I know the truth about these great dogs! Togo was the real hero! As was Leonard Seppala and the other men who made this incredible journey. Hey! All you kids out there, don't believe the line 'based on a true story ' in movies!!! The only true thing about Balto was that there was a dog named Balto!!! And they even messed that up by saying his mom was a wolf!!! STUPID MOVIE!!!!

Well, someday I can make her watch Fargo and explain why that isn't really true either!"

"Is Jenna Real???"

"After watching the animated movie of Balto with my daughter, I wanted to know what the 'true story' was that the movie was based on. This is a great site for factual information and satisfies the need to see the pictures of the legends. It expanded my knowledge and brought to life Togo and Fritz, as well as the efforts of many others in the serum run. Thank you for your efforts!"

"Thank You for the this wonderful site. My girls and I learned something today. Disney is fun but sadly we allow so much true history to be lost. May this site always be found and shared around the world. Thanks again for the time and effort you have put into this."


I understand the image you are trying to convey, but the idea is flawed, inasmuch as it is still only one team covering that immense distance. Two lead dogs for sure. But only one team. The same problem, therefore, remains.


Please don't misinterpret this, as it is not directed at you specifically (and not meant in a dismissive or condescending way), but I perpetually wonder at those who defend the use of dramatic license by Hollywood with the qualifier "it's not a documentary" (or, alternatively, "if you want historical accuracy, go watch a documentary", etc.). There is no reason why a movie or cartoon movie cannot be truer to history than is often done by Hollywood. There are several examples of films which do so...including Tora! Tora! Tora! [click], Thirteen Days [click], Zulu Dawn [click], The Crossing [click], Ed Cid [click], and Apocalypto [click]. Now, none of them are PERFECT, but they are far better demonstrations of a desire to stick to historical accuracy (as much as possible) than most of Hollywood's "historical" films.