Balto (film) - Plot

Plot

While searching for a memorial in Central Park, an old woman (Miriam Margoyles) begins to tell her granddaughter (Lola Bates-Campbell) a story. In 1925, Balto is a wolf-dog hybrid, shunned by both humans and dogs in the town of Nome. He is a rugged spirit, adventurer of his social domain; a rebel soul, no one to turn to but himself. His only friends are Boris, a Russian goose, and Muk and Luk, two polar bears. Balto and Boris live on a grounded boat outside Nome, while Muk and Luk are occasional visitors.

One day, a dogsled race is being held. One of the teams is led by Steele, a proud and fierce Siberian Husky. Balto and Boris are in Nome to watch the finish. While waiting for the teams to arrive, Balto sees a young girl named Rosy and her pet, a female husky dog named Jenna. He is immediately smitten by Jenna, and when Rosy loses her hat to the wind, Balto outruns the sled team and retrieves the hat to show off. However, when he brings the hat back to Rosy, Rosy's dad pulls his daughter away from Balto, believing that he may be dangerous. Balto and Boris dejectedly leave town, but not before being bullied by Steele and his companions, Nikki, Kaltag and Star.

The night after the race, Rosy and several other children fall ill. As Jenna worriedly watches through the hospital window, Balto appears and takes her to the underfloor area of the hospital, where they watch the doctor give the diagnosis — Rosy has diphtheria. Because many other children in the town have caught diphtheria, the doctor has run out of antitoxin. Jenna is sad and concerned and Balto thinks that he should have not taken her down there. Steele arrives and tries to charm Jenna with some food he stole from the butcher. Jenna makes Steele burn his tail on a heater, but, as the butcher and Rosy's dad appear, Steele frames Balto for the theft of the stolen meat, resulting in him being chased away by Rosy's dad. Meanwhile, an urgent request for diphtheria antitoxin is transmitted via telegram, but sea and air routes fail and the closest rail line only goes to Nenana.

It is decided that a sled team will cover the last stretch. A race is held to determine the team members. Balto enters, and single handedly wins despite the other dogs cheating and trying to ruin it for him. However, he is disqualified when Steele steps on his paw, forcing him to bare his teeth at the musher, who then classifies him as dangerous. That night, the team, led by Steele, sets out to Nenana and picks up the medicine; however, they get lost on the way back and are led by a disoriented Steele down a steep hill, knocking out the musher. The team now has no way home.

The news reaches Nome. Balto decides to set out on a rescue mission, accompanied by Boris, Muk, and Luk. On the way, they are attacked by a large grizzly bear. With Jenna's unexpected help who followed their tracks they escape, but Jenna gets injured, and Balto orders Boris and the bears to take her home. Jenna gives Balto her bandanna as a good luck charm. Before leaving, Boris gives Balto some advice ("A dog cannot make this journey alone... but, maybe, a wolf can.") to which Balto shrugs off.

Balto finds the team and offers to help them get home. Steele has gone insane and is filled with so much hatred that Balto is unable to calm him and they fight. Steele slams Balto's head on a rock knocking him out. Steele thinks he killed Balto, but star sees Balto is alive and Steele can't believe his eyes. Then Steele grabs Jenna's bandanna and pulls until he falls off a cliff. With Steele gone, Balto is chosen as the new leader of the sled dog team. Miraculously, Steele is uninjured from his fall and manages to climb back up the cliff. He sets off for Nome, creating false trail markings to throw Balto off course. Balto becomes confused by the markings and inadvertently leads the team to another cliff. The crate of antitoxin tumbles from the sled and nearly off the cliff. Balto catches it, but the ground gives way underneath him, dropping both dog and crate into the abyss.

Meanwhile, Steele returns to Nome, telling Jenna and the other dogs that he survived an accident that killed Balto and the rest of the sled dog team. Steele tries to validate his story by giving Jenna her bandanna back and tells her that Balto made him promise to take care of her. Jenna does not believe Steele and leaves. Later, Jenna creates a beacon using glass shards and a lantern to shine a light pattern, a trick Balto showed her earlier.

Balto wakes up at the bottom of the cliff, believing that he has failed. A large white wolf appears to him and he turns away in shame. However, as the wolf walks away, Balto notices the intact crate nearby. He realises that Boris' advice meant that being part wolf is a strength, not a weakness, and embraces that heritage with a howl, joined by the white wolf. Afterward, Balto manages to drag the crate back up the cliff to the waiting team. They are quickly on their way again, Balto using his sense of smell to figure out which trail marks are his and which are Steele's.

After overcoming three near-catastrophes, Balto makes it back to Nome in time to save the children, guided by Jenna's aurora beacon. Steele is revealed to be a liar and is deserted by the other dogs in anger. Boris, Muk, Luk, and Jenna (all of whom thought Balto was lost) are overjoyed, and the whole town which once shunned Balto gives him a hero's welcome. Balto and Jenna finally express their love for each other.

Back in the present, the old woman and the girl read the statue's plaque lauding the courage and fidelity of the sled dogs that prevented the tragedy in Nome. After the woman explains that the trek is now honored with the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that uses the same route the dog team relay took, the girl runs off playing sled dog with her own dog. Alone for a minute, the woman, who is revealed to actually be Rosy, thanks Balto for saving her life.