Cartoon canines sled through a storyline brimming with conflict and action that should grip the attention of youngsters. Balto (voice of Maurice La Marche) and Jenna (Jodi Benson) live on Alaska's remote and snow-capped White Mountain with their pride and joy, son Kodi (Sean Astin). Through rain, snow, and sleet, Kodi
leads the dog pack on the mail-delivery sled. But change is in the Alaskan air after a pilot named Duke (Keith Carradine) offers the isolated community his services: Air transport could make "mushing" obsolete. Balto would love to sail above the clouds, but Kodi and his pack scoff at Duke's claims. Meanwhile, Balto's bird-brained pal, Boris (Charles Fleischer), meets sexy Stella (Jean Smart), who makes his wings quiver; unfortunately, Boris suffers from acrophobia, and fine-feathered chicks don't dig earthbound birds. While Boris
stalls Stella, the town fathers propose a race between the aeroplane and the dog-sled. Thinking logically about the outcome, Balto chooses not to participate. When Duke's plane crashes, Kodi and his team-mates sneer victoriously but Balto takes the high ground asks the dogs to help form a rescue party to locate Duke. Stella and two polar bears pitch in, but Kodi’s crew refuse to give aid and comfort to the enemy. To everyone's surprise, Boris
has stowed away aboard Duke’s plane and inadvertently gotten the thrill ride of a lifetime. Before the rescuers locate the crash site, Stella ponders how to berate Boris for his skittishness while Kodi reconsiders his harsh stance and comes around to Balto's compassionate viewpoint. Once the sled-team saves Duke, Balto sagely figures out a plan that could keep both man and dogs employed.
Among the many noisy, vulgar pictures that crowd the kiddie-toon landscape, the Balto franchise remains notable for its edifying, educational underpinnings — witness this film's central plot about the progress of the postal system. That said, the double entendre-laden subplot about lovebirds is too silly for adults and too icky for tykes. --Robert Pardi
