Togo

Togo is a true story about the most heroic dog of all time who was involved in the 1925 serum relay during a diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska. Seppala (Willem Dafoe) is his owner; a musher who trains and runs sled dogs. An urgent cure is imminent as said disease is spreading like wildfire among the town's children, and sled-dogs is the only way to retrieve the vaccine from Nenana located six-hundred miles away! After much debate, our protagonist man and animal embark on this mission that requires them to cut through the most dangerous weather and terrain waiting to greet them!

For dog lovers, this movie is a damn straight punch to the gut. It's extremely sweet, heartwarming and touching! The relationship between Seppala and Togo is so well established! Seppala regards dogs as profession, not friends, family or children; a view his wife clearly do not see eye to eye with him and as a result, we get to see wonderful banters between them. Togo is and has always been a hyperactive troublemaker. No matter where or how Seppala locks him up, Togo always finds a way to join him and his pack of sled dogs that would eventually disturb the training and discipline. Togo digging multiple holes under fence and ascending wooden boards up to the chimney hole are the exceedingly cute instances of this! Seppala even tries to abandon Togo twice, to which the dog responds by consistently returning to him! Left with no choice, Seppala recruits Togo into his team, and much to his surprise, Togo runs faster than any of the pups and is appointed as the lead ever since!

Journey to retrieve the antitoxin is riddled with impossible challenges! Falling down a steep mountain slope plus crossing the frozen sea known as Sound back and forth produce high tension! Togo's old age is the constant oil the narrative adds to the fire, but it's a huge relief to know that Togo lived enough to become a father and died only many years later post his long, exhausting serum relay.

Since it is a Disney's production, the budget is more than sufficient and you could see the money well spent onscreen! Production design, be it the architecture and costumes for the era are accurate! Visual effects for the snowstorm, terrains, blizzard and the Sound are perfect! The director's camerawork is amazing, with the right lighting and colours that lend a dreamy glow to the overall picture quality. Also, he shows events onscreen accurately and vividly, and the example for that would be Togo's speed surpassing his running partners' that qualifies him to lead the pack! Not to forget, the film editing is seamless and the dialogues are superb too! But the most important aspect of all would be the filmmaker's choice to use real dogs and puppies instead of generating computer imagery, and that's where the soul of the feature lies! Everyone's performance is solid, particularly the dog who portrayed Togo and Willem Dafoe as the owner Seppala.