Review Summary: Dog-sled tale is genuine, but never quite takes off...
Out of the first three movies Disney+ has made, none have quite stood out thus far. The Lady and the Tramp remake was the best of the bunch, providing a fairly solid update of the 1955 classic. Meanwhile, Noelle was OK, but never quite could become a memorable classic like other Christmas movies could. Here, its' nice to see Disney continue to make true story-based films.
However, in terms of writing and execution, Togo doesn't offer enough unique and interesting moments to really stand out. And with almost every pivotal moment, I kept thinking of other movies that did it better. Even the animated Balto (which this movie is a different retelling of this same story) had some better-scripted moments.
However, technically, the movie definitely has its strong elements. Willem Dafoe is a strong choice to play Seppela, providing the sincerity and toughness needed for the part. Julianne Nicholson balances his tough side out with a sweet-natured character that has a heart for her husband and the pets. And director and cinematographer Ericson Core definitely impresses with his detailed and distance shots. There's a handful of perilous moments that are heightened by his camerawork, and successfully create the suspense needed.
Togo is actually strongest when the scenes are centered on the dog itself. It is pretty entertaining to watch the dog break out over and over and run after Seppella. They give the film some much-needed light-hearted and gently humorous moments. I only wish the film could have had more of this, as the rest of the film is too serious to really be memorable at the right places.
Like I mentioned earlier, its' the writing choices that bog this movie down. There's a lot of adult, sophisticated dialog (while keeping things PG-rated), all meant to try and make this more unique than it actually is. Truthfully, it only makes the film slower in its pacing. And it will also make some younger kids lost and maybe even bored.
TV series and Dolphin Tale composer Mark Isham is given the music score, and does OK mostly. However, there's a somewhat obvious imitation of the ending score of Arrival (of all movies) at the end of this movie, which to me was fairly annoying. I wish Isham would have gone in a different direction here, because the overall ending is as heartwarming as you would want it.
Ultimately, its' clear that Togo tries really hard to become a classic in its own right. But despite its undeniable and fairly pleasant sincerity, it does unfortunately trip on its own ambitions.
My Score: 6.2/10
Content Concerns for Family Viewing:
Rating: PG (for some peril, thematic elements, and mild language).
Language: One use each of "D***" and "h***". "Oh g** is used twice under one's breath. A dog is called "devil" and "Satan".
Adult Content: A few kisses. Seppella's wife jokes about having "many lovers" because of her husband being away.
Drugs/Alcohol: Whiskey is offered by Seppella's wife to a visitor, and she then says she'll have both coffee and whiskey (probably due to stress).
Violence: There are a few intense moments. Seppella and the dogs nearly fall into ice which cracks loudly around them. They also almost fall off a cliff and hang precipitously a few times. Togo himself limps around with a bandage a couple of times, while the character's paw is shown to be bleeding a couple of times too. As a puppy, Togo breaks out a glass window (cutting himself on the glass) and jumps from heights a couple of times. Seppella and the dogs fight through multiple raging snowstorms. A diptheria epidemic is said to be spreading through town, with several kids seen bedridden in a hospital as a result (a few of them coughing).
Other: Some bet on dog races. A newspaper changes Togo's story and unfairly places the whole event's responsibility on another racer and another dog (Balto).
