Togo

Great story and a true story to commemorate the real hero dog Togo. I wonder if they will change the statue in New York to reflect the dog that saved the day. Well worth watching

I admit it, I'm a sentimentalist. I cried like a baby at my own wedding while my wife looked on in bemusement. I weep at favourite songs or pieces of music and shed tears freely at emotionally charged movies. It was my wife's brother who recommended we watch this movie during lockdown and I really should have read the signs. First off it's a Disney movie, secondly it's about a brave dog ...and right from these two facts, I knew I was going to struggle to get through it dry-eyed.

And so it proved. With films like this, for me anyway, critical faculties are suspended and you just want it all to end happily so that you don't have to hide your feelings anymore. I do know that Willem Dafoe and Julianne Nicholson were excellent in their parts as the slightly mismatched couple who set up home in the remote, frozen, northernmost part of America. He's the local "mush-man" responsible for trekking his team of husky dogs over unforgiving terrain for the benefit of the local community while she provides all the back-up back home he needs for them both to keep their operation going.

Comes a catastrophic diphtheria outbreak to the town, especially targeting young children and the need to requisition urgent medical supplies from some 500 miles or so away, but with an impending spell of bad weather knocking out the possible use of aeroplane or rail transport, the only way to go get the job done is for Dafoe and his dogs to undertake a hazardous cross-country trek like no other to collect the vaccines and get them to the hospital to help save the kids' lives.

With a storyline given added topicality and piquancy by the devastating current Covid-19 virus outbreak, this was a thrilling and moving race against time, taking on the elements and indeed the odds, the effort spearheaded by crusty old Dafoe and his pack, especially Togo the pack-leading dog. Early on we're fed the back story of how Togo came into the couple's possession and how the dog's irrepressible desire to accompany Dafoe on his travels sees him twice unsuccessfully try to offload the dog to new owners, only for Togo to somehow find a way to break free and return back home from whence he came, Finally Dafoe is persuaded by the dog's errr... doggedness, to reluctantly road-test the apparently under-sized dog and eventually concede that its courage and stamina outweigh any physical disadvantages it may have.

We see the pack endure unbelievable dangers in their epic mission, Togo literally pulling out all the stops to navigate the team over breaking ice-floes, slog up snow-bound foot-hills and even save the group from certain doom near the end, in a particularly amazing show of love, strength and fortitude by the dog.

It's a Disney film so there's probably a fair bit of dramatic licence taken with the story but you'll have a good idea how it ends. The landscapes, making great use of drone shots on-high are frequently eye-catching and there was a plaintive lonesome-violin soundtrack which further set the scene. I don't know how much of the cinematography was C-Gen assisted but the actions of the dogs and Togo in particular, looked natural to me.

Anyway I got through to the end with some dust in my eyes and immediately afterwards felt the need to hug our own dog of over ten years in sympathy and appreciation for what I'd just seen.

This one's for you, Flip.

So let me guess if you have ever been a pet owner, I'm sorry, a dog owner and watch this movie you will probably cry like in every 10 minutes, maybe five

Togo is the first win for Disney+ (in terms of movies) Togo is a legitimately great film and such a surprise. It is filled with a lot of heart and backed up by a great performance from Dafoe.

Willem Dafoe is really great here. Delivering one of his better movies. His relationship with the dogs is done in such a really nice and heartfelt way. That's what makes it better than most dog films. It's a really enjoyable film and by the end it is really touching. That's thanks to them using a brilliant music choice of "in the nature of daylight" as well as the bond and development you get between the Dafoe and Togo.

I don't really have any major flaws with it. I think it's a great story especially for not being familiar with the true story. The visual effects aren't always top notch but that's understandable due to being a disney original and a not a cinema film.

Overall it's a really solid film, and genuinely the best dog film, we might have ever had, it might not be overly sad but it has heart and thats more than I can ask for coming from a dog film.

This is the first time that I think Walt Disney Picture did a great job on this amazing movie. A movie that deserves to be called "Mission Impossible!" Willem Dafoe and Julianne Nicholson both are great. The screenplay writer Tom Flynn gave us a straightforward plot, simple but amazing scenario that has made this movie so suspenseful, thrilling, at the same time, profound. Director Ericson Core also won my praise wholeheartedly. The special effects team did a wonder too, many scenes I just couldn't believe possible to make, but they just looked so real and so powerful. The crossing lake scenes are just ridiculously fascinating. The leading dog's performance is just beyond any word could describe, and the poppy that played Togo's younger age would allow you to understand what "cute" really means. Willem Dafoe, what a great actor! Julianne Nicholson, her natural talent completely shinning through the whole movie. Every part of this movie is a fulfilled perfection, it also owes to the great casting job, through the lens of the camera, offering you great cinematography, followed by a perfect editing job....The almost impossible mission, the dogs, the great couple and the great town people...all together, have made this movie THE VERY BEST MOVIE at the year end of 2019.

Highly recommended!