If Disney+ is carving out a niche of just “dog movies,” then we’re all in. Especially if one of those aforementioned dog movies stars Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, who by all accounts shouldn’t be slumming it in a made-for-streaming inspirational drama about a musher who braves 300-plus miles of the Arctic tundra with his beloved sled dog. And yet Togo is the kind of heartwarming family film from the Disney era of old that will reduce us to tears with only the trailer. Watch the Togo trailer below.
Togo Trailer
Willem Dafoe and an adorable dog? You don’t even need to ask us to watch Togo, Disney+’s newest original film coming to the streaming service this December. Dafoe stars in the true story as champion dogsled trainer Leonhard Seppala who, along with his trusty lead sled dog Togo, makes the famous 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska — an impossible 300 mile run through dangerous arctic blizzards that is the subject of this year’s The Great Alaskan Race. Directed by Ericson Core and written by Tom Flynn, Togo also stars Julianne Nicholson, Christopher Heyerdahl, Richard Dormer, Michael Greyeyes, Michael McElhatton, and Michael Gaston.
It seems like Disney is bringing back the sled dog movie, a genre that the House of Mouse had quite a history with, like with classics White Fang and, uh, Snow Dogs. It’s a movie that will see its comeback on the big screen as well, with Disney’s upcoming theatrical remake of The Call of the Wild.
Here’s the official synopsis for Togo:
When a deadly epidemic strikes the town of Nome, Alaska, and the only cure is more than 600 miles away, the town looks to champion dogsled trainer Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe) to help transport an antitoxin serum. Seppala turns to Togo, an unassuming, undersized and aging Siberian husky, to be his lead. His wife (Julianne Nicholson) has championed Togo since his days as a mischievous puppy who could dig himself out of any situation—literally and figuratively—and Seppala, having observed Togo’s loyalty and tenacious spirit, knows Togo offers his only chance of surviving this mission. Undaunted by the massive storm heading their way or his wife’s urging him not to go, Seppala and Togo set out on the deadliest leg of what becomes a larger relay involving multiple mushers and gale-force winds and a wind chill factor dipping to 70 degrees below zero with little to no visibility. It is a harrowing journey on which Togo saves Seppala from certain death, causing the veteran musher to grasp the depth and intensity of his feelings for his lead dog, even as he risks running him to his death. They complete the task in time with Togo going down in history as one of the greatest sled dogs ever, but it is this unbreakable bond between man and dog which is the ultimate prize—and which truly saves Seppala.
Togo premieres on Disney+ on December 20, 2019.
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