Togo True Story What The Disney Movie Changed & Got Right

Togo True Story: What The Disney+ Movie Changed & Got Right

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The Disney+ original movie Togo is based on the remarkably untold true story about the 1925 serum run, but how much of the film is accurate?

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Togo True Story What The Disney Movie Changed & Got Right

Togo tells the remarkable true story about the real canine hero behind 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska – but how much of the Disney+ original movie is actually true, and how much of it was fabricated or exaggerated for the big screen? Directed by cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Ericson Core, whose other credits include the 2015 Point Break remake and the Philadelphia Eagles inspirational drama Invincible, the film stars Willem Dafoe as real-life dog sled musher Leonhard Seppala and follows his pooch team as they embark on the bulk of the heroic rescue mission.

Following an outbreak of diphtheria in the isolated town of Nome, local officials elected Seppala to lead the charge for gathering antitoxins and returning them to Alaska. The journey in itself would require Seppala complete a 600 mile roundtrip on his own, an unbelievably demanding task, given that his lead dog, Togo, was 12 years old. In the end, a relay system was implemented to help ease the effects of the journey on Seppala’s team, and a grand argument Togo makes is that Balto, the dog who has been celebrated as the hero of the serum run for nearly a century, and his fame were nothing more than a result of luck and good fortune.

With that said, another grand part of the film is dedicated to Seppala’s roller coaster relationship with the titular pup. In this way, Togo is a surprisingly sweet and spiritual film about two partners nearing the end of their life journey together. Here’s the true story behind all the elements of Togo – before, during, and after the 1925 serum run – and how much of the Disney+ movie was fictionalized.

Togo As A Puppy

Togo True Story What The Disney Movie Changed & Got Right

As depicted in Disney+’s Togo, the titular pooch had a very sickly youth and required the excessive care and attention of Seppala’s wife Constance (portrayed by Julianne Nicholson). As a professional dog breeder and racer, Seppala’s relationship with the dogs he worked with was exactly that: strictly professional. That being said, the rather small dog, on top of being constantly sick and having an infamous string of bad behavior as a young puppy, was more of a nuisance than anything else. So, in order to better the herd of dogs he was developing for competition, it is true that Seppala gave Togo away to a neighbor when the puppy was six months old.

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Remarkably, the second part of this plot line was also true. Seemingly fed up with the domestic lifestyle after only a few weeks, the titular pooch escaped his new home and ran several miles back to Seppala’s kennel. And not only did Togo escape, but, as was seen in the film, he jumped through a closed glass window to get back to his original owner. This insane level of dedication helped contribute to the dog’s name, which was based on the Japanese admiral and naval hero Tōgō Heihachirō, as well as his place at the forefront of Seppala’s team.

Once there, Togo led his musher’s team to victory at the All Alaska Sweepstakes during Seppala’s second attempt in 1915; beating the second place and experienced racer Scotty Allan by two hours. This first victory is depicted in Togo as a flashback, but Seppala also won the All Alaska Sweepstakes the two following years in 1916 and 1917.

The 1925 Serum Run

Togo True Story What The Disney Movie Changed & Got Right

The situation driving Disney+’s Togo – the 1925 serum run – was as dire as it was depicted in the film. In the winter of 1924-1925, a diphtheria epidemic was threatening Nome; the town’s only doctor, Curtis Welch (portrayed by Game of Thrones’ Richard Dormer), finally diagnosed the cause of four children’s deaths as such and quickly alleviated the town’s only available antitoxins – which themselves were expired and thus ineffective. Welch immediately ordered more antitoxin from the health commissioner in Juneau, but the port had closed for the winter before the shipment arrived. Afraid that the disease would affect the 3000 natives in the surrounding area, he sent telegrams to the other major Alaskan towns (in the film, it was Christopher Heyerdahl’s character Mayor George Maynard who did this) and to the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington D.C. asking for help.

Even with a quarantine in place, more than 20 people had been diagnosed with the disease and many more were at risk. Unfortunately, flying was a relatively new technology at the time, and postal flight during a brutal winter season had hardly been tested. So the decision was quickly made by the town’s leaders to elect Seppala, the Norwegian immigrant and sled dog driver, to lead the solo expedition to gather and bring back antitoxins to Nome.

As portrayed in the Disney+ film, the weather was no friendly factor to the mission. Throughout the trip, the temperature was approximately −30 °F with gale force winds making it feel like −85 °F. However, Togo and Seppala’s team didn’t have to endure the brutal conditions by themselves. By the time the antitoxins had made their way to the Nome, nearly 20 sled dog teams, compromised of more than 100 dogs, had done their part in delivering the medicine the 674 mile distance between Nenana, Alaska and Nome. That being said, Togo led the charge on the majority of the trip; he and Seppala’s dog sled team, as the film’s final cards say, ran over 250 miles.

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Togo also took charge of some of the most dangerous portions of the trip. Watching Togo, it’d be easy to chalk up some of the more intense or dramatic sequences during the serum run as Hollywood’s attempt to amplify the excitement of the story. But that’s not true. In real life, after crossing the rapidly breaking Norton Sound, Togo leapt to the shore by himself and almost single-handedly pulled the sled ashore. Again, this actually happened.

But once Seppala and his team had leaped over that last substantial hurdle and climbed the 5,000 feet across Little McKinley Mountain, they completed their leg of the journey. From there, Seppala handed off the 300,240 units of serum to Charlie Olson’s team who, in turn, handed it off to Gunnar Kaasen, who completed the final stretch of the journey with Balto leading the team.

What Happened Afterwards

As seen in Togo, Balto was the dog who got the vast majority of the credit for the serum run instead of Seppala’s lead pup. That same year, Balto was given a commemorative statue in Central Park, and over half a century later, was also given his own tributary animated film.

Though Togo’s more-than-earned fame was largely swept under the rug, Seppala, Togo, and a team of dogs went on a victory tour in continental United States, making various stops in Seattle, California and New York City. They were also featured in a Lucky Stripes cigarette ad campaign as well as on a chewing gum collector card.

Unfortunately, while Disney+’s Togo ends on the happy note, with the dog and the musher living out the rest of their days together, this is one of the few things the movie gets wrong. In real life, Seppala and his wife gave Togo away to fellow sled dog musher Elizabeth Ricker, who lived in Maine.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/togo-movie-disney-plus-true-story-changes-right-wrong/

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