Balto opened 30 years ago this month (I had reserved the header on the right date, but I went to the hospital that day, so blech). It was the last movie from Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation, an animation studio created after previous collaborator Don Bluth decided to part ways with him. Of the three films they released, only An American Tail: Fievel Goes West made money, with 1993’s We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story tanking so badly that it caused for the production budget of Balto to be slashed. After Balto failed to do much better, Amblination closed its doors for good in 1997, resulting in the cancellation of an animated adaptation of the Broadway musical Cats, something which had been a passion project for Spielberg (and probably would’ve, you know, been less weird than the film we eventually did get).

But Balto is still kind of a success story. Even though almost no one showed up for it in theaters (it only ever played at the downtown theater where I lived, and was there for just a week), the movie proved to be a huge success on cable. Repeated airings on The Disney Channel and strong home video sales made Balto a beloved childhood classic for many, including yours truly. Inspired by a true story (much has been made about how the real-life Balto wasn’t part-wolf, but you know what, he probably didn’t hang out with wacky polar bears voiced by Phil Collins either), it has excellent animation, superb direction (Simon West, one of four credited directors on We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story, would go on to helm The Prince of Egypt), and thrilling action. Also, this scene? I mean, even as a kid, I was like…well, DAMN!

Now Balto came out during a dark time for non-Disney animated movies financially. I’ve mentioned before that Anastasia truly was a game-changer in that it actually made money in that regard, but prior to that, there simply wasn’t much confidence in anything that didn’t open with the Cinderella’s Castle logo. As such, Balto barely had any marketing, but it did secure a fast food promotion at Hardee’s/Carl’s. Jr, and I had no idea these toys even existed as a kid. They all look pretty cool–as far as I’m aware, they’re some of the only merchandise the movie ever had–but I must take issue with how hyper-realistic they made the Boris toy. That’s not Boris! Boris is a Russian goose voiced by Bob Hoskins who eventually fell in love with “boob goose” in Balto III: The One With Boob Goose, so I have no fucking idea who this is supposed to be…

Unfortunately, unlike some of the other fast food premiums I’ve covered, these are pretty rare. Well, rare-ish. A full set in mint condition (or even just a handful of them) can set you back around $75 or more. Sheesh. Maybe when I actually have money I can splurge and add these to my collection, but in the meantime, I’ll just have to daydream about hyper-realistic not-Boris (sadly, “Boob Goose” never had any toys. This is why we can’t have nice things!).

Have a great night, y’all!