My friends insisted that I watch "Balto", a touching film about an ostracized half-dog-half-wolf-full-hero who--with the help of his trusty sidekick Boris the goose--exhibits selfless kindness to all creatures (including polar bears), harnesses his inner-wolf heritage as a means to lead his dog sled team back to safety, overcomes society's preconceived notions of his self-worth (even when they accused him of being a worthless and wild wolf), rises to his true potential as a phenomenal sled runner, rescues a small town from a diphtheria outbreak, and woos the foxiest dog in Nome, Alaska.
After watching the film, I felt totally pumped up. Man. I was going to resist peer pressure, I was going to find true love, and I most certainly was going to befriend polar bears (who according to the film are notorious for having speech impediments and low IQs). After such a life-changing experience with this animated children's film, I was only too pleased to learn that the movie was based on a TRUE story!
I eagerly hopped onto Wikipedia to learn the truth of Balto. He indeed led a dog sled team to carry the diptheria toxin to Nome, Alaska--but was one of 22 teams. He did save those sweet children from a diptheria outbreak--but did so along with the help of countless other dogs and sled drivers. He overcame peer pr--well, no. He actually didn't really do that. He befriended geese and polar bears--well technically, no he didn't do that, either. He accepted his wolf heritage--okay, again, no. He didn't actually have a drop of wolf in him.
Needless to say, I was a little bummed. I guess media has the ability to use the term "based on a true story" loosely.
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