Walt Disney Studios has released a trailer for Togo, a film based on the untold true story about a man and his dog who made an impossible run to save the lives of countless people, ahead of its release on Disney+ later this month.
- Togo will star Willem Dafoe as Leonhard Seppala, a dogsled trainer who joined the serum run in the winter of 1925, when the first signs of a potential diphtheria epidemic appeared in Nome.
- Seppala chose Togo, a smaller, older Siberian husky, to lead his team for the run.
- The true story features the heroic canine and dogsled trainer putting their trust in each other to save countless people.
- The film will be directed by Ericson Core whose credits include Invincible and the Point Break remake.
- Tom Flynn wrote the script which is being produced by Kim Zubick.
- Jessica Virtue and Louie Provost are overseeing Togo.
- Togo will begin streaming on December 20 on Disney+.
What they’re saying:
- Willem Dafoe: “It’s a beautiful story of an underdog (no pun intended) and how we can learn from adversity. They will see beautiful nature, a world past, with touching relationships between the characters in a suspenseful adventure story.”
About the Nome Serum Run:
- In 1925 the city of Nome, Alaska was experiencing an outbreak of diphtheria and was in desperate need of serum to prevent a full on epidemic. Sled drivers and their dogs raced nearly 700 miles in freezing temperatures and harsh weather conditions to deliver the life saving serum. Many people are familiar with the story of Gunnar Kassen and his lead dog Balto who ran the final leg of the race and succeeded in bringing the medicine to Nome. Togo and Seppala ran the second to last leg of the journey—also the longest—and faced some of the greatest challenges including gale force winds and temperatures 30° below zero.