Get ready for an action-packed, dog-filled adventure! Disney+ just released the official trailer for Togo, starring Willem Dafoe, and if puppies are your weakness, we advise you do your absolute best to hold it together.
Per the trailer’s description, Togo is the “untold true story” of sled dog breeder Leonhard Seppala’s dangerous trek through the tundra with his lead sled dog. Julianne Nicholson stars alongside Dafoe in the film, which is set in the winter of 1925. And if you think this is merely a story about a dangerous adventure through less than ideal weather conditions, think again. Togo is about “strength, courage, determination,” and perhaps above all, friendship.
“My business is dogs,” Seppala says, insinuating that driving a dog sled is nothing more than a job. “He’s undersized, he’s trouble, he’s untrainable,” he says of Togo — a puppy who, in his eyes, appears to be more trouble than he’s worth. But Seppala soon realizes that he’s underestimated the mischievous pup, as Togo later outruns all the other sled dogs. What sets him apart? According to Nicholson’s character, it’s that he has “the heart of a survivor.”
As the trailer goes on, Seppala’s relationship with Togo continues to grow into an unbreakable bond. “He outran every single one of ’em,” Seppala said. “He’s not a sled dog; he’s a lead dog.” Unfortunately (and as all dog owners know), dogs get older. And at 12 years old, many doubted whether Togo would be able to survive one final trek. “Got one more in ya, pup?” Seppala asks before they embark on one last adventure together.
Inevitably, Seppala and Togo go on to face some frightening challenges along the way, but the fact that they face them together is what makes this trailer so incredibly heartwarming. Toward the end, Seppala realizes that Togo’s loyalty isn’t to his job as lead sled dog, but to Seppala himself. He said it best: “I always thought he lived for the sled, when all along, what he lived for was me.”
Togo officially hits Disney+ on December 20, so grab the popcorn. Oh, and the tissues, too!
