The Northern Lights Are Not Made By Jenna

Scientists of NASAs Themis mission have found that the energy source of the famed Northern Lights, of Canada and Alaska, comes from a 'stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth's upper atmosphere to the sun,' Associated Press (..put it best.)
I'm just a little surprised to come across this discovery today because if I can remember the movie Balto correctly, they explain the Northern Lights as being exactly as what is described above. Right? And Balto was made in 1995. Or did I just make that all up?