Wolfdog: There's really no proof to support (the author failed to provide a link) that Lip-Lip was the inspiration for Niju. Unless there's a confirmation on a reputable source, then I personally wouldn't believe it. Anyone can make a claim and say that it's true.

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"First, let's understand with buddies of wolf Niju. I do not know, how you, but they don't look like wolves. They look like a mongrel, or as coyotes (or dog-coyote crossbreed). And they are direct rip-off trio from the first film: Sumac is Star, Yak is Kaltag, Nuk is Nikki."

Balto II was a low budget film, so you can't really expect the quality of the artwork to be the greatest. As for the trio being "rip-offs," I disagree. Not only is not uncommon for films to have trios, the production team may have been inspired by the first film.

"The one I think, that Steele is very much like the wolf (make him a "wolfish" markings and remove the collar - here's a natural wolf)?"

Assuming that you know what wolves look like, a wolf would never have these types of markings. This is only a domesticated dog trait. I also wouldn't go as far to say that Steele is the "prototype (I'm not even sure that's the right word to use here)" of Niju. While it's not out of the question that other films and people inspire designs for other characters, I would say it's just a coincidence if there's no solid proof.

"Actually, now I come to Niju. Everyone says that he is an exact Steele's clone . That's it. But only half. Many rightly call it a "pale copy" of the original film's villain. Is that the color of the other, and the character is not worked."

Niju isn't a clone of Steele... Much like it has been said, and even confirmed, Dusty is not a clone of Aleu. If you look closely and study both Steele and Niju, you will see how they differ in design.

i have seen the 1996 cartoon and it is one of my favorite white fang film adaptions. and i must say that lip lip and niju have simalrites. i am surprised it was used as a reference here, because it is not vry well know.

Well, appearance-wise I'd say Lip-Lip is a much more likely candidate than Steele. I never really understood people who argued that Niju was based on Steele any more than I understood people who thought Dusty was Aleu.