AlphaAle
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5 / 10

It Could've Been Much Worse, March 01, 2012

We all know the story of Balto, I'm sure, for those who haven't; he was a sled dog who became famous after the serum run, to many he's considered a hero. In fact, he became so popular a film was made about him. While the movie 'Balto' contained many differences from the true story, it has been hailed as an animated classic and has grown a large fanbase since its release. Not only was the story telling great but the animation at times was very impressive and the film's amazing soundtrack only added to the fact that 'Balto' was just a really, really good movie. The film became so successful that a sequel was made entitled 'Balto II Wolf Quest'.

This sequel bared no resemblance whatsoever to the true story of Balto, yet many fans of the film series adore it because of its central character, Aleu, the daughter of Balto and Jenna. While, I admit, she was an interesting addition to the story (and admittedly one of my favorite characters) she did have her faults. First, she tried running toward a hunter under the assumption that he would want to adopt her despite the fact that he was aiming his rifle right at her face. Even if she thought she'd get adopted, how much more naive could she get? One of her biggest faults was her over-reaction to discovering she carried wolf blood. Just what is so god awful about being part wolf that people would treat it like it's some kind of affliction? Balto was treated differently for being part wolf and even though he somewhat dreaded it, he didn't make a big fat deal out of it like Aleu did (for God's sake, she even ran away from home!). Not to mention her slightly annoying habit of correcting people's grammar, I'd really like to know which side of the family she got that from.

While Aleu's character seemed to get just a little bit better later on in the movie, the film's antagonist could've used some more character development. It was as though Niju only protested against Nava's idea of moving the clan just for the sake of disagreeing with everyone and stirring things up. Nava claims Niju is simply afraid of things changing but this is still no excuse. There's nothing left to eat yet he chooses to stay just because he thinks they own the land? He literally chooses to die from starvation over something that's a bit silly? Not only that but Nava tells Balto he plans to find Niju at the end of the film because they're still a clan. Clan or not, Niju had tried to kill him, how could Nava think of going after him when there's a chance he still wants him dead? And if Nava couldn't make the swim, why did he even try coming along? He knew very well he was aging, he even calls himself old yet he follows the clan only to turn right back around.

But that's not the only thing that makes this a somewhat poor sequel, Balto had earned the respect of all of Nome in the first film yet he claims that he is still teased for being half wolf. Why would this still be happening if he had become a hero? Is that how people and dogs in Nome treat heroes? They built a freaking statue of him but that doesn't matter just because he's half wolf? Also, in this sequel, Balto has become much more bold and talkative, not the shy character we know from the first film. Not only that but his and Jenna's designs have changed a lot since the first movie, both their colors are completely different and Jenna has been reduced to a shapeless character with no anatomy- not to mention she, unfortunately, played a very minor role in the film, just like Nala did in 'The Lion King II Simba's Pride'.

The movie had a very low budget and with low budget comes obscenely sloppy animation. Throughout the film, Balto's, Aleu's, and Nava's ears change color and when I say throughout the film I mean the entire film itself. The same happens to Niju, in few shots you can see his whiskers are missing (though I got to admit he looks better without them). In nearly every frame, various characters are drawn wonky to the point that they sometimes don't even look like themselves. This mainly includes goofy facial expressions, crooked muzzles, legs bent the wrong way, and overall malformed bodies. Some of the backgrounds make no sense either, while the scenery is lovely at times, it did become wonky as well, the best example being the scene where Aleu is swimming underwater and trying to go through a hole. While swimming towards it, it looks like a large hole big enough to fit through yet once she approaches it it spontaneously shrinks to the point that she has to squeeze through it.

Also, the first 'Balto' never had a single musical number yet this movie is filled with them. Why is it that sequels to non-musical films are always musicals? It's like what happened to 'The Land Before Time', only the songs in this sequel are a lot less annoying. However, I must admit, while the fact that it's a musical is a bit off, the Wolf Quest soundtrack is actually quite enjoyable and the music gives it a lovely touch of creativity. Some of the lyrics in 'The Grand Design' could've been written a lot better but it was still a good song, as was 'Who Are You?'.

I can understand the reason for including Alaskan mythology to make the plot more interesting. Most fans don't like the fact that Wolf Quest adds 'magic' to the story when the first 'Balto' had no such thing. I don't really mind it that much except that it's a lot different from the first movie. I find it odd, however, that they mention what each totem animal represents but they disclude the wolf (the path-finder) and the raven (the creator spirit). Muru is quite an interesting character because he isn't a totem animal so it's hard to figure out what his true purpose was aside from being Aleu's spirit guide.

This isn't the best sequel but it could've been much worse. I wouldn't call it absolutely awful just poor, I consider it an alright follow up to an awesome film. I feel that had they had a larger budget and more character and plot development it would've made a great sequel. While Balto II Wolf Quest had its faults, it turned out much better than Balto III Wings Of Change (which was pretty much an upgrade in animation but a downgrade in plot and character development). Overall, I give this film five stars out of ten.