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I believe Aniu was white before she became a spirit. I know it makes no sense when it comes to genetics, but when Balto described her in the second movie, he said he recalled his mother being 'as white as snow'. So...

Makes perfect sense to me, Ac. I doubt that the original Balto staff intended to make the White Wolf Balto's mother--or any other relative, really--but the Balto 2 staff thought it would be a good idea, so they took the character and expanded it a little.

Like I said, though, I've personally thought they were the same character the whole time. Then again, I saw Wolf Quest before I saw the original Balto, so the first time I actually saw the white wolf scene my first thought was "Oh my gosh, it's Aniu!"

It's really a matter of fan interpretation. -nodnod-




It makes plenty of sense genetically. Like I mentioned in my first post, just because the mother is white does not at all mean that the offspring have to be white or partially-white, as well. It's a tad more complicated than that. XD

Oh yes I noticed a few links that they shoe-horned into the movie to try and connect although I have only watched the film about 3 times so I have managed to wipe as much of it from my memory as possible lol. In fairness to them, the "Fragile" box was a nice touch.

I laughed at the "Big lipped alligator moment" (BLAM) thing - I had forgotten about that part of ADGTH. I wouldn't class the white wolf scene as being a BLAM simply because it was such an important part of the lead character's development. Balto is literally reborn out of the snow from having had a near death experience. He looks up to see the very side of his being that he has been hiding/running from his whole life. Instead of rejecting it he (eventually) embraces it for the first time which gives him the strength to continual when all hope seems lost.

Bearing in mind the very beauty of the whole scene along with one of the best tracks from the whole musical score IMO makes it one of the most wonderful, powerful and memorable scenes of the movie for the all right reasons. It does leave some open ended questions such as "why didn't the medicine break", "how did Balto survive?" (assumed to do with his wolf side being much stronger than a dog when considering Boris' advice) and "who/what was the white wolf?", none of which need to be answered because Balto fans shouldn't need it spelt out to them - it much more fun to discuss "what if" anyway. For the latter, given that Balto some how managed to survive such a fall, the whitewolf could simply have been a concussion/shock induced hallucination which would give it a spirit like appearance assuming that we were seeing what Balto could see. Given the situation Balto may well have pictured his mother in his head for comfort... something that humans do at times of shock. Whichever way you want to view it, the original production crew intended the wolf to represent his mother's, i.e. his wolf side but did not intend for it to actually be his mother. Had they taken that option, and made it more obvious for people who need it to be spoon fed information, then it would definitely be a BLAM.

We assume his mother to be the wolf mostly because of Steele's taunting however do we know for sure? If you wanted to insult someone's heritage would you make fun at their mother or father? IMO it is similar to the "your mama is so fat..." type jokes.

The fact that Wolf Quest felt that it needed to explain the white wolf makes a complete mockery of the original movie. Sadly the whole of WQ failed to deliver what the original studio depicted in just 2 minutes of near silent story telling. If they wanted to connect it they should have shown an obvious development of Balto having embraced his wolf side and seeing where it has taken him. IMHO The title "Wolf Quest" should have been about exactly that and I think that they missed the boat... but then there are plenty of things that I would have changed... speaking of that singing mouse would definitely qualify as a BLAM

I think I have gone a little deep here and perhaps off topic... No offense to anyone who likes the sequel, I don't think less of you for doing so but in conclusion to me Wolf Quest, like the very beginning of the movie, was just a bad dream and it never really happened... that is my story and I'm sticking to it!

Aaah, sorry for taking so long to reply here! Thanks for all the replies guys xD Now I'll get down to responses..


Oh gosh Natti, you just kicked my behind with that reply and picture xD It does come down to genetics, you're completely right. I just assumed with dogs, the puppies would always have attributes from both parents. But Balto's a wolf-dog, so it'd make sense why he was a completely different colour. I just wish they didn't use the original White Wolf for a plot point in the second movie xD


Well, sorry but I'd prefer to go with the original director's opinion, since the White Wolf is his creation xD It was never intended to be his mother until the second movie -- if it's even the same wolf, which I'm sure it's supposed to be. The original one is based off an Inuit legend of a white wolf helping lost travellers when they get lost in heavy snowstorms, and I much prefer that idea myself as it's much more interesting.


You are welcome, my lovely! And I agree with you there xD And Phil directed both WQ and WoC, yes. It's not even the fact that they look different which is what sways me (even though it does help xD) I just don't like the idea, and would rather go with the views of the original director. The White Wolf was more of a spirit than anything to me as well, especially considering that Inuit legend I just mentioned. To me, it was merely a genderless spiritual guide, helping out a lost traveller while helping him understand his true potential. And I think that's wonderful. I agree with everything you said, as usual xD


I'm going to respond to this ignorant statement with a previous post...

Thank you, Colbie. 8D

Plus what Ac said xD Aniu was supposed to be the White Wolf, but the White Wolf wasn't supposed to be Aniu, or have any relation to Balto whatsoever.


See I almost totally forgot about this line.. so this is another post which kicked this topic's arse xDD You are completely right, and I apologise for my ignorance and my embarrassingly awful memory. She WAS white before she was a spirit, and Balto confirmed this himself. You and Natti's posts combined makes me look like an idiot, but I appreciate them at least, as well as the attention this topic has gotten xD Plus we are having some interesting conversations here. So, thanks. lol


You hit the nail right on the head, Ac. And I liked the BLAM reference. xD

It definitely wasn't a BLAM in Balto. If anything, it was the most important and pivotal moment in the whole movie, when Balto rose from defeat and took the part of himself that was previously a hindrance and turned it into an advantage. He accepted the worst part of himself (in his eyes) and was able to carry on. I have the musical score on my iPod, and I love listening to it.. it's such an amazingly powerful score. A few things about it DO bother me though, like those very questions you asked -- how DID he survive such a fall, and how did the supposedly "fragile" box of medicine not shatter and destroy the precious cargo? I mean, it doesn't make much sense, no matter how whimsical the scene is supposed to be xD How did he even climb back up that mountain -- it looked pretty much completely steep and vertical beforehand -- while carrying the heavy box in his mouth? But eh, questions aside, it's still a great scene. I just wish there was a bit more logic put into it is all. And the concussion idea's interesting as well, and would certainly make sense... although the image of Balto suddenly looking up at and howling at nothing for supposedly no reason is a rather amusing image xD So yes, the White Wolf was indeed supposed to represent his wolf side as well as offer a nod towards the legend, but it was never intended to actually be his mother.

And yeah, it was Steele's taunting which kind of gave away which parent was his wolf. We don't know how Steele knows this (some backstory would've been nice..) but like you said, do we REALLY know this for sure? How does Steele know so much about Balto's past? Considering Balto's reaction though, I assume it really was his mother Steele was insulting, because it obviously hit a nerve. If Steele'd been wrong, maybe it wouldn't have caused him to become so angered? I dunno, maybe we're just thinking too much into this. xD

Yes, again, I agree with you. I really think it should've also focused on Balto's heritage as opposed to just being focused on Aleu (gag), because I think it would've made for much more interesting character development as well as learning more about Balto, rather than just assigning him to the annoying typical over-protective sequel dad. Moment of silence for poor Jenna. It had such a cool concept to it, but they somehow managed to make it so poor, lazy-looking and.. well, boring. It's like they didn't even give a crap. Why even make a sequel on such a tiny budget? I don't understand the logic there xD But again, you're absolutely right. I'll stick to your story as well xD