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It's been so reiterated that I hardly see the point in voicing my agreement, but... yeah, not a chance. I've even seen stories portraying them as brothers or half-brothers, and that was too improbable (especially since Steele had a pedigree, meaning that there was a recorded lineage in a book or register somewhere).

Them being brothers does seem impossible to do correctly, but the possibility of them being half brothers doesn't seem that far-fetched if done properly. For instance, Balto's father is a Husky and Steele is not part wolf. If they could be half brothers, then it would be pretty obvious that they would have the same dad (assuming that Steele is a Husky or part Husky). Since Steele is a pedigree, you would have solid documentation of who his parents are and what breed he is. But say his Husky father could have gotten into a secret affair with Aniu at the same time and no one knew about it, and they had pups together. If no one knew about it, then it would be pretty easy to get away with having them being half brothers. But that's just my idea on how it could work.

As for them being father and son, I would have to say no way. Steele hates wolves, so I think that would be a good enough reason for him to not want to mate with one. And people do say that they're about the same age. The problem with that is that there is no indication of how old either of them are. Heck, Steele could be a year or two older than Balto for all we know, so the "same age" argument wouldn't be a completely solid argument.

True, although if they had the same father one would have to ask why they looked so different, unless of course Steele took after his mother.

As for the hating wolves argument, if he were Balto's father then it's possible that A) he didn't realize Aniu was a wolf or, more likely, B) he grew to hate all wolves because of things going badly between him and Aniu somehow, or between him and her pack. Although I really doubt both scenarios. I'm just putting them out there for the sake of argument.

-nods- I agree with DT. Not to mention that Steele seems to be very proud and even snobby about his pedigree.

And just as another point, I don't think that dogs mating with wolves is quite as common as most people around here think it is. :/ Almost all of the dogs, in the first movie, at least, seem to have a mild prejudice against wolves, and even in the 2nd movie Balto mentions that he still gets teased about his lineage. And the dogs don't exactly go wandering out into the forest all the time to possibly meet wolves, they stick around the town and the humans. And the wolves DEFINITELY wouldn't come into town--yeesh, imagine the uproar!

Yeeeeah. Wolfdogs and dog/wolf couples, though they do happen, aren't exactly uber-common. Balto's family are the only canon ones in the entity of the movies. I don't know what happened to Balto's father, but whatever it was was probably a fairly unique case--and it most certianly wasn't Steele, nor was it Steele's father. I highly doubt that they're immediately related at all.

Now, cousins may be possible in a fan-universe, though it's still rather improbable. Hmmm.

-nods- Agrees with Nattikat8 and Dragon Tamer.

It's probably 30% out of 70%; and what I'm saying is- it's likely impossible for Steele to be the father of Balto.


I mean, gosh, Steele liked Jenna, and isn't Jenna most likely around Balto's age?

Sure, it's kind of common for older male dogs to "like" younger female dogs, but, in the movie it would be less likely.
(And not to mention that Steele, like Nattikat8 said- proud of his heritage of being a purebred/pedigree.)

EDIT: As it is quite uncommon for wolf and dog mating.

They could be cousins-- it's a total possibility.


--mushybrainsoup

Let's face it, the only common ancestors for the two of them which anyone could pinpoint would be the canines that got off the Ark, their great great great... ah, forget that. lol

Haha.

Excellent point, DT.

Now that I think about it, it's also less likely for them to be related to each other; and if they were cousin's or half-brothers, I guess that'd explain their rival-ship.

That's kinda the real truth, though, isn't it?


--mushybrainsoup

Malamutes do NOT have blue eyes, if they do they are mixed with husky or something else. I'm in the process of getting things together to both breed and show registered (AKC/UKC/CKC) Malamutes. And being a avid Malamute owner for quite a few years (Not to mention Hybrid Wolves and Huskies) I can say with confidence that a pure bred Mal does NOT have blue eyes.
I've lived with the breed for quite a few years. And have done enough research on them.
If you get a mal that has blue eyes you were ripped off. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Any reputable breeder would agree. Mals only have brown and amber coloured eyes. Thats the breed standard. Blue eyes are not acceptable in the show ring, because its not natural for the breed, and would be considered a fault.

Back on topic:
The Sticker album (Offical Merlin balto sticker album) Does say that steele is a malamute, so I won't argue with that fact. BUT it could be that Universal OR the manufacturer of the album had really no clue about the basics of of malamute anatomy/Facts. So therefore this isn't something to take to heart.
Either Universal didn't realize Mals don't have blue eyes, or they just didn't care. OR they didn't specify and the sticker album is just wrong.

In other words, steele's breed (While it should matter) in the cartoon biz doesn't matter. Its just fiction.
But I'm gonna go ahead and say that I'm pretty sure Steele isn't Balto's father; husky, malamute or not. Steele hated wolves, why would he have kids with one? He slandered balto throught out the entire film; Making fun of him for being a mix-breed. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't do that if he was infact his dad. That would just be messed up.
No, I think he's just a typical villian, nothing more nothing less.

Troll made a very good point with his/her post.

well I would find it hard for steele to be Balto's father keeping in mind that Steele is a pure black husky , has a specific anatomy and Hates wolves , plus he would be around balto's age , anyway , if balto was steele's son ¿ don't you think he'd look a little more like his father ? plus he totally would not treat Balto like he does ,

Don't be so sure on that last part. There were some X-Men comics where Magneto held his children, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, in contempt because their mother wasn't a mutant. Misplaced blame? Sure, it wasn't like they picked their mom. But the outlook, again, is pretty similar with Steele, like Magneto, regarding non-pedigrees as inferior. Magneto just took it one step further by trying to wipe out the "inferior" class.

I'm not saying that Steele is Balto's son, but just because Steele was Black and Aniu was white doesn't mean that it would be impossible for Balto to be gray. One of his grandparents could have been gray and he just inherited their color. Also, their's no indication of what their ages are, so the age factor couldn't really be a solid argument. Heck, Steele could be a year or two older than Balto for all we know, or vice versa. As for Balto's anatomy, he looks more wolf than dog so he obviously got his build from his mother. It's pretty common for sons to inherit looks from their mothers. And yes, you would think if Steele was Balto's father, he wouldn't treat Balto the way he did, but as terrible as it is, there are fathers that treat their kids like that. And I do think the hating wolves factor would be enough to keep Steele from being mates with a wolf, but DT did say some pretty interesting theories to this.

Again, I don't think Steele is Balto's son, I'm just being open to the possibilities.

Uh, I think you got something mixed around there.



Just thought I'd point that out to you. But thanks for the comment on my theories.

I absolutely agree. Steele would never have...mated with Aniu

Bahahaha... About the arguing of Steele's breed, guys. Check out what I just found in a video!

Jump to 5:06

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5D3g4zG3T4

It's straight from the studio. Alaskan Malamute. With the arguing of the eyes: Steele's whole color/form/everything could be referenced off of a malamute and then they just added blue eyes. Because screw logic.

Okay, so Steele is an Alaskan Malamute. That's good. And they added blue eyes... Eh, frankly, blue eyes suit Steele better than any other. Makes him look more intimidating and cold.