Animation Source Forums

Hey guys, this is my first attempt at a forums post to bare with me here

From what I know, there are mixed opinions on the sequels to the original Balto film. For some people, the sequels are what got them interested in the Balto films in the first place, but for others, the sequel movies were a let down. I wanted to focus on WoC though. personally, I liked Wings of Change, however, it is my least favorite of the 3 movies. When I saw the Balto films, I saw them all in the same day (out of order), so it wasn't like I was waiting however many years for the next movie. I think that if that was the case, I would have been somewhat disappointed in WoC. Again, I did like the movie, but I feel they could have had a better plot to the whole thing. I did enjoy the introduction of another one of Balto's kids, I think that's what made WoC for me.
So the question I leave you all with is what did you guys think of WoC, what was is it that either made you like it, or made you not. I'm interested to what you guys have in store for the reply box and thanks for reading my first post.

Compared to Balto II, Balto III was a lot better in my opinion. I don't hate Balto II, but the storyline doesn't interest me, and Aleu's character annoyed me. And while the tribal theme isn't unrealistic in that region, it just seems out of place in the film. Balto III seemed far more realistic, and the quality of the animation was a lot better. The storyline this time around was a lot more interesting.

Can't argue with ya there. The plot to Balto II did seem to come out of left field, I think I like it more because it had more to do with Wolves than any of the other movies. However, Alue's character did get on my nerves , you are definately right, the storyline to WQ was pretty unrealistic, and it actually made me mad when they crossed over "The great Waters," to what is presumably Russia. You just can't float ice from Alaska to Russia, you just can't.

I wanted to enjoy Balto 2... I really did but after 10 minutes of watching it, I just felt that it wasn't living up to expectations and the theme was so far away from the original movie it might as well have been a stand alone film.

Balto 3 in my opinion was better but still couldn't hold a candle to the original. I only enjoyed B3 because it was more believable than the first and set in the "real" world rather than a strange spiritualistic acid trip.... And it didn't have a signing mouse. Curse that mouse.

I don't know where the theory began that Aleu ended up in Russia, but that seems to be what a lot of people believe. And actually, there's a discussion on the matter if you would like to read into it: /board/what-do-you-believe-happened-t36396.html

Thank you so much for that, it helped a lot, looking at a map of Alaska and where they probably ended up was just another part of Alaska, that would make A TON more sense. I just hate it when things don't make any sense because the plot demands it. Thx for the info

I don't think the film itself suggested where Aleu went, it's just that fans speculate that she and the pack ended up in Russia for whatever reason.

I think because they keep talking about "the great waters" and they're at the tip of Alaska so I and a lot of other people just assume they gotta mean Russia, but from their position, it's much more logical that they passed over the Alaskan sound (I think that's what it's called)

And so once again, I come back around to the question of whether or not Balto 3: Wings of Change was a good movie. lol (Nothing against you, North Wolf...it's a fair question. It's just been argued and debated on this forum for ages now. However, to help, I'll throw in my thoughts again.)


But before I do, let me say this: the problem with how fans rate the quality and value of the Balto sequels comes down (no matter how they will infer otherwise) to the following parameters:

• animation quality (art itself and then the animation of the art; usually, as is all-too-common among YOUNG animation fans especially, notably fan artists, whether or not it measures up to the quality of the first movie in a series);
  
  
• the story line (again usually, as is all-too-common among YOUNG animation fans especially, notably fan artists and fan fiction writers, whether or not it measures up to the quality of the first movie in a series);
  
  
• theatrical release versus direct-to-video release (and how they seem to always expect and insist upon their expectations that the quality of a direct-to-video release should be equivalent to that of a theatrical release...and will castigate a direct-to-video release if it fails to meet those expectations). A very common issue when the first movie in a series is a theatrical release, which allows it a much larger production budget and broader production schedule than a direct-to-video release;

By those parameters, a direct-to-video release like Balto 3: Wings of Change (to say nothing of Balto 2: Wolf Quest) will almost always fail. And usually will fail epically. Not because it should, but because of the unreasonable expectations and opinions of fans.

And the two Balto sequels have been torn apart, nitpicked and berated to death. While both have had their supporters and fans (of either some aspect of either or both sequels, or of one or both of the movies themselves overall), generally they are treated as garbage by the fans in the community. Which is unfair. And, often, based on patently ridiculous and unreasonable arguments.

So Balto 3: Wings of Change. People hate it (when they do) for the character of Stella (because of the suggestive nature of the character...including the addition of a human bosum...which, admittedly, was not necessary except, perhaps, to accentuate the suggestive nature of the character. No more suggestive, as I have always said, than Dixie was in the first movie), and because they think that Jenna is little more than a feminine fixture, cheering on the brave heroic male characters from the sidelines (which isn't true at all).


The movie has sound historical foundations. I have said it many times. While it does not depict any actual events in Nome or Alaska, it delves accurately into the decline of dog sledding as a means of carrying the U.S. mail, in Alaska, which definitely WAS happening in the years surrounding the diphtheria epidemic which struck Nome, and the serum run. And there were many questions raised, prior to the run itself, as to whether or not airplanes (old, WWI-surplus biplanes with water-cooled engines and open cockpits) should have been used to carry the serum. Which plan, thankfully, was nixed). Mail service by dog sledding breathed its last in the early 1930s. After that, air service and other mechanical means were being used to deliver the mail.


The mail air service was a new thing in the early 1920s, and was fraught with dangers that one might expect (and certainly many others never imagined) when plying the skies of Alaska. On LiteSite Alaska's page about pilot Carl Ben Eielson (one of the most famous of the time period), it says:


"The new airplane company transported passengers, freight, and doctors into rural areas. Before long, Eielson also received the mail contract for delivery between Fairbanks and McGrath, a job that traditionally belonged to dogsled carriers. Eielson offered to do it for half the cost, and the federal government contracted with him for $2 per pound of mail on the 300-mile route. The first flight on February 21, 1924, in an open-cockpit de Havilland, was successful, but postal officials were ever concerned about safety issues, and after mere months, they withdrew the contract when Eielson crash-landed that May."

Ref: http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm?section=digital-archives&page=Land-Sea-Air&cat=Aviation&viewpost=2&ContentId=2665


It's no small thing for the page linked above to have added a quote below the paragraph I added (above), which drives home the point of the dangers associated with flying in Alaska at the time ("Of over 200 pilots hired between 1918 and 1926, 35 died flying the mail," says the National Postal Museum website. 'The service gained an ominous nickname among the nation's aviators as a ‘suicide club' for flyers'.")


The deHavilland plane was a "DH4", as described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airco_DH.4

And here, in this photo taken in 1924, you can see a caption which was written in by the photographer, which indicates what the photo was meant to convey about air mail versus dog sled mail service:





What bothers ME about the movie is the musical aspects of it. Like in any animated movie. Turning an animated story into a musical is the dumbest thing any director could ever do. Stella's and Jenna's songs are unnecessary and stupid. The meaning behind both could have been done without the characters singing and dancing. Look at the first Balto movie (and almost all classic animated movies): no characters singing. None needed to be doing so. The story is told without breaking into musical numbers. Whenever a movie does this, it is the equivalent of fingernails across a blackboard for me. But does that alone make me dislike the movie? Not hardly.

Generally-speaking, this movie is on solid historical footing, and is a great use of most of the characters of the franchise.

Me honestly. I don't really like the second film. In my opinion it's bad with bad animation and story. But the 3rd one. Is a pretty good film. In my opinion it's almost as good as the first. Not quite but almost. Also I don't really care about the whole Stella thing everyone talks about.

For me, I speculate on pretty much EVERY movie I watch so don't get me wrong, I love all 3 movies. Funny thing is, as off as WQ might have been ranging from singing mice (although I did enjoy all the songs in Wolf Quest, not so much in WoC) to reading the minds of bears, Wolf Quest is the movie that got me started on Balto so it's hard for it not to be one of my favorites. All in all I think the original was the best and although the sequels had their problems, I still enjoyed all the movies in the series.

Most of the longer-standing members here know what I think, but here it is:

In general, I'm a fan of movies concerning the bond of a father and son (e.g. the Goofy Movie series, Bambi 2, Lady and the Tramp 2, etc.), particularly those that depict dads in a truly positive light, so in that sense Balto 3 appealed to me.

The main drawback: Stella. Seriously, she had no purpose.

I still believe that Stella had a purpose. To provide Boris with a little side story, and a way of moving on beyond just the surrogate father role for Balto. And, in very simple terms, to give him a love interest. Nothing more than that I am sure. It's pretty apparent that those were the intentions with the character. He needed a new angle. His crotchety caretaker role, over the previous two movies, played itself out completely. If there wasn't a "B story" (perhaps even a "C" story) for him, he would have been about as misused (and neglected) in this one as Jenna was in Balto 2.

I don't believe Stella is pointless. After all, she did help locate Duke's plane when Balto wasn't exactly sure where he was.