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Well, in my opinion, Balto was calm because he didn't have much of anyone to talk to besides Boris. I can even relate to why he is the way he is a little bit. I mean, if you think of all the points you put up (which are very good, btw) you could come to a conclusion that although Balto has had a troubled past and not many friends, he could also be shy or afraid to talk to others.

If he were shy or afraid, that would lead to a quiet personality. And if you rarely talk to others, there's no reasons present on flaring up your emotions. Even being sad can have a calming effect. If you think about it, happiness and anger are two of the main emotions that aren't calm. And since he didn't talk to anyone much, he was usually calm.

During the course of the movie, he started talking to Jenna, who was one of the only dogs in town who didn't reject him. This made for another calming effect. Although he was clearly anxious to talk to her and was probably afraid she would turn him down or ignore him just like everyone else (not to mention the fact he liked her), she did just the opposite. Which probably boosted his confidence. If you have no confidence... well, getting some sure gives you reason to be happy.

Or maybe Balto was just calm overall. Some people are calm no matter what. Or through most situations. He could have just grown up being that way.

As for Steele... his case should be somewhat obvious. He was full of himself. He had too much confidence. And because he was so proud of himself he started having too much pride. He thought he was the best and so flaunted himself in front of everyone. He thought he had friends, he thought he had dogs behind his back who would pretty much do whatever he said, he had all the girls falling over him, so... naturally he would get a bit obsessed, overwhelmed, or want to glory in all the popularity.

So he wasn't calm because not only did he have all this going on for him, but because he was reveling in it and embracing it further.

If you think about it, Balto was the opposite. Non popular people usually aren't popular because they have something about them that the majority of people don't like or can't handle. In Balto's case, it was the fact he was half wolf. They all at first thought he was dangerous but when in reality, he wasn't. He was calm, not aggressive. And because they had treated him badly for so long, they probably didn't want to admit the mistake and continued until he proved himself and gave them a chance where they could accept him.

But I dunno... that's just my opinion(s).