Balto: Wolf Quest

I have yet to see a DTV sequel that did not completely butcher the original and make me want to run a sledgehammer through my VCR. Balto II: Wolf Quest is no exception. I might have been able to overlook the poor animation if the plot had been decent, but we've seen it a million times. The writers decide to produce offspring from the original movie's hero, and then follow their angst plight through adolescence. The voice casting for Aleu was horrid, a stronger female voice would have done wonders for her characters. And that mouse... oy. He howled for crying out loud! I'm sorry, but that's just beyond laughable, and not in a good way. The wolves were horribly drawn, especially the three "mean" ones. Were these a tribute too the three sled dogs that always trailed after Steele? They, as well as their leader looked more like rats crossed with panthers. The animators seem to have fallen into the horrible cliché of "Wanna make a baddie? Give him an over-sized chin!" Yick.

Then there were all the overdone and overUSED Indian references. Since it's Alaska, couldn't they at least gone with Eskimo legends, since they were so intent on dumping spiritualism on us? The glowing eye effect lost it's charm... as soon as I saw it. I just wish these people will stop pumping out sequels for the sake of a dollar. Make something that's worthy of theater release, and that lives up to it's predecessor.

Though it doesn't hold up to the wonderful original Balto, this is one of the very few animated film sequels that didn't totally make me gag. The storyline is completely different (thankfully not going the 'Oh, no! Another epidemic!' route one would expect) and the entire movie takes a Native American twist, focusing less of dog-sleds and more on the Wolf roots of both Balto and his daughter, Aleu. The songs are touching and beautiful, my favorites being "Taking You Home" and "Who You Really Are". "Taking You Home" is probably the only song I've ever heard from an animated film that has ever made me cry- and it take a lot to make me cry.

This film, combined with the original Balto film, would be a wonderful little gift pack for anyone who's a fan.

This is a sequel to an already low budget cartoon movie. Going direct to video the cost of this must have been similar to the production cost of a cartoon series episode. The plot was really bad written, with a lot of inconsistencies and with too much "ancient fathers" mystique.

The animation was more CGI than ever, meaning that it sucked, not that it had cool special effects. So when there are no graphics and no story what is there to see? Of course, Disney like songs, with an Aztec twists. The major quality of the original Balto was that it was pure story and no darn singing in it. They completely destroyed this in Balto II. They are singing and singing and my fast forward isn't fast enough.

The ending is like the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Everybody's happy, but you have absolutely no clue why. Horrible sequel.

The adventure of Balto continues with a charming, heart-warming continuation of where the first film left off. I don't think it is as good as the first film, but it is certainly an improvement on previous sequel efforts, is there anyone here who didn't like Cinderella 2 or Secret of NIMH 2? If anything I wish the film was five minutes longer, to me the ending seemed rather abrupt. Balto: Wolf Quest also doesn't have the best story in the world, but the story still is well-paced, and in general well-written, despite some uneven attempts at humour.(Muk and Luk) The script is on the most part touching, and I thought the animation, while not as good as the animation in the first film, was very good, with a lot of symbolism that I thought was most effective on screen. I liked the songs, beautiful melodies, but sometimes overshadowed the story. The film is brought to life by a terrific voice cast, including Little Mermaid's Jodi Benson as Jenna. Boris wasn't as funny here, but Charles Fleischer does a commendable job, he reminded me a bit of John Cleese's Jean Bob in Swan Princess. Lacey Chabert is very spirited as Aleu, a young wolf who yearns to find the truth about herself, and Mark Hamill is suitably nasty as Niju. I thought the actor with the best vocal talents in the movie, was the late David Carradine as Nava, a performance of subtlety and restraint that was admirable. I will confess I was very scared by the three wolverines, with their burning red eyes, their appearance is enough to frighten a very young child. All in all, a charming sequel, not as good as the first film, but I wasn't expecting it to be. I've learnt now that save a couple of exceptions,(Toy Story 2, Home Alone 2 and Garfield 2) none of the sequels I have seen to anything, surpasses the original. 7/10 Bethany Cox.

I think this film, as a sequel, does a huge disservice to the original Balto - in my opinion one of the finest animated moves ever and one of the few movies ever to move me to tears.

First, I really wish we could have had Kevin Bacon and Bridget Fonda back from the original. While the voices were good, it left me feeling a bit lost as to the relation to the first. Mark Hamill's voice was also completely inappropriate for Niju - at least as he was drawn, it should have been much deeper. Second, the animation - compared to the first - is atrocious. The computer-generated parts are easily identifiable and the scenes just don't seem to mesh as well as the original Balto. The combat scenes don't seem to flow very well. And one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind from the first is gone: the complex facial expressions of the characters. Third, the plot (while good) has some holes that you could fly a 747 through. The two evil wolves (and indeed the clan) were introduced so suddenly it sent me reeling, and how did the wolf pack suddenly know Balto's name? Fourth, it tried too hard to be Lion King - and it was so visible. With Aleu hanging off that cliff, I kept seeing Simba. With Niju standing up on the rock, I kept seeing Scar preaching to the lions. Why does every movie now feel they must pay homage to the Lion King in some fashion?

Still, the movie does have many redeeming qualities. It stays interesting for most of the film and deals with some issues that can be looked at by both children and adults from both sides - when to let go. Besides the holes - and no film is perfect - the plot was good, and I truly enjoyed the Inuit references in the film - one of the truly forgotten cultures of America.

Overall, it was a good film and worth the DVD, but it could have been so much more.