Estamos Condenados wrote:
Dragon Tamer wrote:
I'll give you the third one, Estamos, and I think it's ironic that Ralph fans are applauding the second one. But the first... nu-uh. He started out that way, but he wasn't like that at the end. That was the main point of the movie: he changed. You might as well say that Benedict Arnold was a great man and a hero to the US because he started out on our side. Granted, the scenario there is reversed, but it's the same kind of reasoning.
Admittedly, the most logical approach if one treats them as real sled dogs is that yes, they would be discouraged from breeding; probably fixed. But that tends to make for a dead-end, story-wise.
I do admit that Kodi had a change of heart.....immediately after his own mother berated him in public. And what exactly does Benedict Arnold, the biggest turncoat in American History, have to do with a spineless, cold-hearted dog that, again, got guilt-tripped into helping Balto?
And that brings me to my point: whilst Aleu had some form of compassion, it came naturally and of her own free will; Kodi, on the other hand, had to be essentially
bullied into getting a spine by his own parents. Had it not been for Jenna yelling some sense into the flea-bitten nimrod, Kodi would've done absolutely nothing whilst his father had to do all the work for the umpteenth time.
The question is less why he had a change of heart than that he did. I think it would do wonders for the matter if it could be shown whether the incident in question galvanized Kodi into becoming more morally pro-active in general, or if he backslid into mostly following the crowd. Honestly, after the lecture he turned around and gave to his teammates, who outnumbered him three to one, I can't see him retreating back to considering personal benefit to be greater than someone else's legitimate needs.
As for the Benedict Arnold analogy, it's simple. He was a hero for most of his part in the Revolutionary War. He was praised by his peers and superiors alike and loved by the American people. But after his change of direction, all that was forgotten. Most people don't even think about the fact that he was ever on our side anymore, even though you have to be on someone's side - or at least act like it - before you can betray them. Similarly, Kodi
was cold - as cold as the rest of his team. But afterward, he was a hero. In both cases, one started off one way and ended the other. It's just as foolish in either case to judge them for their beginning rather than their end. The question of whether Kodi continued to
be a hero and a leader is not how he began the movie, but whether it was just getting chewed out that got through to him, or if he actually had a change of heart. Given that he was ready to stand up to his teammates and turn his back on everything he ever wanted, it seems unlikely that he was just doing it because that was what his parents said.
As for the comparison to Aleu, I question that. Now admittedly you may have some advantage over me here; it's been years since I saw Wolf Quest, owing to the fact that the local library only has it on VHS. However, as I recall, Aleu was not called on to show compassion to anyone who presented a threat to her livliehood and everything she ever wanted. I don't remember her, for example, having to save Niju's life or even having an inclination to help him in any way.
Another thing that strikes me concerning your breeding argument. One, it would be advantageous for the musher to breed the best dogs he had. Everyone knows fitter dogs, as a rule, have fitter pups. If you want more sled dogs, you breed the best ones available. So the temporary setback of Dusty being pregnant (if she were one of the best female sled dogs available) would, in the long run, be outweighed, especially if the breeding took place during the warmer part of the year when dog sleds weren't as practical. Besides, they could always bring in a substitute if they had to.
