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I'd be happy to follow your suggestion regarding the e-mails if you would kindly tell me how. I honestly don't know where to look for the e-mails of the movie makers. You do make a good point about Wolf Quest, which I myself am not terribly fond of. And I know all too well that people change. However, Balto and Jenna have been through so much that it seems totally ridiculous to say they could just turn their backs on each other like that. If people are going to write about cheating, why can't they at least do it with characters of their own, since having Balto and Jenna show so much disloyalty would be to reinvent them anyway? Or have Steele do something like that. Just about anything despicable (except maybe homosexuality, but we won't go there) is perfectly in character for him anyway. A lot of stories have him as a negligent or abusive mate and father, things that go hand-in-hand with cheating on a spouse.



I ackowledge that you are right in some regard about originality. But consider too the classics. I mean, how many stories are there where the bad guys really win in the end? You are welcome to try, but I doubt it would be very popular when all is said and done. And tragedy? Inever said that wasn't alowed. But tragedy and immorality are totally different things. It is true that cheating is sometimes the easiest route to making a story more interesting. But then, the easiest route down a cliff is usually to jump.



Thank you wolfcall! It's good to finally get a little backup!



Thank you for your consideration.

DragonTamer, I totally agree that there are too many..."cheap" write-offs of Balto/Jenna cheating and that they seem to be repeating themselves.
It may be what's popular, but, to quote my Journalism teacher, "Doing what's popular is not always right, and doing what's right is not always poplar."

Let's us our imagination, people.

On the other hand, I don't think anyone, perhaps not even Balto's creators, can say what is within/outside his nature or Jenna's nature.

Fanfiction is, by definition, a continuation or alteration of a previously produced movie or story. Cheating is one way of altering/continuing the Balto storyline.

Let me also say that there is a reason that warnings and ratings are put in fanfic summaries and in a pop-up before one can read the fanfic. If someone ignores the warning, what more can the writer do?

Personally, I find cheating a terrible topic, but I will tolerate it if there are:
1) Reasons for the cheating.
2) A resolution of some sort, positive or negative.

Anyway, just my thoughts.
-LWf

Tell me about it. I've already made a ton of enemies, nline and in real life, for doing the right thing. But your teacher is right. Listen to him, people!

Maybe it is becoming a war. But then, let's suppose the issue were incest or homosexuality, or stories with ultra-descriptive sex or violence, loads of swearing, or anything else that is actually against the rules of the site. Suppose such fanfics began to flare up all of the sudden. You can bet trouble would arise from it, because like the cheating issue it is a matter of what is morally right or wrong.
Here's my stance on the cheating issue: If you're going to do it, at least have there be a point to it, like in the case of David and Bathsheba (which I feel safe referring to because it is found in more than one religion). That story has a plain lesson that anyone can see: adultery always, always hurts those involved, from guilty parties like David and Bathsheba, to innocent people like Uriah. But when you write stories about people doing it for no reason with minimal consequences (something that people have done on this site), that's just not right.
And if someone wants to write a story with cheating, they ought to at least do it about their own characters and make it in a way that is original and makes sense. I have seen dozens of cheating fanfics on this site, and there were about three that had even a note of originality or purpose. The rest, as anyone could see, were written for the exclusive purpose of having decent dogs turn into two-timers. These stories that have Jenna just suddenly going head over heels for Steele, for example, are entirely too common. They are stupid, weakly written, out-of-character, and utterly pointless.

I believe the webmaster of Fluke's Tribute to Balto has access to someone's email who worked on Balto 1, but I don't know. But I've asked questions to Phil Weinstein regarding certain character personalities, so stuff like that has been done.

But yeah, you can't help noncreativeness on this site. It can't be done. I've tried several times.

Well, the idea of unloyal couples is getting a little old. It's not that I'm totally against it (in fanfics, mind you), but like Dragon Tamer said -- it's a pretty big thing, and not something you just all of a sudden wake up and feel like doing. More thought needs to go in before a character can make such a big decision. Personally, I have no grudge against Jenna x Steele pairings, despite the fact that they're so uncommon. But certain major events need to lead up to that.

Personality is also a variable. It probably wouldn't be very Jenna-like to pass by Steele, and think, "HOLY COW, HE'S HAWT!!!" -- very much unlike how it's done in real life today. XD If you're going to do it, they better have a darn good reason, or you're not going to do a very good job at convincing your readers. And really, it's not just the "new" writers too. There are COUNTLESS variations, but I suppose what we're all trying to get at is to make it more believable...

Thanks. I'll see if I can get in touch with that webmaster when I get the chance.



Exactly. With some characters it makes sense (not that that makes it right). Dixie, for example: anyone can see by the way she acted toward Steele that she's a flirt, her behavior implies that she's a little heavy on the hormones... in other words, she's the type to hop from one guy to the next. Jenna, o the other hand, is a decent lady with her head screwed on the right way around, who's not going to flip over some big muscles if the guy behind them has a brain the size of a bean and an ego the size of... well, Alaska. As for the bit about making it more believable, I only half-agree with you there. Basically, I see stuff like that as highly distasteful, and acceptable in a story only if it:

A) Fits the characters,
B) Is neccessary to the plot (which it usually isn't), and
C) Has a real point to it, story-wise (again, pointing to David and Bathsheba as an example).

A good outcome is also ideal, but not always neccessary or realistic. For example, as I pointed out recently in one such story about Dixie becoming mates with a wolf whom she had only known for a day or so, any relationship which is not considered carefully beforehand is almost bound to collapse. It's like a house without blueprints.

Well I half agree with you. I agree, you shouldn't completely change the personality of a character cuz even when people change, they have at least a small bit of the old character in themselves (as long as they didn't hide their real character before) and must have a very good reason for changing it. People are never born bad or good. Their character is shapened by the parents/carers. For instance, if there's a good character he probably had it from childhood (talking of dogs, puppyhood), was grown up to be good by his parents (of course there are cases that bad parents teaching bad things their child, have a child who is completely agaist their deeds but its very rare in this world) when he's suddenly completely changed, he could be either very hurt, betrayed in a harsh way or influenced (or forced) by some kind of pressure. But the true personality is still inside, and can't be removed completely. If you take a bad character for instance, it could be bad cuz of several different things. It can either watch/play too much of killing/dying stuff (talking of people here) or it could be raised that way by carers. But they can change too.
Second thing I agree with is that it's a kid site and if you don't want to get complains from people just cuz of one story, you either need to senibly explain it and make it as soft as possible or, if it's not really for kids, post it somewhere else. We can't stop those kids breaking the rules, so if it's possible, avoid it.
I also agree that cheating isn't right, but that's for humans. Humans have minds, they are the only creatures that can think. But talking of dogs, they have only instinct. They do things the way their brain is programmed. So there's no such thing as cheating in dogs life as Cat pointed out previously.
Also, as Cat mentioned, that's called fandom. It's people's opinion on what they think could happen and it's good to know different versions (of course I don't mean that nonsense of repeated, copied or taken plots made up into the so called their fanfiction)

Well, dogs have been proven to be able to think. Not as complexly as humans can, perhaps, but they and other animals once thought of as stupid have shown capacity for thought far outside of their natural instincts. Even cows have, on occasion, shown themselves to be quite intelligent. But you are half-right in your thinking, that animals do not posess moral reasoning (i.e., the ability to discern between right and wrong). However, some are known to display monogamous behavior and, for want of a better way to put it, extraordinary "marital loyalty." For example, there is a species of goose which, if one of a mated pair dies, the other will not take another mate for the rest of his or her lifespan-which may be up to 80 years. That aside, these are not really mere dogs that we are writing about. They are anthropomorphic, meaning they exhibit human traits such as speech. By extension, they posess some level of morality. For example, with mere dogs, Balto could not be a good guy, nor Steele a bad guy, because they would just be acting on "instinct." But instead, the actions displayed in the Balto series and most of the fanfics on this sight are important moral choices between good or evil, right or wrong, etc.

Cheating seems to have become all too common, you know? Relationships are taken too lightly, and it shows up in fanfics. It makes me sad, and angry, but freedom of speech and the press doesn't come without a price. People can write what they want, but they should keep in mind how they may be influencing others. These are just characters in countless stories, but they reflect the morals of the authors. If the characters absolutely must cheat, have them cheat, but have a good reason for it, and remember what's right and what's wrong.

Amen to that, sister.

By the way, in case Catwhohas14tails comes back to check, I have spoken with Fluke. He says he doesn't think the notion of disloyalty between Jenna and Balto ever crossed the animators' minds, but he thinks the idea highly unlikely.

Yeah, he doesn't think XD But asking Fluke isn't the same as asking someone who actually worked on the movie. Even if he doesn't think, it still leaves the idea up for grabs for fans. Even if a maker of Balto said "its never been discussed" its still not a yes or no, and thus still usable.

It's called fan-fiction, fans-are pretty much allowed to do what they please with the characters. My suggestion would be if you don't like the fictions, simply don't read it.

You know, I had a feeling you'd say that. Must have been my Spider-sense. Or maybe just common sense, which the writers of the stories in question are obviously missing. What would you say if I suggested that you knew Fluke wouldn't be able to provide a definite answer?

Sorry, dude, but you misunderstood me. I didn't say ask Fluke for his opinion on this. I said I think he has access to the email of a person who worked on Balto 1 and to ask THEM. You may want to get your Spidey-senses reinstalled. XD