Animation Source Forums

I am sure that, by then, Spielberg and his people were engaged in other projects, and probably either had little interest in doing a sequel, or perhaps the copyrights issues had changed by then. But I find some errors in the quality of the first one too. Not the historical ones (which are obvious, and DO bother me), but rather the animation and art. For instance, while it is generally the best of the three, and really good, it still cannot be denied that most of the huskies shown in the first Balto movie are generally fat and have odd markings not even seen on photos of huskies or Malamutes from the time period. Dogs of that time, which ran on teams, were lithe and in good form (especially those used in racing and distance running for more serious duties. They had to be). And, while often showing heavy, fuzzy coats, their markings were nevertheless not as corny as often seen in the first movie.

Balto fans who are critical of the sequels often point out the structural abnormalities of dog and wolf design in the sequels, particularly in the second one. Particularly with regard to leg structure and body posturing. I cannot deny that there are some (though they are much more noticeable in the second than the third). Still, while there are also some structural errors in the design of the dogs in the first one as well, I am far more willing to overlook those minor structural abnormalities as aspects of cartoon animation and art than I am the portrayal (even in cartoon movies) of sled dogs as being fat.

Most Balto movie fans either have no idea of this, or couldn't care less. But they sure seem to devote a great deal of time to dissing on the second and third movies...especially when comparing them to the first one, and how "perfect" they believe it to be.

I think this thread is more about an adaptation of WoC into a TV series, correct me if I'm wrong...? Anyway, unless it was made considerably more interesting, it would be rather bland.



You got a point there, one I miss over frequently. Especially in WoC, there's much better builds for the other sled dogs.

I think the poor quality in sequels is mainly due to the outsourcing of animation (IIRC it was all done in Asia somewhere the studio had bought?). In this sense I'm not as narky at WoC because it wasn't too bad for a DTV of it's time... though the script left a fair bit to be desired.

Not particularly. The original poster simply pointed out that, if they did make a television series out of the Balto properties, that characters from the second sequel (Wings of Change) should apparently be the ones focused on. I think that's limiting things a bit...especially if a television series were to be created.


Granted. But I think each of the movies had interesting and even a few exciting moments on their own. Sure, they'd have to create new adventures (and could draw from history if they wanted. There certainly is a wealth of material from the early 1900s in Alaska to draw from as story inspiration. Though experience tells me that they probably wouldn't), but I am willing to bet that the results wouldn't be too much different than any other theatrical animated property adapted to television. And I think you know what I mean by that.


I think the script of Wings of Change was much better than that of Wolf Quest. Oh sure, it had its weak spots. And the singing bits by the characters could have been totally thrown out and I wouldn't miss them one bit. But the third Balto movie was based upon solid historical concepts of the time, and to me that means that they did a bit of research into the idea before scripting, and cared at least a bit more. And like I said, they did a darned better job of dog design in this one than even in the first Balto movie.

No! They shouldn't! I personally don't like Kodi, so I don't like WOC! That's just my opinion! and have you seen Stella's chest? that's a big nono for a kids movie!