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You brought up a lot of interesting points. About the only arguments I would have to that are...

On the subject of Aniu's design being different from the first movie. I'd point out that even Balto's design was vastly different; you could hardly tell it was the same guy. (Character model error.) So Aniu and the White Wolf being different could just be the unfortunate result of it being low-budget and time-constrained. (They only had 18 months to work on the film, remember. Most animated films get 6-12 months more than that.)

On the subject of Steven Spielberg, he actually wouldn't be the person to talk to, however big his name is. He was executive producer of the film, but all that really means is he financed it and watched it develop. Maybe he had a word in something, but keep in mind that in 1995, he was busy making a lot of other films, and probably only stopped in every now and then to make sure stuff was being made on schedule and at good quality. Some people to talk to about the White Wolf from that film would be Simon Wells, the original director, or maybe Steve Hickner, the "regular" producer. Possibly one of the writers? Long story short, Spielberg is actually not the person to talk to about it, though I DO agree inthat talking with somebody who worked on the first film would be a good idea.

In the end, were it a production designer, script writer, director, whatever, that would work just as well. But an interview which could be confirmed as accurate, not something made up just for some fan to prove a point. I just picked Spielberg out of the hat because he is, in effect, the face of Amblin Entertainment and Amblimation. Etc. And, as in the case of George Lucas (and so many executive producers), I am sure he reserves to himself the authority to rubber stamp, approve or deny anything that is involved in a production. Especially someone like Spielberg. And I am quite sure he was involved on some supervisory level in the Balto movie production...especially since it was a theatrical release, and not a direct-to-video one.

Thank you, JC, you've made my point for me! As most of you know, I don't particularly care for the dreck that is the Balto sequels, so OF COURSE I'm going to go with what the ORIGINAL creators intended for the movie, particularly the white wolf: was that it was this nameless being and the furthest thing from a parental figure to Balto. Why wouldn't it be his mother? Not only because it doesn't look anything like him, but because there is nothing hinting towards that in the first movie, and saying that it was "his mother" in the second movie sounds nothing more than fanficcy.

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Tell that to the Kodi/Dusty fans who saw Weinstein's interview that clearly stated that Ralph and Dusty were together.



Well, I hadn't thought about that, but now that you mention it, since WQ is based off Inuit rites of passage, it does kind of remind me of the vision quests they had to go through, where they would deprive themselves of sleep for days until a spirit would come to them either in their comatose state or in a dream. It was to show where the person was to be in life. Their "visions" are now believed to have been hallucinations due to sleep deprivation.

Heck, it's possible that the entire pack was hallucinating. Because even tho wolves are known to eat deer, caribou/reindeer, muskox, rabbits, foxes, etc this particular pack only ate caribou. Depending on the diet of animals determines 100% what quality of meat you're getting. Caribou are one of the many animals to eat mushrooms used specifically as hallucinogens. So if the caribou eat mushrooms, the wolves eat nothing but the caribou, voila. You have yourself a plot for a Balto sequel, where the wolves think they can "become one" with trees and read the minds of bears (does anyone want to point out in the sequel as to why Aleu could read minds? Or is that a Twilight-esque loophole?).

Besides, it never made sense to me as to why Aniu was known as "the white wolf" (aside from forcing her to be linked to the white wolf in the first movie) simply because Arctic wolves are always white, so what's so mystical about that?

But anyway, you ask if I thought Balto was trippin' during the second movie. I now say it's a possibility, but you can think what you want. Aniu is not the wolf spirit in the first movie to me.



I guess that's why tv shows with several characters have multiple seasons as opposed to being a single movie.

Wait, that's not right. There wouldn't be anything uninteresting to put the Balto 1 characters through. There's such thing as evolving character. Heck, wouldn't everyone have been more interested in STAR finding a love interest over Boris?

I rest my case xD

I see the whole Aniu/White Wolf thing as an idea that was altered over time by two independendt directors (almost like an RP in a way). Wells and the producers originally came up with the idea of the spirit helping Balto accept his heritage, and Weinstien developed the idea independently and, from that idea, created Aniu.

And, no, I never assumed that the wolf from Balto 1 was Balto's mother. I just assumed that outlook based on the second movie. Just because that was never what the producers intended doesn't mean that's automatically how it stands in years to come.

Now that is a very sensible and practical way of viewing this situation.

But, as to what you said after that? About how it will be viewed through time? I guess that depends upon an individual's point of view. And after almost ten years since Balto 2: Wolf Quest (my God, has it really been that long? ), that has not shown any signs of coalescing into one unified viewpoint.

And really, does it matter?

I saw WQ before WOC. I remember the first time I saw Balto 1, and I seem to remember not caring whether the White Wolf was Balto's mother or not. She wasn't even mentioned in WOC, so again, I really didn't care. Only after Balto called Aniu his mother in WQ did I associate her with his mother. It's kind of like the Kodi/Dusty/Ralph thing--some people (including me) took the Kodi/Dusty position, and some support Dusty/Ralph simply because Weinstein said there was an implied relationship between them. And, as has been pointed out several times, "the director's word is gold."

Where has that specific phrasing been pointed out before? lol

Here.

"Several times", huh?

In the industry, the director's word is not always gold, incidentally. I've read several books about the production history of television series and movies, and there have been countless instances where the actions and words of higher ups could and did trump anything the director said or did.

It's not always so absolute as all that.

This ^ Couldn't have been said better hahaha.

Okay, it's about time I said something about this... and fair warning, this shall be lengthy as I really am giving each character that didn't return for WQ or WoC some sort of possible response:




Steele: The first of many BIG ones on this list. I'm one of those fans that believes that after Steele has his fall from fame, popularity and grace in the end of the original film, he just... never recovered from it.

So, what could he do? Surely he probably never ran on a team again, due to the fact that he wasn't hooked onto the sled the townspeople remembered him clearly leading when they first began their trek to Nenana. Other dogs see him as a liar after realizing that Balto is not only alive and well, but also leading the whole team back alive as well... That's never a good sign social-wise. Oh, and he lost the girl of his dreams, Jenna, to the wolfdog hero... but he never had her in the first place. I like how fanfic writers have used this as a vengeful drive for him to come back into Balto's life somehow, and try to make it a living hell until Jenna returns to his side again. Most likely, his plans backfired and Steele's just a lonely wuss, a worthless shell of the lead dog he once was.

...Honestly, it would have been the biggest twist/surprise if Steele had returned for WoC, since it was all dog-sledding-centric and GOSH-AWFULLY BORING. I hate Steele as a character, but d*mn it, he would have made me actually LIKE the last movie had he'd been in it and tag-teamed with Balto to save Duke and Boris. But let's face it, disappointment in the Balto fandom is pretty natural, isn't it?

But since he wasn't, I'd guess he just stayed out of the spotlight and became a rogue loner until he died off. Perhaps he understood that karma is a horrible b*tch, but again... I don't know.




Nikki: Ah, the fat Chow with the Pikachu stripes on his back. Don't care what happened to him, but I think his life was much better than Steele's. Maybe he had a family of pudgy thick-accented clones like every other dog family has had in other movies. Who knows, who cares - it's better than Steele's!




Kaltag: Kaltag... the dog that really should have been mentioned in more of WoC than just that... maybe-3-second cameo of a dog that looked very reminiscent to him. Especially for a dog-sledding plot like THAT.

I'd like to think that his rather violent reactions to stupidity [AKA bopping Star on top of the head whenever he spoke his mind] may have led him to be a bachelor. It'd be a hard life if a girl - especially a not-so-smart one - got close to him, I'm sure. Due to the cameo he got in WoC, I'd also think he retired from racing and became a simple indoor house dog. Maybe he was injured - it really does happen to sled dogs and other animals, unlike with females in many older [read: classic] animated films [note: in "Balto", the girl [Jenna] gets hurt ONCE and calls it quits, but the guy [Balto] in the SAME SCENE nearly gets suffocated by a bear, nearly drowns and is somehow very much alive and kicking in a matter of minutes afterwards. Not cool on the gender thing, movie.].




Star: I hope something good happened to this woobie. Yes, Star is a woobie... if only because of the crap he takes from his supposed "friends", you really feel more sorry for him than for Balto... and Star's a sled dog, the one thing that Balto wishes to be. It's sad, but so true. No wonder the fans LOVE him.

The least I hope for is that his FAIL-comedic charm and the fact that he was one of the first of the sled team dogs to side with Balto on the mountain and accept him as the lead dog, Star should at least get some respect from other dogs and maybe even start a little family to prove that he earned a happy ending, just like our heroic Gary-Stu Balto did. I'd predict that he did, if only because he's more likeable than Kaltag and Nikki. Yeah, I know even he bullied Balto, but I think he was just a follower of Steele and forced into their little sled gang [I'm reminded of Kodi's sled team trio here...] until he realized that Balto was actually right... and was more of a loyal dog than Steele ever was. Oh, if only they kept that deleted scene with Star standing up to Steele...




Morse: ...What, you don't know who he is? He never said a word, but he's the telegraph operator's small bulldog. Why a bulldog's up in Alaska, I'll never know, but... eh. I think he got a small cameo nod in WoC too, but I'm guessing he's still an inside dog for the telegraph, helping to spread news of things to the other canines of the town. Maybe it takes some skills to deliver the news and understand Morse Code, so this sounds like an interesting fanfic for someone to write...




Doc: He was like the "Nava" of the original cast, though he wasn't in it much. He sounded wise and I'm guessing he was rather highly respected by mostly all dogs of Nome. Because of his cameo in WoC, we can tell that he's still alive and kicking, but also that he's rather... laid back. Maybe due to age? I dunno. Either way, I'm not sure about his future after WoC. Most likely, he lived a normal life for a bit longer.




Sylvie: AKA the tall, ugly Afghan Hound. Ugh, I don't like her, I never really liked her, and honestly I don't care what happened to her. Since she didn't appear in the sequels... or wasn't even mentioned, I'm sure she got jealous that her former gal-pal Jenna now has a hero for a hubby and, in time, a litter of pups on the way. Yeah, I'm sure by the time WoC arrived, she and Jenna cut ties and went their separate ways with their friendship - why else would Jenna be spending time with Mel and Dipsy while Balto and her mama's boy son were out on a life-changing race?

So, I see it as Sylvie and Jenna aren't friends anymore after Balto became a hero and got the girl of his dreams. Perhaps the hound dog passed on prior to WQ or WoC or her owner moved her away during that time [it's THREE YEARS - there's a lot of different possibilities], but clearly they would never be as tight as they once were... and even back then, she wasn't that good of a friend for Jenna.




Dixie: Basically, the same as Sylvie. She was much too... fancy prissy-pants to stay with Jenna after she literally became Balto's mate. So what happened to her? Well, we all know that she ends her huge crush on Steele once learning that he's a big, fat phony-boloney, but I wouldn't be surprised if she attempted to give him another try after some time apart. She was such a tiny and annoying ditz of a Pomeranian, but she could easily be that girl that always comes back to the bad boy. Maybe that's why she disappeared from the Nome scene? *shrug* Or maybe she also left, moved away, or died of natural causes [or a broken heart for slapping her crush... I don't know].

Either way, she wasn't out and about gossiping about news in WoC - they ended up making that bottomless-pit Dipsy's job. So, she was replaced.




Rosy: The CATALYST of the whole series. Seriously, I'm not kidding. Think about it long and hard while you rewatch the whole first movie. I'd like to see you try and deny the fact that Balto went from typical outcast to beloved Gary-Stu hero all because of this little five-year old girl. [I say she's five or six... she did have a birthday, so I'll give her the age of six at 1925.]

Even though she was mentioned by name once, as "my girl" by Jenna once in WQ and got a non-speaking cameo in the "Everything Flies" opening for WoC, we already know what happened to her. The ending of "Balto" spoiled it - she LIVES to be at least 80 years old and has an unnamed granddaughter [although I've read "Sylvie" on the DVD captions... I dare you to try it yourself! The granddaughter is named after Jenna's ugly hound friend? WTF, movie.] to pass her story onto of how she became a catalyst for one of the most famous rescues in U.S. history. Hooray, the circle of life continues... [/plays that opening chant at the beginning of "The Lion King"]

Also, notice the colors of Sylvie's dog, Blaze? Aren't the colors similar to Jenna and Balto's somehow - a nice mix of reddish and grayish-brown...? Ah, thank you for this, movie.




The White Wolf: ...And finally, here's the big BIG ONE so it will be long. Let me go to a new paragraph just to begin things.

First off, I'd have to answer this one question before I continue: Do I believe that the White Wolf the Balto encountered at his lowest point of the film was the same wolf that spoke to him in his dreams as the Great Wolf Aniu in the first sequel... and-AND... was proven to be his she-wolf mother?

I could say YES for these following reasons:
- Aniu can shapeshift [proven by the mist and that thing at the end of WQ - come on, the MIST... it was everywhere if you looked hard enough.] so she might have changed herself enough so that her own son couldn't recognize her but she could still motivate him to accept the wolf within [...okay, it's a long shot, but it's possible. D'aww, parent helping her son, how sweet~].
- Aniu is a white wolf and I'm sure there's not many of them out lurking in Alaska. Why not have them be the same? They did really look alike... er, sorta. Both white-furred with the eye marks and whatnot. Size is different though, but meh, GREAT SPIRIT, can change size.


But I could easily say NO as well:
- Aniu and the White Wolf are obviously two different wolves... plus Aniu is a "spirit"... that can turn into a wolf and mist and... wait, WAT? It's too darn confusing.
- Also, if Aniu is a Great Spirit and, based on WQ-canon, Balto's mother, why doesn't Balto look anything like her... or a real wolf, for that matter? I'm agreeing with Cat on the whole genetics thing, if only because I could assume that he got his colors from his unknown-not pictured-most likely DEAD daddy's side. Still, Balto looks nothing like Aniu... and neither a husky or wolf, even compared to the wolves of Nava's clan. Heck, his daughter [and main character of WQ] Aleu blends in better, but any of those wolves could easily been a husky - they proved this by making Dusty for WoC - but then again, wolves and huskies are sorta related...? Maybe he gets his looks and appearance from some other member of his parents' families and it was some sort of recessive gene [just like how 1:6 pups in his first litter with Jenna looked lupine-ish...] that just, unfortunately, made him appear like neither a husky or a wolf, but obviously a mix of BOTH.

Shoot, the only wolves I remember in the original film was that small pack of wolves that howled at him early on... and they totally looked like WOLVES. The White Wolf even looked like them too, but bigger and more majestic, but blame the change of animators, character designers and artists working on all three films for screwing with designs and making every wolf and dog look... like they could be related. Yay, screwing with nature!

But yeah, I do like that the writers of WQ [tried... BIG try] giving us more info of who Balto's mom is - a god-like guiding white wolf spirit that can become mist and shapeshift and may have been that same wolf from the first movie with all that EPIC James Horner "Heritage of the Wolf" score [Hnnnng...] - but I dunno... I've like to say that they are the same but aren't. It's hard to explain what I mean. Let me take a breath...

Maybe they are actually two separate entities, but actually one being. You know, if Aniu really was a Great Spirit, she could assimilate into another wolf until their life ended and just went into another one...? Okay, that's a stretch too, but that's what I think Aniu is all about. Read my fanfictions.

...Yeah, I confused you, didn't I? D*mn it, I'm confused too, but I think it should never be explained. It's all a part of the mystery of the White Wolf. *ooooo~*

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And screw the director's word being law. In my eyes, here's my say on that: If it's not mentioned in the movie, it's not canon. Apparently if it wasn't important enough for the movie's running time, then it was just an idea. That's why I don't fully believe in Dusty/Ralph; it was just one scene and I'm sure that they are just close friends, not lovers. Dogs act affectionate ALL THE TIME, so deal with it. That doesn't mean that I don't ship it though - I SHIP EVERYTHING.

...An exception of the "director's word is good as gold" thing goes for the Lion King cub thing - screw Kiara from TLK2, Fluffy/Kopa came first. [No arguments on it plz - this is sorta off-topic and totally in the wrong forum. ]

- Juuchan17

^ Holy cats. Gotta pick myself and dust myself off after being run over by that particular freight train. ROFL Perhaps I shall gather up my thoughts enough for a response later. But wowsers. XD Juuchan, sometimes you're even worse than I am with the loooooong answers. Eh heh...

I just hope it all makes sense - it took me several hours [on and off from last night and this morning] to type up everything.

Sorry about that, but yeah... I'm a lengthy poster when it comes to these sorts of things.

- Juuchan17

Have you ever read D.J. MacHale's Pendragon series? I believe that's similar to how the main antagonist, Saint Dane, was portrayed (i.e., he could shape-shift and possess other characters. Except Hidden text : click to show
But I guess it's possible the producers had something like that in mind.

I haven't read that series... but I have heard of it.

I actually use this sort of thing in my fics that feature Aniu; in my stories, Balto's mother was actually Aniu herself, but never realized that she was until near the end of her life. She actually resembled the White Wolf in appearance and in name [Anyu, which is another spelling of "Aniu", yet they meant the same thing in Inuit.].

I doubt the producers were thinking that far with the White Wolf/Aniu thing, but if they were, that'd be AWESOME.

- Juuchan17