Animation Source Forums

Umm...what're you talking about?

You live in Arizona!?

Anyways, Steet, I'm also located in Arizona and available to print and send the petition and I'll be glad to help in any way possible.




Doing that will spread peaces of the petition all over the USA, plus it will take a heck of a lot longer to get the petition to Universal.

I believe the biggest ones in this country are located in Los Angeles, California and Orlando, Florida.

I would prefer that a single person would print everything and send it.

I had found the address on a site, but it doesn't work right now. However I posted this from another site, a while back ago, on the forums :



So it's California.
I would prefer to send the printable version of the petition to only one person by email, so that we don't get confuse and that several persons would send it.

Well my uncle is going to mexico this week in the way he will he will stop in the airport and take the southern west road,
He will be very close and he is nice enought to do it anyways if someone else take it, here are the directions I found online to universal studios,

1. Start out going South on BALBOA BLVD towards KESWICK ST by turning left. 0.2
2. Turn LEFT onto SATICOY ST. 0.4
3. Turn RIGHT onto HAYVENHURST AVE. 0.5
4. Turn LEFT onto SHERMAN WAY. 1.0
5. Take the I-405 SOUTH ramp. 0.2
6. Merge onto I-405 S. 2.3
7. Take US-101 RAMP towards LOS ANGELES/VENTURA. 0.2
8. Merge onto US-101 SOUTH RAMP. 0.3
9. Merge onto US-101 S. 6.8
10. Take the exit towards LANKERSHIM BLVD/UNIVERSAL CITY. 0.2
11. Turn LEFT onto CAHUENGA BLVD W. 0.5
12. Turn LEFT onto UNIVERSAL CENTER DR. 0.2
13. UNIVERSAL CENTER DR becomes UNIVERSAL CITYWALK DR. 0.1
14. Turn LEFT onto UNIVERSAL CITY PLZ. 0.0

I don't know; I'm not sure that it would be less expensive to go there and give them instead of mailing it.
Anyway, I'll have to make a little introduction letter to this petition.

Mailing it would surtenly be less expensive, but chances are more likely to be ignored if sent by e-mail so anyway, I think we should try first sending them the e-mail and if then if they ignore it then we can send someone personally to give it.

I live a 5 hour drive away from LA, which is guess is a pretty short distance compared to other people who are in the other states or outside of USA, i also have the resources to print out 40 pages... unfortunately, i don't think i would be allowed to, parents issues Xp....

Do you know someone that could drive it there? Or you could just mail it.

I think that mailing it is the best solution. I'm not sure about emailing it before, because it would most likely be ignored or it wouldn't make the same effect in any case.

(Yes, double post, but) just for the information, I've written a long, very long letter as an introduction that we will join to the petition. I've tried my best to explain everything I feel Universal should know about Balto and the fans. I think this is very important for them to understand the aim of this petition.

I still need to finish and correct it, so give me some time before I post it here...I know we won't have so many occasions like this, so I don't want to waste it.

This is so cool!

Well, here it is.
There are two parts : the letter, and a part where I give information that could be useful to the studio. The petition pages will follow.
I know very well I may be doing all this for nothing; in fact, I don't really expect much myself. BUT, at least, I won't blame myself for not trying.

I need that you help me correcting it, as it was difficult for me to write this in english. I especially had problems with the expressions. So if you would take the time to read and correct this, I would greatly appreciate it...
Also, if you have anything to add, don't hesitate.

(the layout got a bit messed up by posting it here, so don't worry if it's not easily readable here...)
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From : The Balto fan community

To : M. Glenn Ross, director of Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions





Dear M. Ross,

This is a letter from the Balto fans, to the Balto films makers.

I am the webmaster of the site Balto Source, which has become in less than 2 years, the most popular Balto website for the fans. The site has currently over 3.000 unique visitors by day, it has very active chats and forums, and more. And it doesn’t stop growing.

Contrary to what you may believe, there’s a big number of Balto fans in the world. The Balto community has grown over the time, and is now very strong. We thought that it was time to express ourselves. For this reason, we wrote a web petition, which received over 1.000 signatures.

We have the feeling that Balto was and still is a franchise that has a big potential, but never had the occasion of expressing it. Let us explain you :

When the original film was released, it hasn’t been a box office success. But what are the real reasons for this? In fact, there are two main reasons. The first one is that the film got a very low budget for marketing. Compared to other films of its kind (even films produced by the same Amblimation Studios, such as Land Before Time or An American Tail), it received a low amount of advertisement. We are not sure why this happened, but we know the consequences. And the second reason, is the worst that could happen to any traditionally animated film : the release of Toy Story at the same time, which overshadowed (is it the right word?) entirely the release of Balto in theaters. And we all know how much Toy Story changed the face of animation…
Since that time, the situation never got really better for Balto. The good thing, was that you made a Direct-To-Video sequel, which (according to a quote from the associate producer of this project) exceeded your sales expectations. This is probably the reason that pushed you to make…a second DTV sequel. These sequels were pretty well received by the fans, even with the obvious and understandable decrease of quality when compared to the original film.
The problem has never been that Balto wasn’t really liked by people (as you may think), but rather that still so few people know about it. Have you ever heard someone saying that he hates the first Balto? I never have. This is a heartwarming and powerful film that everyone is bound to like, young and old as well. There was no reason it should have become so much overlooked.

We believe that it is still time to increase the popularity of this franchise. But for now, we find that there were very few efforts given in that direction.
Most animated franchises (from your studio or from others) become popular because we can hear about this franchise very regularly. What did Balto get since its release? Two low-budget sequels, and that’s all. We understand that you couldn’t get a high budget for making these sequels, but we don’t understand why there was absolutely nothing released with them. How can a normal citizen hear about Balto, in these conditions? Why not releasing merchandising products with the films, such as a CD for the soundtracks ? This would have surely increased the opinion and the sales of the films, as well as very much satisfied the fans. I know you’re making films and that you’ve got to get in touch with other companies to make these products, but I’m sure that giving them a better image of this franchise could make a huge difference.

So, there has never been any Balto merchandising product in sale, since the release of the original film (and who knows how many people ask me where to buy Balto plushies…and I’m just never able to give them a positive answer.) More recently, you didn’t release any “special edition” dvd for the original film, to mark the 10 year anniversary (which was last December 22), which make us feel that you didn’t even remember about it. You could have, for example, released a pack with the three films. For now, no pack has been made for the Balto DVDs in the USA, so the fans have to buy them all full price, which is obviously a barrier for someone who would want to discover them.
I know that the majority of people doesn’t even know what is Balto. In fact, I myself never heard of this name, before I saw it on the french TV two years ago. And very regularly, I know people that discovered Balto recently, either by watching it “by accident”, or just by coming on my site.
One last thing : on the web, we found information on Balto 3 very lately. We got a trailer and screenshots of the film only one month before the film was released in europe. Why not make press releases on the web for announcing the sequels? I would think this doesn’t cost anything, and could have get more people anticipating its release.

Don’t get the wrong opinion : we are not angry, but more disappointed, and we are slowly losing hope that this franchise may become well known one day, as it should have been.

The aim of this mail is also to assure you that there are a lot of fans that are enjoying the films and looking forward to more. When you make the films, I believe you may not be really realizing there is such a large audience – especially when it comes to overlooked franchises like Balto.

So, we wrote and signed this petition, to show how much we like Balto, and how much we would like new projects to come for this franchise.

If for some reasons, you run out of ideas for making new sequels for Balto, just take a look at all the fan fictions the fans are writings…There are so many good stories that could be made into films.
What do we expect? We don’t ask for much : only that you take account of the Balto franchise, when you will think of ideas for new projects.

What we would like above all, is to get an answer from you. So please…Answer us. Tell us about the orientation you want to give to this franchise, if you have something in mind. Tell us we have something to look forward to…Because, for the moment, we have the feeling that Land before time or Curious George gets everything (DTV sequels, TV series, merchandises…)
How are people supposed to remember Balto if you don’t do anything related to it? Don’t let this franchise die like this, you know that it deserves better. I hope you will consider our position, and that the information I give you about the Balto fandom will interest you. We are behind you and we hope the best for the future of Balto!

Now, I will stop and let all the fans express themselves, through the pages of the petition that follows.

In any case, thank you very much for taking the time to read this! And thank you for making the Balto films!

Yours sincerely,

The Balto fans, and steetboris

NB :
- The petition is located here : http://www.petitiononline.com/balto001/petition.html
- Balto Source, the main site for the Balto fans, is located here : http://baltosource.timduru.org/balto.html
- If you wish to answer us, you can either reply by mail to the expeditor, or send an email to me :
o [email protected] . I will be sure to give the message to all the fans.

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Advices from the Balto fans if you’re to make a new sequel
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This is a part where I thought I could give you some advices to make future Balto films the best possible. If you decide to make a new Balto film, it would be a good thing to give this page to the team who will work on it (especially the script writer!)

The Balto fans are mainly wolves and dogs fans. So, you should give focus on the characters that are wolves or dogs - or both The others should be left as secondary characters, and the comical side shouldn’t come only from the non-wolves or dogs characters! So, please, do not give so much screen time to Muk & Luk, and Stella. I can safely assure you that no one would regret them if they would disappear from the films… Although, we like seeing the humans from Nome, and getting to see more Rosy and his parents would be a good thing.

If I had to give you the two main ideas for scenarios we would want to see, it would include :
• Everything concerning Balto’s past. This could be achieved through a “prequel” to the first film, or by using “memories” scenes.
• Steele’s return, as well as the trio of dogs from the original film (Star, Nikki, Kaltag). What happened to Steele after the end of Balto 1? None of the three films answer this question.

And here’s a list of the things that gives a good idea of what the fans are expecting :
- The White Wolf scene in the first Balto is the most fascinating, and considered by most fans to be the best scene of the film. We would love that you take it as an example…
- We want to know more about Balto’s past and his heritage. The most recurrent question (and it really comes very often), is about whether the white wolf is Aniu or not. And if not, is he male or female, or something else?
- The fans want Kodi & Dusty to get in love…
- We all love traditional animation; so, making Balto in 3D would be a really bad idea! Keep traditional animation, even if it means low budget and choppy animations! We want to see beautiful paintings for the backgrounds, not cheap 3D!
- As for the music, keep on with the orchestral music : this is what works the best for Balto, and we liked the soundtracks made by Adam Berry in the sequels.
- I know you really want to include songs in these DTV films, but the original Balto hadn’t any and it was enough good like this. If you really must include songs, make them fit the story, and do not make the main characters sing! It is better if the singer is a background voice.
- We want to know better the siblings of Aleu and Kodi, at least their names.
- Since the original Balto was a true story, try to make believable stories. Do not go too much in the magic side (such has what has been done in Balto 2 Wolf Quest), it has not been appreciated by all the fans.
- A poll about the age of the visitors gave that the average age of the visitors is 15. Which, I believe, is higher than the current market aim you have for Balto. Land Before Time is not Balto, I know for sure that the public is older (but as much hungry for new things). If I say this, this is for considering aspects that could interest an older audience, because I know everyone would like to have worthing extras on the DVDs, such as audio commentaries, artworks, behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes…
- Remember to make a film for all the family, not only for the children as has been done for the Land before time sequels… So, make a story with some hard topics – this does not mean adding explicit blood or sex, it should stay G rated. But making the characters suffer or die is possible and would bring powerful stories. This is difficult to express it, but : give place for the emotions, more than humor. It is really important with the Balto franchise.

now that is what i call persuation go petiton, go . hope its gets there steet.

I think it was a good part to say that there are many of us Balto fans out here they should be able to get the point that we are willing to buy Balto merchindase after all it s still a company so it will probably be counting more the "are you willing to buy any merchindase" option in the petition.