Animation Source Forums

I just realized something after rewatching and scanning my screencaps of WQ . . .

Did anyone else notice the orange and yellow butterfly?

I mean, first it was seen when Aleu was a puppy, playing on the beach while Balto and Boris talked about her looking more wolf and would always be considered as different.

Second, while she was rolling down a hill, a now yearling Aleu laughs as a butterfly tickles her nose and the infamous raven caws out a warning to her . . . Seconds later, the hunter takes aim at her, leading to Balto's confession of the truth.

Thirdly, in Aleu's dream of the caribou crossing the iceberg bridge, the butterfly appears once more, fluttering across the screen while the mountious background is decked out in a springtime motif.

(If anyone else notices any other scenes in the film other than these three that I have mentioned, please feel free to note them in your replies! Thank you!)

In my opinion, I think that this butterfly is symbolizing Aleu and her destiny of being a part of her father's wolf heritage.

REASON:Here's why I think this is so:

1) In my dream books, the butterfly is a symbol of transformation - just like how a small caterpillar undergoes its natural metamorphesis to become a butterfly. Perhaps this is a continuous sign of Aleu's constant transformation from a precocious pup to a headstrong yearling and finally into a wise leader of Nava's Clan.

2) Also, perhaps the fact that a butterfly could fly freely, it may be a symbol of Aleu's longing to be free of her father's protectiveness. Although at first she clearly hated her wolf blood, she wanted that freedom of being wild, just like a butterfly could spread its wings and soar far away. In the end, Aleu did travel far away from her father's side, traveling across the water to a mountainous land where caribou awaited her and her newfound pack.

3) . . . there is no 3. I just wanted to waste some space.

It makes sense, although I don't think the animators or storyboard artists originally meant it as so (just like my ever-popular dream analyses of Balto and Aleu's dreams within the film), but at least it's a decent explanation for this very minor detail of the sequel.

Please feel free to give your two cents . . . but no Aleu-bashing please. That's just stupid.

- Juuchan17

Precisely. I noticed the same thing yesterday.. These guys really did their homework on this hypothetic stuff throughout the film.. and I thought there was a quite a sense of forward direction to it all eventually building up to the big finale that we all saw at the end of the film and I think I'll just stop here because I could go on for years with all I've seen within the film..


And I'm wasting some more space now LOL!

-Lowes

Actually, I don't think most Balto fans even pay attention to the crucial details (with exception of those that catch those silly and pointless "bloopers" that make some fans completely diss the film in its entirety - how dare they! *grr*), but I agree with you, Lowes.

Strangely, I never mentioned the butterfly in my dream analysis articles on the site (drat!), so I really was slow to notice that!

Oh, let's waste a bit more space. Wolf Quest is cool enough to waste it on!

W
Wo
Wol
Wolf
Wolf Q
Wolf Qu
Wolf Que
Wolf Ques
Wolf Quest

Hurrah.

- Juuchan17

Exactly! so very true.. I'm absolutely sick of skimming through hundreds of flaming posts

and D-OH! on forgetting to post things XD

Never noticed this...And I doubt many people did, in fact.
One of the few mysteries of Wolf Quest that makes the line between lame and masterpiece difficult to place...

wow the way you pointed it out might well have the artists doing that on purpose to make a subtle point, cool find I think they did it on purpose

That was deep. Very deep. I liked it. I did notice the butterfly, but I never made any connection.

I did notice the butterfly, but I never thought to actually place it in the story line in any way. Lol I just thought it was a random butterfly they threw in there for no reason. That's very cool, though.

Well, I thought it was random too, until I realized it was seen in the most crucial of scenes . . . mainly focusing on the main character (who in this film, was Aleu, not Balto . . . sure it's his series, but the movie is his daughter's). It makes sense.

I don't think they meant for the butterfly to have importance, but I believe it was minorly part of symbolism for Aleu's maturing personality and discovery of her purpose of looking like a wolf. (Especially since that was the one thing that made Aleu angry about the secret of her heritage . . . she looked like a wolf, but no one ever told her about it.)

- Juuchan17