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[NOTE: I have posted this in the Balto 1 section, though this clearly mentions characters in all three films. Please keep all conversation on-topic! Thanks~!]

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Hello there, Balto fans! I bring to you all a special topic that came up in the shoutbox recently [read: last night]... and it's an interesting topic of discussion that could work for a lot of animated films lately.

Is it just me or do any characters that are female are shown to be useless in the Balto-verse?

Yes, I understand that in these times, it was still a very male-oriented sort of world for everyone back in the 1920s, but you'd think that there'd be some girls in the time period that defied the order of things, right? [Aleu may have been the surprise entry here by being the closest gal to breaking this barrier, but I'll get to her soon enough...]

Also, Aniu [or the White Wolf - whichever term floats your boat] doesn't count as "being useless"; she's the most helpful of them all, if only because she probably knows how it'll all turn out in the end. You know, that whole "Great Spirit" thing makes her like the all-seeing, all-knowing deity since they probably can't use anything else, lest it start to get preachy.

But I digress.





Let me elaborate on our female characters, starting with the first movie.

Jenna: Our hero... and villain's love interest. Based on her appearance and her obviously-impossible physical condition, Jenna plays the role of the lead female in this picture. She's loyal to her mistress [good character trait], trusting of Balto [in time; I'm sure at the beginning she was just curious and feeling sorry for the crap he had to put up with, but obviously the curiosity grows quickly in a little over an hour...], and speaks true facts in the villain's face that most other dogs would never dare to say. Ballsy. So, so BALLSY, Jen.

And that's not all! Not only that, but she fights a BEAR. Yes. A bear. Sure, she's tossed like a rag-doll and eventually injures herself, but still... A BEAR! That, my friends, is the epitome of AWESOME. Now wonder Balto really starts to fall for her after she is revived from his icy swim!

Okay, so you're wondering: What's wrong with her here?

To be honest... not much. Compared to the other versions of her [I'm getting ahead of myself, you know], first-movie!Jenna is the best. She actually goes after Balto, is a big help [trust me, that thing about the one pass being blocked when time is of the essence, it's a big freaking deal! It probably helped save those sick people quicker.], and seems to be the only sign of hope in the entire town of Nome when everyone else gives up. At least she's not letting a hurt leg stop her from making the Northern Lights and stand up to Steele's silly tale of faux-hero. Way to go, you.... now tell me what happened to you in the sequels?


Rosy: Our catalyst and *SPOILER ALERT!* our beginning narrator...! Oh, Rosy, you are so ignored and yet you deserve so much credit. The only things we know she did was try to be friends with Balto [at least before her dad screwed that friendship up - nice going, Man! You're just aiding for our hero to be more likely to succeed because he cares for her!], getting sick, getting better, and telling his story to the next generation in her line. The cycle continues...

Naturally, she soon becomes the main suffering victim of diphtheria, making Balto and Jenna worry to high heaven... and BOTH risk their lives to save her. Jenna fails in the wild after being rather brave and awesome [all for the name of LOVE~<3], where Balto eventually succeeds after getting his life really REALLY close to being lost.

Basically, her only purpose was to be the catalyst and - eventually hinted at being [which she was] - the narrator. She does it well, and only gets a couple of mentions in WQ and a opening cameo in WoC, but... that's it. I wish she was more active in WoC actually... That would have been a great addition to the story instead of a certain other character that will not be named yet.


Rosy's Mom: Did nothing but be there for her daughter and husband. Typical mom stuff. Nothing really wrong with that since the focal point of the film is more on the canines [mainly around Balto, Jenna and Steele - the LUV Triangle] than the humans.


Dixie and Sylvie: Pointless, the both of them. What did they really do? Let's see... Dixie's crushing heavy on our bad guy, Sylvie's the gossip hound, and both of them are supposedly Jenna's friends. They didn't act like friends much as Balto started to enter into Jenna's life, but thankfully, we don't see them in the sequels so we don't care. Oh, and they ditch the dodo, Steele at the end too... Dixie's was extremely memorable and packed a freakin' PAWNCH~!


The White Wolf: Okay, this is a stretch... if only because it's hard to tell if the wolf is male or female. If it's really Aniu [which it's revealed by the director of WQ that they are supposed to be the same], then the wolf didn't do much but silently remind Balto of Boris's important words that there are things that wolves can do that dogs just can't... Yay, movie - differences are what make us eventual heroes! Apparently, it worked for Balto, thanks to a tag team of the White Wolf and a white Russian goose.

And then s/he was never seen or mentioned again... until the next movie.





Now, movie two - Wolf Quest:

Aleu: Our "hard-to-believe" focus of the first continuation of Balto's story. She is like her father in ways - part wolf, stubborn as HECK, and somehow... not even she can fight! Have you noticed that a thin wolf nearly pushed her off a cliff into the ocean? Pathetic... almost like Kiara from TLK2 and her hunting skills. Give her mother credit - at least she could fight a BEAR. [then again, Balto was a pathetic fighter in the movie too. Blame the animation crew for making him such a flailing FAIL against that bear.] But yeah, Aleu can't seem to really fend for herself. Balto saves her. Nava, the elder leader, tries to save her. She's nearly defeated by Niju... before her DAD saves her.

...And she's making the choice to lead a pack of wolves? Reckless much? Honestly, I would have preferred her staying with Nava while her dad goes off and leads the wolves. He is much more wolf than she is ["one who is wolf..."], and doesn't seem to remember too much of his own lupine skills anymore ["...and does not know"], but the writers chose to go the dramatic road, just enough to make us go "....Wait, what?"

Also, she's seen as annoying - the voice, her swiftness to blaming her dad for not finding a home, her whole "me-me-ME" search, etc. - but at least she matures for the better in the last... 15-20 minutes? Amazing how she went from "I hate you for making me part-wolf!" to "I'm destined to be the wolves' leader!" in a matter of... days? [Time is never really established during that time after Aleu leaves and Balto returns home - Fail, movie. Just... FAIL.] Was it the mouse's song that just suddenly changed her mind in a day's time? Wow, I wish those existed in real life.


Saba: She wasn't that important, thanks to the one line of dialogue a little kid got to do and the fact that we know she's adopted by some kid in Nome and never seen again except for a flashback in WoC. Again, useless. Loved by her parents - yes.... but it still doesn't make up for how pointless her role is. Ah, the fate of "never-will-be-developed" minor characters. To think Kodi was originally one of these.


Jenna: I know what you're thinking... "WTF, Juuchan - you're mentioning her AGAIN?" Well, different movie, different writers... yet we get the SAME PROBLEM. Jenna does NOTHING... but have Balto's kids, shed a tear or two, and eventually stay behind and worry, while the "hero" [now flawed, thank goodness] finds their daughter and goes on a journey of destiny to nearly fight with a wolf that look like big navy-blue cats.

Honestly, she was told to stay behind by Balto and Boris, but did she have to really follow what the guys say? I mean, Aleu was her daughter too... and she never really got a good-bye from her either. That's just... not cool. Sure, they wanted to focus on the ones with wolfish qualities in this adventure, but still... it would have made Jenna awesome again instead of completely boring as heck.


The Fox: First off, may her voice actress rest in peace. Secondly, let's just say that I'm more pleased with this minor spirit character than any of the females on this list so far. At least she's the only character in the entire movie that has the balls to push Balto around, even if it's in only one scene.

...Oh WAIT. She's actually Aniu in disguise. Oh, crud-muffins... so that's why she actually is a productive female! Totally makes sense.





And... sigh, movie three - Wings of Change.

Stella: Ugh. The most disliked, feather-boobed female in the whole series... and she was strangely - I can't believe I'm saying this - helpful near the beginning of the film's climatic rescue. Unfortunately, the only reasons why she was being helpful was... because she could fly and it was HER FAULT. If she hadn't been all seductive on Boris at first sight, I'm sure she would have slowly made me like her... but she had boobies. Large, visible ones... and loads of sexual overtones with things she said, gestures she made, and the way she dropped hints about what she wanted... You know, it's for kids!

I wish I knew what the writers [who were the original writers of the original film and now all of the Barbie films - were they making Stella a sexy goose Barbie then?] were thinking...

At least they made her lash out at Boris. He deserved it after lying to her like that. At least they made up in the end... but we all know that we would have preferred them staying separate and single.


Dipsy: I almost forgot about her - shows how important she was in my eyes. The only important things I saw her do was listen with her long, floppy ears about the rules of the plane vs. dogs race and act as the chill pill for Mel when he goes out of his mind with theories of what could happen. Other than that, she eats and steals jerky a lot. Gluttony in a canine form, I swear.


Dusty: Her only claims to fame are for being the only obvious female on Kodi's sled team, possibly being Kodi or Ralph's possible love match [I ship both, by the way.], and for... being easily mistaken as a husky version of Kodi's now-in-the-wild sister by many Balto-verse newbies. Well, she does howl like two or three times in the film.

The only thing of worth that she's even done other than running with the boys on the sled team has been... siding with Kodi when he realizes that the huskies don't give a crud about a pilot that could be dying in the cold. We don't know until later that she's probably convinced the rest of her trio to follow Kodi and help Balto with finding Duke. Whoo-hoo, she DID SOMETHING!


Jenna: ...Wait, AGAIN???? Well, she was encouraging to Balto [and she can SING LIKE ARIEL~!], and actually got upset with Kodi for NOT going out with Balto to find Duke and Boris and even said that she should have followed him herself.

So... why didn't she? [Or I'm sure many fans would have preferred, "Why didn't Steele go after him instead of the mail dogs?" Trust me, it would have been more EPIC that way.... but I digress again.] The story might have been different if she had. Other than that, she's not really too helpful, as she's either: a) in a scene with Mel and/or Dipsy; b) in a scene with Balto; or c) in a scene with Kodi. I will admit that she seems to also be the voice of sanity when around Mel, that darn crazy mail dog.





And that's it! Now it's your turn: What do you think about the females in the Balto-verse? Who do you think was the most useful female in the series, and who was the least? Please explain your reasons if you can - it would help add to the discussion!

Thank you so much for reading!

- Juuchan17

Jenna can sing like Ariel--reference there?

Anyway--I agree. All the females in this movie series seemed to have either put-down roles, or neglible roles. (Or Stella roles, for lack of a better term.) It could have been handled better--heck, it SHOULD have been.

...I really can't add anything, because you said everything that could be said. All I can really say is.... *points to above* THIS!

Yeah, there was - Jenna's VA in the sequels is Jodi Benson, the iconic voice of Ariel from the Little Mermaid canon [YES, all of it! What a rarity!]. Jenna doesn't sing exactly like Ariel, though... but I tried. XD

Yes, it should have been. [Define "Stella role": Noun. Either a) the overly-sexy female that does hardly anything vital to the plot, or; b) a plain female that basically causes a main problem and tries to help fix it.] I hate to say that either Aniu [WQ, not White Wolf in Balto], Jenna [first movie] or Aleu [second half of WQ] were the least pointless - if only because Jenna was elegant, loyal yet bad-butt in the first film... and Aleu was actually one of the smartest, defiant characters in the last 15 minutes of the film [not to mention that she actually grew into a more-understanding character]. And Aniu... she sees all, knows all and basically guided the players toward the stage of destiny.

And thank you, Skul~ I'm not worthy, really, but I tried my best to make sure I had enough info on everyone so that no one was left out. I think I missed writing a bit more on Aniu's overall role in WQ, but we all know what she did.

- Juuchan17

Rosie - She's not a bad character and not so useless at all. She's just a little girl. She is the individual portrait of all the ill children and makes the epidemy case more touching and personal.

Jenna - Main female in the first movie and compares to her friends, the only "thinking" one here. Even though she is loyal and brave, I have an annoying feeling that sometimes they force her to be "damsel in distress". Like after bear fight, she runs all over the ice to seach for Balto and when she says she'll go with him, she suddenly becomes wounded after the fight. Strange that we don't see any bandage or any other sigh of her wound later.
It's still so bad that she's not given a bigger role in the sequels, especially WQ. she was just there to give birth to puppies then "they're yours Balto, I don't care". What kind of mother is that? Thankfuly in WoC she's given a small but rather important role and is shown to care for her kids again, when she comes to speak with Kodi.

Dixie & Sylvie - "Jenna's dumb friends" I say. Typical material girls judging others by their look and status, shown as an opposite to Jenna. Like you said, if they were supposed to be Jenna's friends, they don't act like friends at all...

White Wolf/Aniu - I liked hes as a mysterious and magical aspect of the movie. She may not have a big role at all, but she guides and watches over Balto all the time.

Aleu - She could have been better... She could have ben MUCH better... Just a wasted potential of character. I think directors wanted to make her so much strong personality traits that it turned out rather... flat to me.

Saba - "The heck? Why is she on this list?" exactly.

Dusty - Just a team mate and sled member. She was just doing what her team did, with a little bigger role. After all those "male-centered" movies I'm happy she was a girl. A bit tomboyish, working girl.

Dipsy - Pretty much unnoticed. Unnoticed because she was rather useless.

Stella - She wasn't a bad character al all(haet mee naou!), but she was there to be Boris' love interest. I didn't even like the idea of Boris having a mate, so in that case she was useless too.



So all of those I'd pick Jenna, Aniu and Dusty.

Just because Jenna was injured doesn't mean it needs to be visible. I've always assumed that she just twisted her ankle or something--that wouldn't need a whole lot of treatment, and it would pretty much heal in time for her to be able to walk normally when Balto brought back the serum.
I agree with what you said about the "damsel in distress" part, though. it seems like the producers were trying to dumb down the other characters to let Balto appear more of a hero. But it backfired in a way, because it gave the characters less of a role. So I see it as a result of the producers shamelessly worshipping the main character to get more money by making Balto have to save literally everyone.

Rosy had a role, but she was the pawn Balto used to get Jenna to like him. While her character was used to introduce the main conflict and give it a "personal" feel, I can't help but feel that Balto used her. It's like, Oh, I want Jenna to like me, but I don't know how to do that because she won't efen look at me. I need to do something to impress her. Wait, her owner is sick and dying. I know--I'll just risk my life to save her by openly defying Steele, who happens to hate me and can kill me with a flick of his paw. I'm probably going to die in the act, but at least Jenna will know that I love her!

Stella was pointless. Enough said.

Aleu could have been improved upon, but I like her personality. It makes her defiant and rebellious, but I think she just needed to feel more accepted. This could have happened had Balto not been so over-protective.

I agree with you completely on everything else, though.

Ooooh boy. This is gonna take some effort to muddle through and answer, but I DO want to attempt it.

(Sorry for all the informational links, but I expect there are going to be plenty of people who need them.)

But first, an overture to my post and what I feel about this topic (and no offense to Juuchan17 or ANY poster)...





This ISN'T meant sarcastically or dismissively, but I have to say it. It HAS to be said:

So now we've come to the inference that the Balto movies, and specifically the two sequels, are misogynistic? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny) How long, I wonder, before we see inferred or openly-stated accusations of homophobia? Racism? Xenophobia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia)? Ethnocentrism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnocentrism)? Pit bull hate () because there's no poor, horribly-misunderstood, baby-cuddling pit bulls in the movies? Is THIS what we've come to now?

Honestly, people...

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Be that as it may, I will now respond to each female character issue in turn...


I think you may be assigning too much of a thought process either way to the writers, directors, and production designers. I simply think they crafted three stories which, while THEORETICALLY male-heavy, do actually show females in good roles...and not as weak or irrelevant. And in a few bad ones. And I shall respond to each of your assertions, as I said, one by one.


It seems pretty apparent to me that the gang involved in producing Wolf Quest simply wanted to take the more vague and non gender-specific white wolf in the first movie and expand upon it, in their own direction, and fit it into the sequel in a way that supported the story. Making the wolf a spirit (though it is never clear from the first movie as to whether or not the mysterious white wolf is a REAL wolf, in cartoon terms, or a spirit), and Balto's mother, AND a guiding spirit in the sense seen in aboriginal beliefs all over the world and through time, makes it very clear that they were quite willing to put a female character in a position of great power and authority...and as a "MacGuffin" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin) for Balto and Aleu to resolve their heritage issues over. And a very GOOD MacGuffin, I might add. And she was done with great care by her voice artist (Monnae Michaell - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm091056. WHY "Moné Walton" is STILL listed as the voice actor, an error I pointed out here over two years ago, is a complete befuddlement to me. Besides being the wrong information, the actor listed is a GUY. And it is obvious to anyone who is not deaf that the voice actor who played Aniu is NOT a guy! But I digress).


Rosy serves all of those purposes, but she also serves to be the link, in the form of a person we can identify and sympathize with (being a cute little girl) to the whole point behind the story of the first movie in the first place. She represents, in cartoon terms, all of the children AND adults who suffered and died during the real diphtheria epidemic in the real Nome back in 1925. Another very fine MacGuffin (as is the epidemic itself).


She's a background, supporting character. Not every female character in the movies has to be on par with Rosie the Riveter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_the_Riveter) or Wonder Woman. Sheesh.


As I see it, Sylvie represents the stereotypical gossiping woman. As I indicated in my response above, not every female character, just as not every male character, can represent the shining pinnacle of gender-specific virtues, autonomy and power.

Same with Dixie. She represents, in many ways, not only the vacuous, air-headed nature of self-absorbed women (those who act and think like that I obviously mean), but perhaps even the "flapper" mindset of early 20th century America.

Now, I DID vote for Dixie and Sylvie in your poll. But only because, for ALL the characters represented in the three movies, I think these two have the least to offer in terms of plot devices or story support. They're just so much fluff. And, in a sense, comedy relief (Sylvie coming off like a very ethnically-specific version of Mike Myers' "Linda Richman" character in the Saturday Night Live "Coffee Talk" sketch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Talk; and Dixie, for lack of a better comparison, rather like the stage & screen persona of the real flapper and singer upon whom the famous cartoon character "Betty Boop" was actually based, the very talented Helen Kane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Kane).


I think that, since the gender of that character was never defined in the first movie, much less its identity or even whether or not it was a real wolf (as I indicated above), including it here is premature.


Aleu represents the bratty, self-absorbed, thoughtless teenager with issues. Could just as easily have been a male character as a female one. They had a 50/50 shot here, and decided to go with a female character. In the end, she takes the lead of the wolf pack of her own accord, having interpreted what Nava was saying and what Aniu apparently meant to communicate to Nava (and her). So she grows through the course of the movie. She starts out as a selfish brat (a very realistic portrayal, as many teens, unintentionally or at least non-maliciously in many cases, can be very bratty, selfish and confrontational with their parents)...and grows in understanding and maturity during her journey to become a fledgling leader of a wolf pack. Not bad. There are no gender issues here whatsoever. Her character was really interchangeable...could have been a male as easily as a female. I just think the father/daughter thing worked out better as a plot device than a father/son thing did in this particular kind of story.


Again, background, supporting character here. They obviously felt the need to give at least a few of the puppies something to say, even if it was a toss-off line here and there just to move the scene along or to try to emphasize why Balto felt the need to remain alone. Or just for a cute father/daughter moment. Again, the line could just as easily have been tossed to a male character. It is irrelevant, and not negatively-reflective of female characters at all.


Okay...I'll give you this one...to a degree. In the second movie, Jenna is a weak character. She spends more time wringing her proverbial hands (paws? ) and shedding tears than aught else. Meh. Bad writing or story development? Probably.

But in Wings of Change? I think she does come through. Okay, granted...she's not the brash young heroine who saves Balto's butt in the scuffle with the grizzly. But she succeeds in planting the seeds of guilt in Kodi, as any mother might do, in order to get him to recognize the error of his thinking. She's the final moral compass upon which Kodi spurs into action...not Balto. In that respect, I think she was rescued from the lame part she was given in the second movie.


Once again, this was a role which could just as easily have been made male as female. I think they probably DID make it female in order to diversify the gender representation. I think. But the character's main purpose is to be "the cunning trickster" and impart a lesson on to Balto...not to, once again, be a shining pinnacle of female virtues and autonomy. Gender specificity in this case is, once again, irrelevant.


I STILL don't have the problems with this character that several Balto fans seem to have. And I don't get it. As a "sexed up" character and an unapologetic flirt, she's NO different at all from Dixie. Not at all. In fact, compared to Dixie, she's a rather strong female personality, and much more action-oriented. And I still see the only major issue most fans have with Stella is the prodigious breasts. Again, granted. But she is presented as a flirty, sexy female. A substantial number of cartoon artists and animators are men, folks. They're gonna slip in little things like that when they can get away with it. They did it in the Looney Tunes, they did it in Disney movies, they did it in MGM cartoons, etc. etc. etc. No one seems to have such a big problem with those. It is rather ridiculous, in my opinion, that fans vent so much spleen over this character when, if you look past the boobs and the flirtatiousness, she's actually more involved in the story (and DOES help) than Dixie ever was in the first movie.

Besides, I don't think it was such a crime to give Boris a chance at a little romance anyway.


Hello? Background, supporting character again. Just meant to be a friend...a buddy...to Mel. It was nice, I think, that they decided to make that buddy a female instead of just another male character. A bit of a glutton? Okay. Ralph's fat, and a wussy (the toe nail thing). How is that any different than Dipsy being a chunky jerky freak? More than half the dogs in the first movie are portrayed as fat. Bad artistry in my opinion. Are we now going to see a topic about discrimination, by the Balto movies, against fat people in animal form because I made the mistake of mentioning this?


Background. Supporting. Character. And I think it helped to show that a dog team could have (and did have, in the real world) female as well as male dogs in its makeup. Isn't that, I don't know, kind of sympathetic to the female gender?





I did have a concern with that. But she is still shown crumpling momentarily under the "weight" of some inferred pain, as a result of the injury, during the scene where she collects the broken bottle glass and the lantern to light the way for the team. I am sure, however, it was just a sprain rather than a fracture or break. That seems to be what they were going for there. But the fact that there is no bandage or splint around the leg after the injury anywhere in the subsequent scenes (from the bear fight)? Or a slight limp? Yeah, that was bad story design. She would not have been jumping around on it so enthusiastically, so soon after the incident with the bear, upon Balto's return. Though it is not clearly defined in the movie, the real serum run was a total of seven days in length (more or less). Even in the real world, however, a sprain, bruise or other fatiguing injury doesn't heal quite that fast.

Well, there's too much to reply to really LOL You all make very good points, but my idea of pointlessness is asking "If this character was cut out, would the movie stand on it's own, and what differences would it make?"

Jenna: Yes, she may have fought the bear, people, but in all reality, she was just more reason for Balto to be as determined as he was. Even if Balto openly says "Rosie" after screwing up big time and falling off that cliff, we as an audience were intended to be more connected to Jenna. Why is this? Because even tho Rosie was the link, we get WAY. WAY WAY more screentime with Jenna (yes Rosie was sick, but come on, is that really any excuse to practically cut her out of the movie?). More time to bond with Jenna, more time to see that her relationship to our hero is important.

Why is her relationship to Balto important? It's not really clear. We never actually know WHY Balto likes her, because it's not explained (well, a movie's job is to show and not tell, but I'll get to that in a minute). Anything fans have to say about why Balto loves Jenna is just conjured up thought or implications. Any playful banter between the two in later movies never existed in the first movie. Both are very quiet characters, so they never talk to each other much, or really BOND for that matter.

As an audience it's not obvious to us that Balto knew Jenna before he saw her at the race. For all we know, he was falling for her looks right away, and then proceeded to flirt with her in his own little Balto way (which, by the way, Balto? You're a sicko. Rosie's all sick and Jenna's all worried, it's a PERFECT time to take advantage of your love interest and work your magic. Psh. Typical guy. Only after one thing, I tell ya). But I digress (alot of that going on in this topic)

Take Jenna out. What do we have to work with? Balto spending more time with Rosie? Rosie, as in the ONLY person who's genuinely nice to Balto. We get to have more reason to see Balto and Rosie connect? Uhhh BETTER, I'd say.

Let's see, what else... Jenna goes after Balto and fights the bear. So she was able to distract the bear, giving Balto enough time to "escape" (really Balto? Really? You have time to GFTO and you're crawling backwards? Time is of the essence and you kind of have to NOT DIE today. Kindly be a bit more strategic.)

But Balto's the hero, if he died right then, there wouldn't be a movie. So take out that scene where Balto gets pinned by bear:

- Bear tosses Balto
- Balto falls down the hill
- Bear proceeds to chase after Balto
- Muk and Luk save Balto from drowning
- Balto thanks BORIS for being there. And we move on.

BUT CAAAAAAT WITHOUT JENNA'S NEWS ABOUT THE PASS BEING BLOCKED, BALTO WOULD'VE BEEN DOOMED! Excuse me? What pass? When was this "pass" previously mentioned in the movie? And when did anyone say it was blocked? Where did Jenna hear of this? Seems pretty important to the plot, wouldn't you say? Why was it overlooked so easily???

So Jenna gets booted from the movie and doesn't deliver the message, what is our hero to do when he discovers the random passage is blocked? He goes another route. OH NO, SETBACKS! Movies tend to be full of those, eh?

BUT JENNA WAS THE ONLY ONE TO TELL OFF STEELE! BSer, please, Dixie did a MUCH better job than Jenna did. And we already know that Steele wasn't motivated by Jenna to save the town. It's clear to us from the beginning that he's just interested in fame and trolling Balto. So take Jenna out, we get more Steele interacting with Balto, which would give us more incentive to dislike him, I'd say (or if you're like me and Juuchan, more shipping fuel LOL).

Take Jenna out of the movie, Steele doesn't have a sexy lady to drool over, he still frames Balto into looking like a vicious mutt, he still gets lost, he still kicks Balto's butt, he still makes it back to Nome, he still gets revealed for lying, and everyone proceeds to hate him. So as far as Steele's concerned, pretty much nothing changes. And when you're not important enough to effect the VILLAIN of a movie, despite how often you interact with him? You're pretty useless.

BUT JENNA WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO BELIEVED IN BALTO! Um... wrong. Boris backed Balto up like a true wingman (lawl) and even if Boris said the idea of going after the medicine was crazy, he changed his mind like RIGHT AWAY. He didn't even KNOW Rosie (as far as we know) and he was willing to risk his life to be with Balto through thick and thin.

And Jenna only believed in Balto cuz she found out that he left xD If she wasn't at that particular window, she wouldn't have known and wouldn't have followed him, and then randomly fallen for him. So without her, no one would believe in Balto? Wrong. Boris believes! (Tho I guess if you replace the beautiful Northern Lights scene with Boris, it kind of loses it's edge LOL but a bit of tweaking would make that work.) After all, Balto remembers BORIS'S words of wisdom when he was in a jam. Jenna hardly said or did anything inspiring other than to give Balto well... a warm fuzzy feeling.)

So truly, if Jenna wasn't around, would Balto have still succeeded? Yes. And he did (refers to the real life Balto who didn't have a love interest to complete the task.)

Now onto the other girls.

Aleu: Well, if she didn't exist we wouldn't have a sequel. That would be a tragedy. But okay, humor me. If Aleu wasn't in this movie and Balto still had dreams, he'd have to go on his own quest to try to get rid of them. Which means leaving Rosie, who apparently isn't important to him anymore, (and we can pretend that since Aleu doesn't exist Jenna doesn't either) and he'd have to set on a journey to discover and learn about his past, by for the first time ever living among wolves. Hmmm... interesting.

Saba: If she didn't exist, or if any of Aleu's sisters didn't exist, Balto would have sons? *shrugs*

Dipsy: Take her out of the movie and what do we have to laugh at? An unfunny paranoid dog, a promiscuous old goose lady, an out of character Boris, and two mentally-challenged polar bears one of which fakes an accent terribly. BUT SHE HEARD THE MAILMEN-- I'm sure she's not the only dog in the entire group that can hear. Next!

Dusty: Try, try, try to think up what real purpose she has. Take her out of the loop, Kodi's fans have nothing but fan characters to present as a love interest to him, BAZZINGA!

Anyway, take Dusty out, we lose a character that presents one of three excuses for the mail team to be late. The mail team would be a MALE team. There'd be an already-uneven amount of female characters to put aside the male characters. And only Ralph and Kirby would be looking after Kodi when he leaves.

As far as we the audience can see, she provided no extra leverage to convincing the boys to go after Kodi. Why do we know this? Because Kodi already made his speech, and HE was supposed to be the one to do the right thing, and therefore the others were going to follow HIS example. We're supposed to be all like "Yay Kodi!" because he decided to do the right thing, not all "Yay Dusty!" because she convinced them to help offscreen (which we can say DIDN'T happen because it wasn't shown.)

Jenna in the third movie: Without her Kodi would still be all Mr. Peepeepants because Daddy Hero wanted to save Mr. Evil Pilot Man. Take her out, we'd get an opportunity to see Kodi actually be a stronger character and either follow his father's lead OR convince HIMSELF to do the right thing. Not be guilt-tripped into it by Momsie or anyone else.

Aniu/The Fox: Well, I pretty much agree with Juu on these guys.

Stella: Tho I did find her disturbing at first, she aaaaaactually was the only character to make me laugh. Which was a nice reprieve from the unfunny jokes and the yawnfest of a conflict.

Are y'all seeing what I'm saying? I think I dragged his on for too long LOL

Good idea for a topic. I chose Jenna, though in my opinion, Jenna, Rosy, and Aniu are all extremely important characters. Jenna is obvious (you pointed out most of her importance). Balto began to like her from the start of the film, and it was his drive to impress her that led us to Rosy. Because of Jenna and Rosy, Balto soon realized the children were dying due to diptheria. In all honesty, I'm not sure Balto would have even gone to rescue the medicine, had it not been for Jenna and Rosy. That being said, Aniu was important as well, even in the first film. She was the reminder for Balto to keep going, and in essence, she gave him the strength to continue onward. In the second movie, her importance is doubled, but you've already mentioned that as well. ;3

I pretty much agree with JC on these for the most part, although on the fracture (if that's what it was) I should point out that hairline fractures often don't immediately show themselves; it takes a bit of punishment before they really become noticeable. Jenna's leg could have been cracked when the bear whacked her, then been aggavated by teh activity following (running, scrabbling at the ice) and finally given way. The speedy recovery was a mistake on teh creators' part, but that's about it.

I also think it's a fallacy that those who stay behind in a conflict are inherently useless. Having spoken to a veteran or three in my time, I'm of the firm conviction that any time someone is far from home struggling to get a message through or win a war or basically anything else of that nature, nine times out of ten it's the people back home they do it for. Anyone who says that waiting while someone you care about is out on the front lines is soehow inferior has obviously never been in such a position.

Also, the notion that supporting characters are somehow lesser for being supporting characters rather than stars? Hogwash. Where would All Dogs go to Heaven be without Itchy? Where would Bambi be without Thumper? And the notion that there HAS to be some Wonder Woman taking the lead, or that a female character is lacking something just because she's not right in the thick of everything? Now I liked Tangled - what I saw of it anyway - and I've seen my share of other movies and read my share of books with strong, more or less independent ladies. But come on, demanding that there always be a woman in the fight who is as overtly heroic or moreso than the main man is just as sexist as never having one. People just don't fuss about it as much because it's sexist against men. Watch this, now: it doesn't matter that pretty much every view (especially the more "oppressive" ones) I have on female gender roles came straight from my mother; because I'm a man speaking "against" women, all the ladies are going to come after me for saying this with their frying pans. Or bazookas. Take your pick.

Also, I notice cat's remark that Jenna not delivering that message wouldn't have been such a disaster. Apparently you never took part in any kind of emergency response, lady, and if you keep that notion in your head I hope you never do. When lives are at stake, every second counts. Plus, if the trail was blocked by an avalanche, Balto could easily have been buried in an aftershock if he took the wrong route. This is your basic rocket science here (sarcastic).

A few things, 1) The pass was not previously mentioned in the movie and is not so much an "emergency" so much as a "plot device." 2) Even if it was mentioned earlier, they played it off as so useless that it hadn't even crossed ANYONE'S mind and is, therefore useless and therefore making Jenna (having to deliver said useless news) forced into a false sense of purpose.

And as you can tell, we're talking about the Balto series, not All Dogs Go To Heaven, not Bambi. Itchy actually served a purpose, he was more than a sidekick. He was Charlie's best friend and you saw them interact enough to feel when Charlie was being terrible to him or really cared about him.

We're not complaining about girl characters in general being "useless," or even the side characters being "useless." It's just the ones from Balto. We can go on about any other secondary characters in Balto being useless (Luk, Nikki, Sumac, Moose #1, etc), but obviously the topic at hand is the FEMALE characters.

And Bambi is an entirely different kind of movie altogether, so it's very difficult to even compare the characters. That's like saying ANY part of Bambi's life was pointless. The movie is about Bambi's life, not him fulfilling his destiny, not saving the forest, not defeating man, it was just the life of that deer. So comparing Bambi to Balto is very silly.

What no one here realizes about girl characters or even boy characters who are just there to play the "love interest" is that it's literally all they're there for. Jenna applies. Why? Because as soon as she shows some kind of use, they yank her out of the plot for a painfully contrived reason that could only be the result of "meh" writing.

So it's somehow a big deal for the females to be "useless" but not for the males? Sexist.


Granted, Thumper was mainly for comic relief, but he had an influence on Bambi's life all the same. Still, you're resorting to a straw man ploy here. As I already pointed out, the notion that those who stay behind are of no importance is nothing short of blunt ignorance.


Out of the plot? Not remotely. Who was it who stood up on his behalf against Steele's lies? No journey, no conflict at all, has meaning if there is no hope for those at the front, or at the back. Like I said, I know a veteran or three. Come over here and I'll introduce you to one of them. You tell him his wife was of no importance while he was overseas, and we'll see what he says.

As for the so-called "meh" writing, what's so contrived about being injured in a fight with a bear, especially with bones that thin? It would have been more contrived if she had not been forced to turn back. And what is so "meh" about the hero having to go on alone? It's one of the most effective ways of drawing out what's really inside. Have you never heard that character is what you do when no one is looking?

Okay...I'd have a tough time arguing with you on that, primarily because of my dedication to the real history, and the fact that the actual Balto was neutered as a puppy and didn't need any romantic prodding to get him involved (not that any dog had some sort of sentient epiphany about needing to help and get involved in the run. ). And for the reasons I stated earlier about what I think Rosy represents to us (which is also, I think, VITALLY important in the first movie).

Jenna obviously was added to give the main character in a cartoon a romantic experience. We can all agree with that I am sure...no matter what we think of Jenna otherwise. That is common for cartoon movies, and it's fairly obvious here. Do we know why Tramp was attracted to Lady? Pongo to Perdie? Simba to Nala? Need I go on? LOL There's no deep understory or plot line to follow in a cartoon about romantic developments. In a children's cartoon, they just happen with as little story development as is needed to tell it. Were you expecting a Casablanca-esque romance here? Come on, Cat!


I don't know that I saw it that way. I think that, when Balto saw why Jenna was so distracted, he showed pretty honest sympathy and empathy. For both Jenna and Rosy. What is very apparent to me is that Balto knew Rosy before the race. There's pretty strong, if perhaps still circumstantial, evidence to support this. Rosy addresses him, at the end of the race, in a very familiar way, as if a friendship had already been established sometime before the start of the movie.


Does it matter that the issue of the "pass" being blocked was not mentioned prior to that point? They didn't mention the precarious chasm with the fragile ice bridge either (nor at all). Or the cave with the touchy stalactites. Did their sudden revelation during the course of the movie bother you? No? But they weren't foreshadowed! Perish the thought!


By using a rather obvious and uncreative dig? ("You're positively disposable!") And practically having her head pop like a balloon after turning all red-faced and blowing up her cheeks and ruffling her fur? What? As opposed to the sly, subtle dig Jenna threw calmly at Steele? Or that "I like my meat cooked" thing later on? Seems to me she's got more moxie than Dixie (who's rather predictable).


I pointed that out above, in my first post. Was it necessary? Nah. But it didn't hurt either. Was it wrong for them to have a female character on the team? Was not giving her some critical role a good reason to believe that she should have been excluded altogether?


As I have said innumerable times before, the storyline and conflict in Wings of Change, while not based upon any actual event in history, IS based solidly upon the developing events in Alaska at the time, as they impacted the mail delivery service (and methods). And how it did impact dog sledding. Okay, so it's not Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader. Or Kirk versus Khan. Or James versus the Giant Peach (okay, I was joking on this one ). But I like the conflict in this one. It's subtle, and there is no clear-cut bad guy to just hate on. The viewer has no predictable villain to slather some hatin' onto. That's pretty good writing. The "bad guy", in the person of Duke (and, by extension, his bush plane), is actually a pretty decent guy, and pretty hard to hate. Presenting a villain who really isn't a villain is not bad writing, Cat.

(Though I guess, in a way, it would have been cool to hear Balto viciously and bitterly yelling "STEEEEEEEELE!!!" while it gradually faded away, echoing into the hills outside of Nome. ROFL)

When did you become a Southron, Miss Catie, ma'am? ROFL

Missed this one before. Cat, that's pathetic. How was he supposed to know Rosie was in the hospital when he made that remark about chasing sticks? It's not like he had a lot to go on, and he was distracted enough that no one with an ounce of sense would blame him for not putting two and two together - especially when he only had one. If you want a guy to automatically figure out a completely situation just from a single glimpse when he's distracted as is, go watch The Great Mouse Detective. Sheesh.

I could go on, but I think JC's making good enough points on his own. So for what my vote's worth (after all, I'm just a guy), I think JC's mopping the floor with you, cat.

Also, a suggestion to Juuchan: if this topic is supposed to be of a persuasive nature, and It certainly seems to be going in that direction, I think there should be an option to change one's vote in case people change their minds after hearing new arguments.

You two each want a pair of boxing gloves stuffed with some horse shoes, and a boxing ring or something?

I'd just like to point out that I'm simply debating points raised, not trying to mop anyone's proverbial floor here. Heh...


Now that I can roll with.

Fair enough. That's more or less what I'm doing here too, but I'm not much into pulling punches. You seem a lot better at that, a skill I sometimes envy. It's hard to be diplomatic when... well, I'm going to try to do it now and skip the rest of that thought.

Long story short, you're doing a good job of answering. As someone who was often told he should be on a debate club back in high school, I think you'd make an excellent team mate.


Thanks.