Balto 11 and III

[lupercal]

I've been thinking about the Balto seqiels - I can't help it; they're staring me in the face every time I look at the top 5's - and I'm going to reitterate a sentiment I expressed a couple of years ago.

I think 'Wolf Quest' is a better film than 'Wings of Change' in many ways. At the time I thought 'narrowly', now I think 'pretty clearly'. I know I'm in a minority of about 1 on this, so I'll just condense my previous arguments:

On the whole, Balto 3 (Wings of Change) was a smoother and better realised film, with no real clunks in in it, apart from the awful Stella. By comparison, Balto 2 (Wolf Quest) had 2D that clashed glaringly against CGI, its plot ruined the ending of the original, and it had a horrible final act (except for the very end, which was good) and some crap songs.

But I stand by what I've always said: Wolf Quest aimed high and fell short. Wings of Change aimed low and pulled it off because it wasn't difficult.

The whole concept of Wolf Quest was original, and had it really worked, it could have been a great sequel. Even as it is, it's not bad. Its makers seemed to have a real vision to do something new. 'Wings of Change', ironically, is more like a return to the original film. Less adventerous or original.

All things taken into account, I rate them both about 3 stars. I just think their strengths are in different areas, but WQ is sadly derided when compared with WoC.

Is there anybody in this lonely universe who can see what I'm getting at?

[myFork]

I'm with ya 110%, Loop. :aok: Your statement that WQ " aimed high and fell short" is spot on, as is pretty much everything in the post.
WoC looked better, true, but heck I could care less about that. For me, WoC just seemed a bit too much like the original. Some people like that. I prefer sequels that continue the story, but have something to actually set them apart from the original. Not to mention it seemed even less of an adventure than WQ ( the excitement factor in Wings of Change is so low that the eighth LBT movie seems intense in comparison * rolls eyes * ).
Basically, Loop's said everything I wanted to say... Well at least we can both say that we're not the only person with this mindset. :D

[Inkwolf]

MyFork: thanks. That's pretty much what I think, except I haven't seen LBT8 (but seeing as how I didn't really like the original LBT that's not surprising)

Inkwolf: I didn't think much of either sequel, myself...

Well.... at least you don't just dislike WQ.

Loop

[wildanimals]

I'd agree with all that has been said. WQ would be very impressive if were it not for so many darn flaws. WoC, on the other hand, tried too much to be like the original, instead of focusing on a good story and likable characters. They also forgot that our fictional Balto is part wolf.

[lupercal]

I'm glad that people agree with me on this, but it seems it took about 4 years for it to happen. Balto 3 is still ranked higher than Balto 2, and I doubt Balto 2 or 3 (or even 1) will be geting many new reviews.

Why did everyone diss Wolf Quest when it came out, and then go into paroxysms of joy when 'Wings of Change' came out? Got me stuffed. All up, I still think Wolf Quest is the better movie of the two, by a hair.

Loop

[wildanimals]

After a re-evaluation, I'd rate both sequels about the same. WQ had the potential to be great, but as Loop said, it fell short. It also had the potential to be absolute crap, but it avoided that too. It does have plenty of flaws though:

It's boring and pointless until we get to the bit with Aleu and Muru.

Aleu is whiny and annoying, not mention a complete rip off of Kiara, minus the charm. Only at the end of the film does she mature a bit.

Balto is now a boring overprotective father. But like Aleu, he shows his true colours towards the end.

Niju was an interesting character, but a weak villain. Some say he's a rip off of Steele, but I say he's more similar to Jenner from The Secret of NIMH.

The plot is clichéd DTV formula.

The animation sucks.

The whole 'becoming one with the tree' was weird.

Despite all the flaws, it does have a few redeeming features:

The addition of songs was a mistake, but for a DTV they were quite good.

This point really does make up for most of the flaws. It's the ending. It's not your average ending for a DTV. I won't spoil it for anyone, but it's not what you'd expect.

The third movie had many improvements over the second, and it is (like WQ) a good kids movie. But for some reason, it jusy wasn't as interesting. Great if you are a die-hard fan, but it really didn't feel like the original.

To be honest, I do not think they deserve their place on the top five. Lion King II was much better.