User reviews

I felt this film was kinda like Balto himself--a bit rough around the edges, but with a heart of gold underneath. I didn't care for Boris, Mu(c)k and Lu(c)k this time around, but Maurice LaMarche, Lacey Chabert and Mark Hamill were good as Balto, Aleu and Niju. However, the BEST piece of casting was David Carradine as Nava...he was WONDERFUL. The songs were generally well-done, and "Taking You Home" was beautiful. I really thought the ending of the movie was well-done: hopeful and leaving you with a satisfying feeling without being a traditional "happy ending."

So I have to say I still like the original a bit more, but this film was by no means a failure.

I think this film, as a sequel, does a huge disservice to the original Balto - in my opinion one of the finest animated moves ever and one of the few movies ever to move me to tears.

First, I really wish we could have had Kevin Bacon and Bridget Fonda back from the original. While the voices were good, it left me feeling a bit lost as to the relation to the first. Mark Hamill's voice was also completely inappropriate for Niju - at least as he was drawn, it should have been much deeper. Second, the animation - compared to the first - is atrocious. The computer-generated parts are easily identifiable and the scenes just don't seem to mesh as well as the original Balto. The combat scenes don't seem to flow very well. And one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind from the first is gone: the complex facial expressions of the characters. Third, the plot (while good) has some holes that you could fly a 747 through. The two evil wolves (and indeed the clan) were introduced so suddenly it sent me reeling, and how did the wolf pack suddenly know Balto's name? Fourth, it tried too hard to be Lion King - and it was so visible. With Aleu hanging off that cliff, I kept seeing Simba. With Niju standing up on the rock, I kept seeing Scar preaching to the lions. Why does every movie now feel they must pay homage to the Lion King in some fashion?

Still, the movie does have many redeeming qualities. It stays interesting for most of the film and deals with some issues that can be looked at by both children and adults from both sides - when to let go. Besides the holes - and no film is perfect - the plot was good, and I truly enjoyed the Inuit references in the film - one of the truly forgotten cultures of America.

Overall, it was a good film and worth the DVD, but it could have been so much more.

What with the popularity of their numerous direct-to-video sequels to The Land Before Time and An American Tail, it's not surprising that Universal's latest video offering is a sequel to their 1995 Balto. The original is based on the true story of a dog who, facing unbelievable dangers, brought medicine to those of Nome, Alaska when many children were suffering a life-threatening sickness. This one finds Balto father to some adorable pups, all of whom are adopted by a human eight weeks after birth – except Aleu, who looks more like a wolf then her half-wolf father. When a hunter mistakes her for one, Balto reveals the truth about her mixed heritage, and she runs – with Dad hot on her trail, thanks to a mysterious raven from a reoccurring nightmare. The result is an enjoyable Wolf Quest, which surprisingly doesn't do harm to the original. While the animation here isn't top-notch – more Cartoon Network-ish -- that's to be expected from a direct-to-video sequel. Indeed, the film's main fault is being a musical – featuring a singing rat – something the first movie never was designed to be. The songs are good, and fit well, but longtime fans of the original might be a bit disappointed. On a nicer note, the villains from within the wolf pack pleasantly resemble Steele and his gang of bully dogs from the first movie, and the bear sequence would have been just as brilliant as the one in the original if not for the cheesy `inner knowing' ending to the scene. By far not as good as the first, but a wonderful movie nonetheless, and one I'll definitely watch again. ***** (5/5).

The adventure of Balto continues with a charming, heart-warming continuation of where the first film left off. I don't think it is as good as the first film, but it is certainly an improvement on previous sequel efforts, is there anyone here who didn't like Cinderella 2 or Secret of NIMH 2? If anything I wish the film was five minutes longer, to me the ending seemed rather abrupt. Balto: Wolf Quest also doesn't have the best story in the world, but the story still is well-paced, and in general well-written, despite some uneven attempts at humour.(Muk and Luk) The script is on the most part touching, and I thought the animation, while not as good as the animation in the first film, was very good, with a lot of symbolism that I thought was most effective on screen. I liked the songs, beautiful melodies, but sometimes overshadowed the story. The film is brought to life by a terrific voice cast, including Little Mermaid's Jodi Benson as Jenna. Boris wasn't as funny here, but Charles Fleischer does a commendable job, he reminded me a bit of John Cleese's Jean Bob in Swan Princess. Lacey Chabert is very spirited as Aleu, a young wolf who yearns to find the truth about herself, and Mark Hamill is suitably nasty as Niju. I thought the actor with the best vocal talents in the movie, was the late David Carradine as Nava, a performance of subtlety and restraint that was admirable. I will confess I was very scared by the three wolverines, with their burning red eyes, their appearance is enough to frighten a very young child. All in all, a charming sequel, not as good as the first film, but I wasn't expecting it to be. I've learnt now that save a couple of exceptions,(Toy Story 2, Home Alone 2 and Garfield 2) none of the sequels I have seen to anything, surpasses the original. 7/10 Bethany Cox.

Yes, I'm going to rant on about how horrible this movie is. I understand there are a lot of people who DID think this movie was great, and I actually wish I could be one of them. But this has got to be the worst sequeal of all times. Balto was such a classic! Here are some examples of how they ruined it: The animation. It was horrbile. The wolves didn't even look like wolves, and they looked completely out of wack from the first movie. And it seemed at the end of the movie it just started to get worse. All the good animation was put into that dumb little totem pole. I hated the drawings. Then there's the dialouge. For one thing- what's up with Boris? Suddenly he can't talk right? And not that I loved Muk and Luk from the first movie, but they were REALLY annoying in the second one. And howcome they were STILL cubs, even after Aleu was adult? Speaking of Aleu, who in there right mind gets mad at their parents and runs off because of their HERITAGE? It's not like Balto had control of who HIS parents were. And most of the dialouge in this movie was really cheap. Especially in the bear scene. And the whole "I'm following a raven, wow, you are too?" thing. And that mouse...eerrr. When Aleu walked into that cave and the song started to play, I actually thought the movie was getting a little better. It was such a pretty background song. But the MOUSE was singing it. Mice don't sing, and no one sang in Balto. Plus he was just creepy. How did he "appear" there next to Aleu at the end of the movie? Two more things. Nava and Niju. Niju was just some sad copy of Steele (what happend to him anyway?)He had no real purpose to be mad! And what was up with all that melting into trees and magic stuff? The first balto was based all on fact except the talking stuff, which it would've been boring without. All in all, Balto 2: Wolf Quest, was the worst sequeal ever- and it totally destroyed Balto. Balto was the story of a wolf-dog who longed to belong and run in a sled race, and he ended up saving Nome, Alaska. What did Aleu do? Nothing! There WOULD have been a message in that movie, if it even made since (like I said before, if you're upset about your heritage, that's YOUR problem, not your parents). This movie had no drama, no romance, not even any comedy.

P.S. What was up with that thing at the begining of the movie where the pups were being sold? Why didn't they choose Aleu? She was the only one left behind! That was SO Oliver and Company. And after what Balto did, who WOULDN'T want a half wolf- half dog? Really, the makers of this movie could've done better. With a little thought, even I could've done better.

There are some really beautiful scenes in Balto: Wolf Quest, and the film overall exceeded my expectations, but it still has its problems. Let's start with the good stuff.

Visually, the film is actually quite pleasing to the eye with dramatic angles and quickly moving in Balto's really cool dream sequence and with vibrant colours in his daughter's self-discovery.

And the not that good stuff.

Balto: Wolf Quest is not grounded in reality like its predecessor and didn't have much originality to the story, but it had its moments of decent voice acting from new characters like the soft and firm Nava and the menacing Niju. Aside from that we have to deal with new voices for the recurring characters, and it shows.

Boris is the most noticeable, and even if Charles Fleischer did a decent job, I found him too loud and not funny. I wasn't that keen of Muk and Luk in the original, but they seemed pointless here. Jodi Benson did the best performance as Jenna, I'll give her credit for that.

The story, while not original, had a spiritual theme to it and I would have liked that to be explored more, because it was shown so many times right from the start and especially in this beautiful scene when Balto's daughter is in a cave. It could have been so interesting.

I'm sure Balto: Wolf Quest will entertain on its own, and I was entertained, too. I feel it could have been better, but Even though it is a far cry from its predecessor, it is still among the better sequels out there.

Though it doesn't hold up to the wonderful original Balto, this is one of the very few animated film sequels that didn't totally make me gag. The storyline is completely different (thankfully not going the 'Oh, no! Another epidemic!' route one would expect) and the entire movie takes a Native American twist, focusing less of dog-sleds and more on the Wolf roots of both Balto and his daughter, Aleu. The songs are touching and beautiful, my favorites being "Taking You Home" and "Who You Really Are". "Taking You Home" is probably the only song I've ever heard from an animated film that has ever made me cry- and it take a lot to make me cry.

This film, combined with the original Balto film, would be a wonderful little gift pack for anyone who's a fan.

for me no matter how this movie got away from reality of the first, it's still a very nice movie with beautiful music, what reminds me of first, the characters are cool, and the scenario is too beautiful, gives a nice continuation to Balto, showing that he becomes father, Balto has a perfect way to be a father, and deserved one more film to prove it Another thing that I loved in this film was Balto's daughter that is very well designed and has a beautiful voice, the film also has an exciting ending, it made me cry a few times with this beautiful end, Balto 2 doesn't deserve so many complaints,It's a perfect movie for children, because if I'm still in love with this movie isn't hard to some kids like too, recommends

It's a decent sequel; that although it is not up to par with its predecessor, it is still a fun and emotional adventure for young children.

At first,I was very excited to see this movie,and of course I thought it would be good.But the singing mouse,spirit guides crap,and disappearing and reappearing characters ruined it.I noticed that the background wolves look better than Nava(looks like a mutt w/beard and eyebrows),Niju(looks like he has an abscess on his jaw),the trio of wolves(just plain ugly).And Jenna looked like a drug addict,Balto looked really old and tired,and Alue is pretty dumb.If they'd not had the end where the mouse pops up and howled w/the wolves,the movie would already be a little better..Boris shouldn't have even been shown(He's so annoying)and he sounded Jewish.Muk and Luk weren't cute,but annoying.And there wasn't Steele or anyone.All-in-all,WQ should have never been.

I have yet to see a DTV sequel that did not completely butcher the original and make me want to run a sledgehammer through my VCR. Balto II: Wolf Quest is no exception. I might have been able to overlook the poor animation if the plot had been decent, but we've seen it a million times. The writers decide to produce offspring from the original movie's hero, and then follow their angst plight through adolescence. The voice casting for Aleu was horrid, a stronger female voice would have done wonders for her characters. And that mouse... oy. He howled for crying out loud! I'm sorry, but that's just beyond laughable, and not in a good way. The wolves were horribly drawn, especially the three "mean" ones. Were these a tribute too the three sled dogs that always trailed after Steele? They, as well as their leader looked more like rats crossed with panthers. The animators seem to have fallen into the horrible cliché of "Wanna make a baddie? Give him an over-sized chin!" Yick.

Then there were all the overdone and overUSED Indian references. Since it's Alaska, couldn't they at least gone with Eskimo legends, since they were so intent on dumping spiritualism on us? The glowing eye effect lost it's charm... as soon as I saw it. I just wish these people will stop pumping out sequels for the sake of a dollar. Make something that's worthy of theater release, and that lives up to it's predecessor.

I can't even say what I think about this movie. I'd use very bad language. Sure the songs were good, yet the ending really made me hate the whole thing. They should have had Steel in it again or something. What was with all the weird magic animals? I'de stick with the 1st one. The 2nd one isn't even worth watching.

The original film was brilliant. This sequel is less grounded in reality and less satisfying but is still worth a look. Balto's friends from the first movie just don't get enough screen time. The songs weren't necessary and the plot borrowed from Disney a lot. (Especially The Lion King) What makes it stand out though is the weird totem imagery and Balto's recurring dreams. I liked the mouse best. Aleu was cute as a pup and grew into a strong heroine. This adventure does not have the heart of the previous but is still likeable. The ending was good but left some questions. 7/10

Back in 1995, we were given the animated film, "Balto". It was one of my favorite movie's as a kid and it developed a cult following. In 2002, we were given, "Balto: Wolf Quest", a bad DTV sequel.

The thing's I liked about this film was the hand-drawn animation, even though it's DTV, it was still good. David Carradine does a good job as the the Wolf Shaman, Nava. I also thought, Maurice LaMarche did a decent job as Balto. He wasn't as good as when Kevin Bacon did the voice of him in the first one, but he was still good.

The thing's I didn't like about this film is that the CGI animation was terrible. It look's like it came from a video game. Lacey Chabert was pretty bad as Aleu. She sound's like an eight-year old. Also, the villain Niju was really weak. I liked Mark Hamil as the Joker in, "Batman: Arkham Asylum", but seeing him in this movie is just lame. Why not have Steele from the first movie be in this one? Also, we don't get to see that much of Jenna, Boris, Muk or Luk. Not only it had bad CGI animation and a weak villain, but the movie had singing. The song's aren't even that good.

In the end, "Balto: Wolf Quest", is a bad sequel that's not worth watching. Fan's of the first film might enjoy it but for everyone else, no.

After seeing the commercials for this movie a bunch of times while watching TV, they only imply that this is one of those cute, kiddy, been-there-done-that film that non-Disney studios pop out once every month to combat the giant Disney empire. However, while actually watching this film, it turns out to be something completely different.

This film is *gasp* actually pretty good, and is easily better than the first!

The story, in a nutshell, is that our hero, Balto, had babies. While most of the pups look like their mother, one of them looks more like a wolf than a dog. She grows up and is unable to accept the fact she is more wolf-like than dog-like, then runs away. (She doesn't like being dominated by her father.) Meanwhile, both of them have the same dream filled with ice, a raven, caribou, and wolves. Well, both of them embark on a journey that manages to include all elements of the two dreams, then runs into a pack of wolves who must either leave the land they lived on for years or starve to death. Balto's daughter realizes her destiny is to leave her family and lead the wolves. Balto understands and lets her leave.

Yeah, I make it sound generic, but believe me, IT IS NOT! This film may be one of many that feature the "journey to find oneself" theme, but it succeeds extremely well! The message is deep, and the presentation is haunting with a little bit of comedy mixed in (the comedy is quite ordinary, so that may explain why the commercial makes the movie look so generic.) Add a great voice acting with talents such as Mark Hamill, Rob Paulsen, Jodi Benson etc., and you've got what may be the best direct-to-video animated motion picture ever made.

just why Did they make a sequel to amazing movie why its just stupid I know what I am saying didn't like this sequel and as what George Carlin would say Wherever ideas are concerned Americans can be counted on to do one of two things Take a really good idea and run it completely into a ground or take a really bad idea and run it completely into the ground. And yes the story was weak and had no plot the new characters are not all that great and giving the characters new voices was stupid I usely don't mind new voice actors but the new voice actors are really lack off in this film their are better sequels like babe the pig in the city Herbie rides again and All dogs go to heaven 2 and other Disney sequels made in the 90s so please don't buy this sequel 2000 sequels are just really bad these days I give this movie a 3 out of 10 for its kind heart but yet lame and as I said again this should never of happen

Low budget DTV sequel. Different from the original, very spiritual and mystical. It is about a journey of self-discovery and a balance in the world. Something that a whole family can watch, both very very small kids and adults. Leaves you with a good feeling. I put 9/10.

This is a sequel to an already low budget cartoon movie. Going direct to video the cost of this must have been similar to the production cost of a cartoon series episode. The plot was really bad written, with a lot of inconsistencies and with too much "ancient fathers" mystique.

The animation was more CGI than ever, meaning that it sucked, not that it had cool special effects. So when there are no graphics and no story what is there to see? Of course, Disney like songs, with an Aztec twists. The major quality of the original Balto was that it was pure story and no darn singing in it. They completely destroyed this in Balto II. They are singing and singing and my fast forward isn't fast enough.

The ending is like the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Everybody's happy, but you have absolutely no clue why. Horrible sequel.