Balto 2 : La Quête du loup

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).