All forums / The Balto Sequels

What in dog's name is this?

Started by Lupercal on 18 Jul 2004, 21:21 UTC · 45 preserved posts

83-108302525618 Jul 2004, 21:29 UTC

Now that is just plain scary Yet another Balto knock off of some kind I'm guessing. As for My sanity well don't worry. One can not loose that wich one dose not have

119-109000093518 Jul 2004, 23:59 UTC

Pooooooooooor Balto... look at what is becoming of him.
What are the seals for?

83-108302525619 Jul 2004, 01:24 UTC

Comic releaf  I'd guess. A cover like that would scare Me away from buying that DVD. Balto dosen't even look like a husky. Maybe it's a Bootleg DVD  

65-106196054219 Jul 2004, 02:46 UTC

Out of sheer curiosity, I bought that while I was in Germany. �It was cheap, so I thought, what the heck. �I'm planning on watching it, regardless of how gruesome it is. *snickers evilly*

I also bought another version, which has huskies on the cover. �I just scanned it:

67-106196056219 Jul 2004, 12:46 UTC

Either Universal doesn't care that there are all these Balto movies out there, or they're unable to do anything about it (just how do you copyright history?).  But I should think that it's kinda fishy that all these foreign companies are creating cheap movies called 'Balto' about a canine named Balto (and are probably all - or mostly - about the serum run of '25).

Regarding the second cover... which one's Balto?  

76-108980141719 Jul 2004, 16:17 UTC

Quote (RustedWolf_Fox @ July 19 2004,12:10, pm)

The first picture doesn't look all that bad

Mate, just out of interest, if that one passes muster, show me a DVD cover that you actually reckon is bad

Loop

(I agree the second one is alright. Actually it's *coughprobablybetterthantheaustralianwolfquestcough*)

65-107815589720 Jul 2004, 00:26 UTC

Ugh...they're both pretty worhtless...but you can't really copyright the name "Balto" so it's no wonder that there are more movies...uh...I meant "rip-offs"...about him. Or maybe they're not about him. Maybe they're just completely and utterly random...  

83-106196071620 Jul 2004, 05:59 UTC

On the second cover, it just seems like they took the digital coloring too far.  Otherwise it's not bad.  But if that's supposed to be the Real Balto, it looks nothing like him.  Nor did Universal's version, but at least you knew who was who.  As for the movies, I can only guess.  I can easily imagine another version of the actual story cleverly released around the time of Universal's movie. ^_^;  What is the movie like, Anui?

As for the UK version of Balto 2, Balto looks like a copy paste job.  It seems like they took a frame the original movie, and pasted it onto a drawn body.  If that isn't the case, his expression was at least insipired from a scene in the orignal.

83-108302525621 Jul 2004, 05:34 UTC

I hope this is not to dumb a question, But why was the 2 drooped On the EU/AU DVD's of "Balto 2"? Come to think of it The 2 in 'Balto 2' only showed up on the cover of the U.S. DVD. Not in the Movie titel itself

65-106196054222 Jul 2004, 11:05 UTC

I just watched the movie, and it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. �Evidently they didn't clean it up before they transferred it to DVD, so it looks like a tired old VHS. �The voices are ridiculous, and the animation makes "Wolf Quest" look like "The Lion King." �It was interesting watching it, but I won't need to watch it again.

By the way, Balto is the gray one on the second cover, the other one is named Komo(spelled "Kimo" on the cover, but not pronounced that way. �Maybe 'Kimo' is the German spelling). �Komo is a sort of rival to Balto, not nearly as bad as Steele in the American film. �Either one wants to prove who is better(to win the heart of a female dog named Judy)so Balto isn't like the character portrayed in Universal's.

The two of them are sent after the medicine(just them--no sled or musher or anything, and did I mention the dogs and humans can talk to each other? �Bah!)and it is then that they overcome their differences. �They meet wolves on the way to Anchorage, and of course the wolves are evil, and are hell-bent on killing them. �But, they escape, and eventually make it to Anchorage, fetch the medicine, and start home. �Several miles before they reach Nome, they must leap across a small gorge, and Balto makes it, but Komo doesn't(he never apologizes to Balto either, figures). �The rest is self explanitory: Balto gets back home, the children are saved, blah blah blah. �The copyright date is 1997.

What disappoints me is that the DVDs are actually both the same film(the covers look widely different, so I thought they'd be separate films). �And, Balto doesn't look anything like on the first cover, he's gray with white underparts, and dark gray ears.

I'll make a small section on my website for this, simply because it's "something different."

76-108980141722 Jul 2004, 15:22 UTC

Quote (SimbasGuard @ July 21 2004,1:34, am)

I hope this is not to dumb a question, But why was the 2 dooped On the EU/AU DVD's of "Balto 2"? Come to think of it The 2 in 'Balto 2' only showed up on the cover of the U.S. DVD. Not in the Movie titel itself

Except for the purposes of marketing, what justification was there in even calling 'Wolf Quest'  'Balto Wolf Quest'? For all intents and purposes it was 'Aleu Wolf Quest'.

Loop

83-106196071623 Jul 2004, 19:49 UTC

As one who owns the region 1 DVD, I'm gonna put my two cents in.  I personally like the region 2 DVD a lot better.  Sure, the back of the cover lacks screen shots from the movie, but overall the artwork is nicer.  When I say artwork, I'm mostly going by the front of the covers.  Balto in the region 1 cover looks too shaggy and his eyes are the wrong color.  In the region 2 version, he looks more like the VHS cover version.  I'll leave you with the some full scans to compare.

http://www.theicecave.org/balto/dvd.shtml
http://www.theicecave.org/balto/brazildvd.shtml (This is a region 1,3 and 4 DVD and uses the same cover as region 2.)

And thanks for the info on the movie Aniu!  Hm, it sounds different.  I wouldn't mind seeing a few video clips personally, just because I'm that curious.

76-108980141723 Jul 2004, 20:13 UTC

Hard choice. I don't think either are great, but at least the Brazilian one doesn't have the "American Hero" text.  I just find that a bit alienating. I don't know if other non-US fans do. I don't think dogs have passports, and the film itself was mercifully free of nationalism.

That got me thinking, though. I wonder if they re-released Phar Lap (Australian version of Seabiscuit, basically) and called him a great 'Australian Hero' whether that would annoy me. Thing is, they probably wouldn't do that, so it's academic.

I guess what I'm getting at is this. Phar Lap was a hero to Australians during the depression. That's a bit different from being an Australian hero, like say, Don Bradman was at the same time.  I think a dog or a horse can be a hero to a particular country, but it's silly to call them an "American hero" or "Australian hero", because it implies they actually think of themselves as American or Australian, and so far as I've noticed, dogs are exactly the same all over the world.

I often think that when I see some clip from Iraq or Africa or something, and there's a dog in the shot. I realise that I would have a culture clash with the humans, but not with the dog, who I would relate to the same way as any dog down the road.


(besides, I've never quite got my head around the idea of Alaska being part of America anyway  )

Loop


dunno where all that came from. sorry.

115-108568278524 Jul 2004, 08:05 UTC

Loop : Let's say I'm exactly in the middle of France  
Aniu1983: It would be cool to have screenshots, just to have an idea of what it looks like.
I wonder why they changed the cover from the US to the other countries. If they didn't like the Region 1 covers, why did they make these covers which are not better if not worse?

76-108980141724 Jul 2004, 11:20 UTC

Quote (steetboris @ July 24 2004,4:05, am)

Loop : Let's say I'm exactly in the middle of France

Ok, just curious. I've been to France three times, but spent almost no time in the north or center of the country. Each time I stayed with a friend down in the south, in the Ariege/Pyrenees region. Actually his house is a gigantic old farm house almost exactly on the Ariege/Aude border, surrounded by sunflower fields. I love it there. Lots of good memories.

Loop

83-106196071625 Jul 2004, 05:46 UTC

Quote (Lupercal @ July 23 2004,4:13, pm)

(besides, I've never quite got my head around the idea of Alaska being part of America anyway  )

Although it feels strange to think of it like that, Alaska is part of the United States.  It's just that you have to go through Canada (if going by land) to get there.  Considering all of the press that Balto got in 1925 and such, the statement is more or less true.  People loved him, he saved a bunch people that were US citizens, ect.  But this is a human thing and I'm sure the real Balto wouldn't have felt the same.  But meh, it's just one of those things with people.

I can see why there was no nationalism in the movie.  There was a town that needed saving, and nationalism didn't need to be an issue.  I mean, if you live in a certain area, unless you're talking to an outsider, you wouldn't mention it, would you?  More than likely, no because it'd be pointless.  The same went for Balto, it wouldn't make sense.  They were doing it for Nome, and the children, not the United States as a whole.

Although my point of view is probably baised, living in the US and all. ^^;

As for other countries, I wouldn't feel alienated at all.  It's always interesting to read about heroes, legends and great stories coming from other places.

112-109184433010 Aug 2004, 02:56 UTC

woa the first picture is scary *puts tail down and ears back* *twitches*

83-106196071611 Aug 2004, 06:07 UTC

Quote (Aniu1983 @ July 24 2004,1:09, am)

Silver:  I'd love to make video clips, but, I simply don't know how.  I'd need some kind of DVD ripper, wouldn't I?  And, those cost money.  I could take screengrabs, but I suppose that wouldn't be as good.

Oh, and DVD rippers come as freeware.  You just have to search around for them, Aniu.

71-109168036911 Aug 2004, 17:03 UTC

I use fraps, but it won't capture sound and when it captures the movie it's either too fast, too slow, or choppy.  So some of the clips I have I had to make frame by frame.

115-108568278512 Aug 2004, 08:07 UTC

Frame by frame  
...good luck! Perhaps you should try another software, perhaps VirtualDub can do it?

79-109362624027 Aug 2004, 18:51 UTC

 talking...canoe....

they did that with mulan too, wasn't mulan a bug or something? as for the the two movies, i haven't seen them in stores. but i too am curious about what the animation is like.