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Balto II: Wolf Quest

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"Wolf Quest" redirects here. For the video game, seeWolfQuest.
"Aniu" redirects here. Not to be confused withAinu.

Balto II: Wolf Quest
DVD release cover
Directed byPhil Weinstein
Screenplay byDev Ross
Produced byPhil Weinstein
Starring
Edited by
  • Jay Bixsen
  • Ken Solomon
Music byAdam Berry(score)
Amanda McBroom
Michele Brourman(songs)
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Studios Home Video
Release date
  • February 19, 2002(2002-02-19)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Balto II: Wolf Questis a 2002 American animatedadventure filmproduced and directed by Phil Weinstein. It is the sequel toUniversal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment's 1995Northernanimated filmBalto.[1]

Plot

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A few months after hisheroic journey,Balto has mated with Jenna, and they now have a new family of six puppies inAlaska.Five of their puppies resemble theirhuskymother, while one pup named Aleu takes her looks from herwolfdogfather. When they all reach eight weeks old, all of the other pups are adopted to new homes, but no one wants Aleu due to her wild animal looks, forcing her to live with her father. A year later when she is grown, Aleu is almost killed by ahunterwho mistakes her for a wild wolf. Balto tells Aleu the truth about her wolf heritage, causing her to run away, hoping to find her place in the world. Balto then goes out into the Alaskan wilderness to find her. At the same time, Balto has been struggling with strangedreamsof aravenand a pack of wolves, and he cannot understand their meaning. Balto resolves to find the meaning of these dreams as he searches for Aleu. His friends Boris, Muk, and Luk attempt to join him, but after they are halted by some unknown force, they realize that this journey is meant only for the father and daughter themselves.

Taking refuge in a cave, Aleu meets the field mouse Muru, who explains that Aleu should not be ashamed of her lineage, which tells her what she is but not who she is. Muru reveals himself to be Aleu's spirit guide and tells her to go on a journey of self-discovery. Balto and Aleu reunite when he saves her from the grizzly bear and reconcile, and find their way to the ocean, where they are attacked by a group of starvingNorthwestern wolvesled by Niju, an arrogant and vicious wolf. The confrontation is defused by the elderly Nava, the true leader of the pack, who welcomes Balto and Aleu. Nava announces to his pack that the wolf spirit Aniu has contacted him in "dream visions". Aniu has told him that thecaribouherd they depend on during thewinterhas moved across the ocean and will not return and that they will soon be led by a new leader, "the one who is a wolf but does not know". Nava believes that Balto, who is half wolf himself, is the chosen one that Aniu was speaking of. However, Niju refuses to abandon his homeland and takes control of the pack, and plots to steal from other animal clans in the area to survive the winter.

Aleu has a "dream vision" of the caribou herd crossing a bridge made of ice floes. The next morning, Niju prepares to lead an attack on a clan of bears, but is stopped by Balto just as a large group of ice floes in the ocean come together to form a land bridge. Balto then leads the pack across the bridge until Nava falls behind. When Aleu attempts to help Nava, Niju attacks, and Balto doubles back to save them, leaving the pack leaderless. Nava cannot make the journey across the ice in his old age, and Balto tells Niju to go lead the clan. Niju refuses, too afraid to leave his home, and soon returns to the shore. Balto prepares to go to the pack, but Aleu realizes that her true place is to take leadership of the pack as Nava foretold. Balto and Aleu say goodbye to each other before Aleu rejoins the pack and takes over as the leader. Back on shore, Nava bids farewell to Balto before going to look for Niju so they can survive together. The raven appears to Balto again, and transforms into Aniu, revealing herself to be his mother before he begins to make his way home.

Voice cast

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Balto II: Wolf Questis the last film Bergman contributed to before she committed suicide on November 11, 1999, releasing it posthumously.

Production

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Following theoriginal film's strong video sales, development onBalto II: Wolf Quest,as well asBalto III: Wings of Change,began atUniversal Pictures's animation division,Universal Cartoon Studios.Television animation director and storyboard artist Phil Weinstein, who had recently finished directing onHerculesatDisney Television Animation,was interviewed to direct the sequel, and accepted the job. By the time Weinstein had joined the project, screenwriterDev Rosshad written a screenplay.[2]

Due to a significantly lower budget and faster turnaround time than those of the original film, all of the animation inWolf Questwas outsourced to the Taiwanese-American animation studioWang Film Productions,and completed in approximately 36 weeks.[3]The tighter budget, as well as scheduling conflicts, also preventedKevin Bacon,Bob Hoskins,Bridget FondaandPhil Collinsfrom reprising their respective roles as Balto, Boris, Jenna, Muk and Luk from the original film; instead, they were replaced byMaurice LaMarche,Charles Fleischer,Jodi BensonandKevin Schon,respectively.[2]Having seenStar Wars(1977) in theaters as a child, Weinstein found it surreal to be working withMark Hamill,who voiced Niju.[4]

While songwriting duoMichele BrourmanandAmanda McBroomwrote the songs forWolf Quest,thefilm scorewas composed byAdam Berry.Berry and Weinstein watchedanimaticscenes that were mocked up withtemp scoretogether, to agree on musical ideas. Though Weinstein already had clear ideas for the score, he stated that Berry "took it way beyond what I ever could have imagined." Berry recorded his score at the chapel ofBastyr UniversityinSeattle, Washington.Weinstein enjoyed being able to sit in the room with the orchestra, as opposed to sitting in an isolated room.[4]

Music

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The songs are written byMichele BrourmanandAmanda McBroom.A chorus performs several of the songs, and includes Amanda McBroom, George Ball, Roger Freeland, Ali Olmo, Lisa Harlow Stark and Rob Trow.

Original songs performed in the film include:

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Taking You Home"Kimaya Seward1:28
2."Muru's Chant"Rob Paulsen1:12
3."Who You Really Are"Rob Paulsen& Chorus2:02
4."The Grand Design"David Carradine,Mark Hamill& Chorus3:13

Awards

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Balto II: Wolf Questwas nominated for anAnnie Award[5]in 2003 for "Outstanding Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production".

WriterDev Rosswas awarded theHumanitas Prizein 2002 for her script in the Children's Animation category.[6]

References

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  1. ^Lenburg, Jeff (2009).The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons(3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. pp. 262–263.ISBN978-0-8160-6600-1.
  2. ^ab"Phil Weinstein interview!".animationsource.org.Archived fromthe originalon December 31, 2016.Retrieved21 August2024.
  3. ^"Production length and costs".animationsource.org.Archived fromthe originalon December 31, 2016.Retrieved21 August2024.
  4. ^ab"Sourcecast Follow-up Interview with Phil Weinstein"(PDF).Sourcecast.July 6, 2012.Retrieved21 August2024.
  5. ^30th Annie Awards
  6. ^Humanitas WinnersArchivedApril 6, 2010, at theWayback Machine
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