*hugs to all*

Yes, Happy New Year. :D

  - Audrey




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Well, another year...gone...as Dumbledore said. Thanks for the help
in making this club stick around! You guys are all great! I really
appreciate all the patronage and support. I'll try to keep the
posting going around here!

Furry New Year everybody!!!

Opening gifts on Christmas Eve is not odd at all! My dad's side of the family
does that. We get together on Christmas Eve and have a HUGE feast (this year we
had it last night becuase my brother has to work tonight). Then we read the
Christmas story from the Bible. Then all us "kids" (in quotes 'cause we're all
mostly out of high school now) have to sing or perform for everyone before we
can open gifts. Then the youngest person (my cousin Brittany, or if they're not
there my brother) passes out the gifts to everyone and we open them all at once.
It's a blast.

And, of course, we cannot forget the singing toilet. Yes,ladies and gentlemen,
my grandfather and step-grandmother's house was built in the 1940's, and the
plumbing isn't all that great. So, whenever you flush there is this
high-pitched..noise. We call it singing. It would not be Christmas if the toilet
didn't sing. ;)

Christmas Day is for my mom's side of the family. That worked out well, eh? My
parents never had to fight over whose house we had to spend Christmas Day at,
since my dad's family celebrates on Christmas Eve. We get up around 7am or so,
and my brother and I are forced to stay in our rooms while my parents go out by
the tree and say, loudly, "Gee, I wonder if Santa Claus came" and so on. ^.-
Then we're allowed to come out, parents take first reaction pics and stuff. We
open our stockings and then dig into the gifts! My brother and I open at the
same time, pausing long enough for parents to take pics and video. After we're
all done, my mom starts our traditional Christmas breakfast - blueberry muffins
- while my dad, brother and I clean up the trash (and try to find the cat
/playing/ in trash) and watch the Disney Christmas parade. Around 1pm or so we
head up to my grandparents (mother's side) house and we have a marvelous dinner
(usually ham, sometimes turkey). Around 8pm we return home, tired, full of food,
and happy.

And, on mom's side of the family, we cannot forget the tragic SpinArt story that
teaches children not to snoop for Christmas gifts before Christmas. It's as much
a Christmas classic as the singing toilet at my grandpa's. See, when my mom and
two aun't were little, my aunt really wanted SpinArt. She and my other aunt went
snooping and found all the gifts in the closet. My grandparents knew they had
snooped thought because they booby-trapped the closet. So, they took all the
gifts back. Yes, including the SpinArt. My aunt's tried to blame my mom (who
says she never snooped) and her gifts got taken back too. Tragic story. But a
Christmas classic at our house. n.n;

And...that's our stuff. Fun. ^-^

  -- Audrey




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>    I think this is true, because there is a Balto review that was
> written that addressed exactly this, saying that the prejudice
aspect
> of Balto was not realistic, because the mushers would definitely
want
> a part wolf dog on their team, that wolf hybrids were definitely
> desirable.

Actually, if my limited knowledge of wolf hybrids serves me, then it
wouldn't be unrealistic for Balto to be an outcast. Due to their wolf
nature, wolf hybrids get imprinted very early in life with the image
of their "pack", and often don't respect or tolerate outsiders. If
Balto grew up around wolves or sled dogs, and was never socialized
with humans, then it would make perfect sense for the people of Nome
to be afraid of him and it would be valid for them to fear him
"turning" on them, even if he appeared friendly.

Aleu, on the other hand, was just a puppy and had spent her whole life
up to the point of the adoption with Jenna, and thus daily contact
with Rosy and perhaps her parents. A typical musher would jump at the
chance to get a wolf-dog *puppy*, because that's the best stage to get
and train one, but a full-grown hybrid like Balto would be a greater
cause for concern.

Of course, I'm not an expert on hybrids, so I could be wrong about all
of that. ;P

-Ag

I'm really curious about your gift-giving traditions for
> this time of year. I've been told that mine are really odd. (We
open on Christmas Eve, with the obvious exception of gifts from old
Santa Claus :D )

>
>  Seriously, that was the BEST way to open presents when I was
little.   My family used to do it that way, and then the Parental
Units made an alteration (without consulting the kids, of course)
whereby only only one or two presents could be opened Christmas Eve,
and then in the morning, all the rest would be opened.
     And Christmas was never the same.
It kinda sucked after that, actually.  I think Christmas morning
should be reserved exclusively for Santa presents, and Christmas Eve
should be for opening the family presents-- at least *most* of them.

    I liked the split-up effect of the presents, because then you have
two Big Things to look forward to.  You get to open a bunch of
presents Christmas Eve, and then you get all excited overnight and
can't wait to see what Santa brought.  So basically, you get "2"
Christmases.
    But when you only get 1 major event, it's all over too quickly,
and the suspense is too great.  I always wanted something to curb the
excitement, and one or two presents on Christmas Eve is not enough!!


    Another thing that was annoying about the Christmas Alteration
that happened in my family, was that the present-opening turned into
a really serious affair.   Instead of everybody just opening their
presents together, they went *one at a time*...  and they took turns.

   I know that sounds all egalitarian or something, but it was really
just too structured and took the fun out of it.
   Everybody had to sit around in a circle, and each person would get
a present, and then one person would go, open it, and thank whoever
got it for them, and then the next person would go.

And that was the WORST!  It turned Christmas into this really solemn
Board Meeting where everybody was quiet and watching you while you
opened your present, and you felt all this weird pressure and stuff.
    Because everyone was there, you always felt like you had to LOVE
the gift and be Ever-So-Grateful, and even if you didn't, you had to
pretend and act it out.   Also it got annoying having to thank the
same people over and over and over.
    I think that was why my mother decided to make the change.  She
always liked being adored, having positive attention lavished on
her.   What can I say?  She was a Glory Hound !

    Yeah.  That really took the fun out of Christmas.  I dreaded that
aspect of it.

I am all for the Old Fashioned Christmas, where you get a lot of
presents on Christmas Eve.  And not that you should just tear into
them all really quickly, but it should not be a big, pressured
production, either, where everybody has to take turns and act the
part.   Too many rules just made it a big bore in my family.


:o)
--Baltoship

>
> Maybe I'm just making this up... but I'm pretty sure that, at least
at  Balto's time, mushers actually WANTED wolf-hybrid dogs, because
of  their natural strength and endurance. So even if the people of
Nome wouldn't have wanted a puppy that looked like him, one of the
mushers in the area probably would've.

    I think this is true, because there is a Balto review that was
written that addressed exactly this, saying that the prejudice aspect
of Balto was not realistic, because the mushers would definitely want
a part wolf dog on their team, that wolf hybrids were definitely
desirable.

    But for that aspect, it would just mean that the original Balto
would be "inaccurate," too, so that would just be a case of the
sequel *continuing* the inaccuracy.

    You can imagine, too, that the way the lower 48 views wolves and
wolfdogs *might* not be the same as the way Alaska does.  After all,
there are Eskimos in Alaska, and it is a *relatively* unspoiled
wilderness.  It's not the place where predator-hating Europeans came
in and wiped out nearly all the wolves and some of the other
predators, too.    I am just guessing on this, but I would suspect
that the Alaskan people probably have a greater understanding and
respect for their wildlife, and so might not view wolves with the
hatred that some other American regions do.   I highly doubt the
eskimos would hate wolves, anyway- lol, and I think (?) Alaska has
more native peoples in it, per capita, than the lower 48 does.   It
is an unspoiled place in that regard, too, as the white man did not
do as much damage up there in terms of killing/starving the natives
and stealing their land.  I mean, I'm sure there was some of that,
but probably not as much as the lower 48 Indians suffered.

    So the wolf prejudice in Balto (at least on the mushers' part)
would probably be considered unrealistic.   But they must have done
it because they wanted to add another, *social* dimension to the
story, and give Balto more character depth by creating the wolf/dog
inner conflict.
    I am glad they did because, just like with Secret of NIMH (which
had a more mundane original story) they added a kind of
psychological/spiritual element that enriched the plot.  Reality
aside, Balto and NIMH are some of the few examples where deviating
from the original story and adding in some convenient "movie magic"
can yield a better film.
    Of course "better" is subject to opinion, but there is something
to be said for writers who can integrate new elements (The complexity
of adding "magic" to NIMH, the amulet, Nicodemus' powers, etc, or the
prejudice aspects of Balto, the "Inner strength" spirituality, and
the appearance of the White Wolf.) with an original story, and have
it blend smoothly.

>

>
> Congratulations. ;) The best founders are the ones that act like
> normal members.

    **My understanding is that The Sanctuary (thank goodness) was set
up exactly to avoid flaming and conflict by encouraging respect among
the posters.  That is, if someone can't tolerate your conflicting
opinion, and responds to it with anger or whatever, Sparf will not
stand for it.  (Yahoo!!)
      I know a lot of online groups SAY "Please be respectful of other
members"... But damn if that respect is ever shown by them, or even
some *moderators* I can think of at other groups.

      Too often you have moderators who set too strict demands on what
people are allowed to talk about, (which ALWAYS leads to fighting!)
delete perfectly good posts just because they contain conflicting
opinions, or they will post as badly as some of the members... OR
there will be people posting badly, and they won't do anything about
it... They just sit back and watch it...

    Yeesh.  So much can go wrong with groups and moderators.  My hope
is that The Sanctuary's Open Topic and Flame Intolerance policies
will be the solution to many of these problems.
   And YES... It *definitely* takes a better founder to set out to
SOLVE problems, rather than just set up a Balto group like, "Oh, here
is a place where you can talk about Balto.  Yay."

        One of my pet peeves with Groups is that almost NONE of them
have founders or moderators who want to make the *change*, make the
improvement.  And even when fights erupt in the groups, they just
delete the posts, ignore the cause of the fight, and tell everybody
to Forgive and Forget.   And therefore set it up for the exact same
fight to happen again.   So often in groups, it is a very particular
kind of post that starts a fight,  ("Don't talk about that." "That's
offensive to me.  Stop it.")  usually a Dictating Post, where people
are trying to control what others are allowed to talk about.

   I joined this Sanctuary because, for the first time EVER (That I've
seen, anyway.)  there was a founder who wanted to do something
*different,* and actually address and prevent problems, (*recognize*
flame, dictating and troublemaking posts early on,) and set up the
group in a way that would avoid conflict.

   The Open Topic policy ALONE makes a huge difference in how the
group functions.   It means no one can fight about Topic Relevance,
or make demands on what subjects are allowed to be discussed.

    Probably the only rule that has yet to be established here is a
request for Spoiler Warnings if we are going to discuss sensitive
material in upcoming movies.

:o)
--Baltoship (Getting off her Soapbox finally.)

> As to the townsfolk not wanting a pup that looked part wolf, have
> you ever actually seen most people's reactions to wolfdogs? No
> matter how good or kind or gentle the wolfblooded father is, the
> pups are automatically suspected of having some kind of bloodlust
> for humans...they're seen as unreliable and untrustworthy.

Maybe I'm just making this up... but I'm pretty sure that, at least at
Balto's time, mushers actually WANTED wolf-hybrid dogs, because of
their natural strength and endurance. So even if the people of Nome
wouldn't have wanted a puppy that looked like him, one of the mushers
in the area probably would've.

> Yep, I survived the first large scale wave of Balto 2 posts! WAHOO!!

Congratulations. ;) The best founders are the ones that act like
normal members.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to you all! I created a poll
because I'm really curious about your gift-giving traditions for
this time of year. I've been told that mine are really odd. (We open
on Christmas Eve, with the obvious exception of gifts from old Santa
Claus :D )

So, get on with it! Gimme some results!!!!

Oh, and incidentally, I passed my first test as group founder! What
test is it, you may ask? Well, it's the test of not getting upset at
other people's opinions because they differ from my own! lol!

Yep, I survived the first large scale wave of Balto 2 posts! WAHOO!!

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
baltosanctuary group:

What is your family gift-giving
tradition for Christmas?

   o Open gifts Christmas Eve
   o Open gifts Christmas Morning
   o Open one on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas Morning
   o Other(explain in a post)
   o I don't celebrate Christmas.


To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baltosanctuary/surveys?id=223129

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

" /ALL/ the pups have wolf blood in them, thanks to Balto,"

**Hee hee.  :o)


  "but because the others were all carbon copies of Jenna, and
Aleu 'looked like a wolf' she was the one people didn't want? The
townspeople had to have known that Balto sired the litter (he was
right there when the pups were being taken to new homes) and yet
because Aleu looked like a wolf, she was discriminated against.
(Huskies and Malamutes are some of the 'wolfiest' looking dogs around
and they think Aleu looked like a wolf? Come ON people!)"


   **Yes, I totally agree.  Especially when we think about Steele, who
was black and white... I don't think people would be put off by a
little gray puppy.
   And this is discounting entirely the fact that wolf and domestic
dog puppies look virtually alike in body type and shape!
   I don't think they should have discriminated against Aleu.  As you
said, huskies look very wolfy naturally, and they come in gray and
black, and they don't always have that neat little facial mask
pattern.  Not to mention that Aleu looked a lot like Balto, and I
think the townspeople would love to have a puppy like that.
>
> If I had made this movie, I would have made it a litter of 2 or 3
pups who all had to deal with the problem, and maybe each in their
own way. Maybe one wanted to embrace the wolf heritage, while another
the husky heritage. I could have done Balto 2 so much better.

    If only they had consulted us!!  :o)
>
>

" wishes they'd drawn the wolves in Balto 2 more like they did in
Balto."

    **Yeah, why did they all look so funny in the sequel?   Those
*chins*!  Yech!
     Well, they took a whole bunch of liberties with all the
characters in the sequel.  Balto and Jenna don't look right; Jenna
has lost all the angularity in her face, and Balto's not even close.
They changed his face and even his body type.  Anyone who has seen
Balto knows that his not a chesty dog.  He has a big ruff of fur
right in front of his chest, but it's just an illusion of brawn.  He
actually has a really modest barrel, about the same girth as the rest
of his torso.
    But suddenly in Balto 2 he is like Super Dog with the Indiana
Jones physique.

    The only character I really liked (for the design, anyway.) was
Aleu.  They made her attractive but also gave her the big chest, and
on her it looks sort of majestic.   I would say she is the best
rendered character in the movie, and she even stays pretty tight and
consistent through most of it.

:o)
--Baltoship
>
>
>

>
> As to the townsfolk not wanting a pup that looked part wolf, have
> you ever actually seen most people's reactions to wolfdogs? No
> matter how good or kind or gentle the wolfblooded father is, the
> pups are automatically suspected of having some kind of bloodlust
> for humans...they're seen as unreliable and untrustworthy.


    Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but it seems like Balto's heroic
actions would overcome this prejudice...  Looking just at what
happened in the movie, hundreds of children were saved because of
Balto...  It seemed to me almost like a Hunchback setup, where the
end of the movie showed Balto being accepted and loved by the
townspeople.   In the beginning, Rosie's dad told her to stay away
from Balto, and at the end, she gives Balto a big hug while her Dad
is there, and it's like the scene in the end of Hunchback, where the
little girl hugs Quasi, symbolizing that he is now accepted by the
people "Out There".
   And jeez... everybody was petting him and saying "Good dog" and
stuff!!   I got the feeling that he was going to be the Good Dog from
then on, even that some of the mushers would want Balto on their
team.
    And *Jenna* was the MOM, so those puppies were only 1/4 wolf, and
everybody knew that...

     I think the rejection of the puppies in Balto 2 was a little bit
too Plot-Convenient, and not in keeping with the spirit of what Balto
did in the first film, and how the townspeople really felt about
him.    Balto 1 was a movie about the effect of prejudice on Balto...
    And Balto 2 seems to do it all over again, as though nothing was
accomplished by the first one.  Even in the very beginning, Balto is
living on his boat, away from people, and he talks about being teased
by the other dogs... and says "Being different is painful."  (Like
the real Balto would ever be that articulate.)

    It is almost as though the writers go out of their way to re-
establish that wolf prejudice and UN-DO the meaning and resolution of
the first movie.

     And it didn't have to be that way.  Wouldn't it be a more
original movie if Aleu got adopted and turned out to have too wild a
personality to be owned by humans?  Maybe she would have a home, and
then play too rough... accidentally nip someone, maybe?  Or wrestle
with another dog in the house and break stuff?  Keep her owners awake
with her howling?  (Wouldn't that be a cool scene? Aleu would be left
in the backyard or on the porch one night, and hear wolves howling
for the first time, in the woods nearby? Then she would howl back,
and that, in combination with some other wolfy behaviors, would make
the humans want to get rid of her.)
   That would be a more valid and interesting way for her to end up
confronting Balto about her wolf heritage.  And it would also put an
end to this stress on her appearance, that humans don't want her
because she *looks* like a wolf.  Having a litter of puppies that all
look like the mother except for one?  Where have we seen that before,
and huskies are often gray and black, so what's the big deal?

     Yeah.  I think it could have been better... and done without
undermining the heroic image Balto earned in the first movie.

:o)
--Baltoship

not necessarily that NKS don't add anything to the story; I
> think it's more that the writers couldn't decide between making
them
> real characters or just having them be comic relief, so they ended
up
> doing both.


    Yes, exactly.  If they could have just taken out some of the
slapstick humor (especially that repetitive bit they do) and maybe
replaced it with something that was genuinely funny, they could be
comic relief but still have good roles in the movie, without getting
on that annoying slapstick "cartoony" level that drives away adult
audiences.

    It makes me think of Timon and Pumbaa, who are technically "Comic
Relief" but are also really funny and likeable, and add a lot to the
story, too.  With NKS, pretty much the only times they are adding
anything to the movie, are those scenes when they are *not* acting
dumb.  I have always thought their comic relief aspect was not very
effective, even at comic relief, because it's Boris and Muk and Luk
who are cuter and funnier and have the "make you smile" lines.
    I guess what I should have said in my first post was that I would
rather Balto have actual "comedy" in its comic relief characters,
rather than ... say... Hitting Star on the head a bunch of times.
    In addition to being tiresome after a while, it has always felt
out of place in Balto.  I think of Balto as being a more grown up
story, so the humor ought to be more Lion King-ish (smart, funny
lines) rather than Saturday Morning Cartoonish (Slapstick).
     Here you have a movie about little kids potentially dying, and
little bitty coffins being made... And then Star is getting bonked on
the head over and over.
    I have always thought of it as being a strange juxtaposition, and
I think it has something to do with what a commercial failure Balto
was.  It seems to be messing around with its mature vs. immature
themes, and so is not completely pleasing to the main audience.
Instead it has "bits" that are pleasing to different-aged viewers,
and they are mixed up in the movie.
    This is compared to say, The Lion King, which is much more
satisfying for everybody, because it does not have much slapstick
humor, but more *real comedy* and also adult-level drama.

>

"Just the way Star was drawn in Balto,
> with his goofy eyes and scrawny frame, "

     When I first got Balto on video, I had this roommate who would
crack up whenever she saw Star just because of how he looked.  :o)


The
> three henchwolves in Balto 2, on the other hand, seem like more of
an afterthought than anything else. You have the dumb one, the smart
one,
> and the one with no free will. When, exactly, was this tradition
> started?

    Yeah...and they're not *funny*!   I have nothing against Comic
Relief, but if it's not FUNNY, it doesn't achieve what it's trying
to.  And in Balto 2, the 3 wolves add very little to the plot, so
they're just wasting room in the movie.  They do little but annoy,
and Balto 2 suffered for that.

I think Niju would've been a much more interesting antagonist
> if he had been acting alone.

    I wish they would've given us some character sketches of the REST
of the wolves!   Here you have this entire wolf pack of 10 animals or
so (? Maybe more?)  And they're trying to convey to us how important
it is that "The Clan" survive.  (Why is everything a "clan" suddenly,
anyway?)..  And three are pointless morons, one is a wise man, and
one is a semi-villain.
    And the rest of them don't even have names and hardly get to talk
in the movie.
    Seriously, except for Nava, did you give a rat's rear about what
would happen to any of those wolves??   I was actually *hoping* some
of them would starve to death! That is where unfunny Comic Relief
takes its toll, because they could have used that time to build some
likeable wolves that we would care about, instead of three that are
irritating as all getup.

"This isn't about us... It's about something BIGGER!"

   Yeah, we have to do everything we can to help this guru dude and
his Three Idiots and this other bunch of people we don't even know.
..
Hmm.
    I know people have said this before, too, but it was not a very
positive portrayal of those wolves.  Even in that brief scene in
Balto, the wolves seem to have a unity and even somehow a "character"
that is likeable.   You get the feeling that they would adopt Balto
into their pack if he would just go up there, and that they would be
friendly and have some personality.
    But Balto 2 is just... blah compared to that.  The wolves are
either too smart, too stupid or too anonymous for their own good,
can't agree on anything, and most of them want nothing to do with
Balto and Aleu.
    I know they were going for an antagonist-setup there, but I don't
think they did enough to get us pulling for them.




> I can think of a few hundred people off the top of my head who
would be delighted to help write a good script for free, uncredited.

   YEAH!!  Why don't they ask us?  It seems like we're the consumers
here; shouldn't we have a say in the kind of movie that gets made?

  I wish...

:o)
--Baltoship
>
>

Hmm... I think comic relief is a pretty neccessary tool to good story
telling (unless of course, you want a totally heavy hearted story
^^').  The last time I experienced a good story (in the form of a
Squresoft RPG) without comic relief, the drama got so heavy, I ended
up going to bed depressed.  If done correctly comic relief really
takes the edge off an extremely tense situation.  It's like sharply
being lifted up, and then eased down gently.

When I think about the comic relief in Balto, I don't think it was so
off.  I mean, I found the alley thing to be pretty humorous at one
point.  And I was pretty glad for it too, Steele's treatment of Balto
really got under my collar, and the brief slapstick moment helped to
cool me down.  During the medicine scene with Steele, Nikki and
Kaltag's quip don't really seem to sour the moment at all.  I found
myself more or less ignoring them, and focusing on the strife between
Balto and Steele.

Compared to other "serious" animation where comic relief is used,
Balto does a pretty good job intergrating it with the whole story.
So I guess i'm basically trying to say, I feel that the comic relief
in Balto wasn't really a hinderance.  Sure it didn't build the plot
up, but it helped to keep Balto light-hearted, instead of turning it
into something overly heavy.

As for the Comic relief used in Balto 2, I agree.  It could have been
better placed.  I don't know, it was just off at some points.

I'm not sure what to make of Balto 3, except that i'll be hoping that
the movie doesn't stray too far from the original...

~Silver Huskey
(I hope that post made sense, i've been awake for nearly 21 hours...
^^')

I must be the only person who enjoyed the movie all the way through,
even with its faults. It's not that there was a lack of effort put
in. Universal dictates certain things and regardless of what the
creative people want,  what the big wigs decree is what happens.

Universal Exec: "We must have comic relief. Go for the standard
smart dumb inert combination trio, all following the nasty wolfy.
Oh, and we can't have any of that newfangled 'character depth' for
most of the characters. We're here to sell fluff"

Creative guy: "But, if we do that, then people will hate it!"

Universal Exec: "All I hear is a faint buzzing *wanders off*"

Creative guy: "sigh"

As to the townsfolk not wanting a pup that looked part wolf, have
you ever actually seen most people's reactions to wolfdogs? No
matter how good or kind or gentle the wolfblooded father is, the
pups are automatically suspected of having some kind of bloodlust
for humans...they're seen as unreliable and untrustworthy.

> I agree! The other thing that really irks me is that Aleu's siblings
had no part in the story. /ALL/ the pups have wolf blood in them,
thanks to Balto, but because the others were all carbon copies of
Jenna, and Aleu 'looked like a wolf' she was the one people didn't
want? The townspeople had to have known that Balto sired the litter
(he was right there when the pups were being taken to new homes) and
yet because Aleu looked like a wolf, she was discriminated against.
(Huskies and Malamutes are some of the 'wolfiest' looking dogs around
and they think Aleu looked like a wolf? Come ON people!)

Yeah, that's one of the biggest complaints I've heard about Balto 2...
I mean, Balto saved the entire town! Who in their right mind WOULDN'T
want to have one of his children? Especially one who looked similar to
him. It makes very little sense.

> >   It seems to me like the stricter character types (Like N, K and
> S) are the ones that add the *least* to the movie.
>    They are also the ones that drag it down to the "slapstick"
level,
> and probably take from "Balto" the potential to resonate with the
> older viewers.

I agree that Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were much more of a mixed bag
character-wise than most of the other characters, but I also feel that
they weren't entirely useless.

Take, for example, the scene when Steele is attacking Balto after he
finds them in the wilderness. The running commentary on the action
from Kaltag and Nikki hurts the scene greatly; the action is VERY
intense, but then you get a little quip from Kaltag about how that's
going to hurt in the morning and it just drains away. But at the end
of the scene, NKS change character and become a much better part.
Star's comment ("What's with Steele, all Balto wants to do is help!")
is one of those lines that seems like it should be obtrusive, but,
coming from Star, it is actually quite meaningful. Then, when Balto is
stunned on the ground and Steele is cackling to himself, you see all
of the support dogs behind him with horrified looks in their eyes.
Star is also the first to offer Balto the lead harness.

So it's not necessarily that NKS don't add anything to the story; I
think it's more that the writers couldn't decide between making them
real characters or just having them be comic relief, so they ended up
doing both.

As this related to Balto 3, though I agree: comic relief is
often necessary, or at least some sort of relief, but the difference
between a mature and an immature movie lies in how subtley the
character roles are portrayed. Just the way Star was drawn in Balto,
with his goofy eyes and scrawny frame, could have probably served as
enough comic relief to give every line he said, funny or not, a
light-hearted tone that would have suited the movie very well. The
three henchwolves in Balto 2, on the other hand, seem like more of an
afterthought than anything else. You have the dumb one, the smart one,
and the one with no free will. When, exactly, was this tradition
started? I think Niju would've been a much more interesting antagonist
if he had been acting alone.

It all comes down to the scriptwriting. If they settle for a bad
script for Balto 3, it will just be totally unbelievable... after all,
I can think of a few hundred people off the top of my head who would
be delighted to help write a good script for free, uncredited.

-Ag

---------- "baltoship <cawcawcaw@...>" <cawcawcaw@...>
     There isn't even a *single* scene with Jenna and grown-up Aleu!
Jenna really got the boot, which I think sucked!   She was such a
favorite in the first movie- I know they wanted the story to focus on
the "wolf" thing, but Jenna could have had a few lines with Aleu, at
least.
===============================
I agree! The other thing that really irks me is that Aleu's siblings had no part
in the story. /ALL/ the pups have wolf blood in them, thanks to Balto, but
because the others were all carbon copies of Jenna, and Aleu 'looked like a
wolf' she was the one people didn't want? The townspeople had to have known that
Balto sired the litter (he was right there when the pups were being taken to new
homes) and yet because Aleu looked like a wolf, she was discriminated against.
(Huskies and Malamutes are some of the 'wolfiest' looking dogs around and they
think Aleu looked like a wolf? Come ON people!)

If I had made this movie, I would have made it a litter of 2 or 3 pups who all
had to deal with the problem, and maybe each in their own way. Maybe one wanted
to embrace the wolf heritage, while another the husky heritage. I could have
done Balto 2 so much better. >.<
  - end Balto 2 rant...for now -

I am hoping that Balto 3 will be a better movie than Balto 2. I would love a
prequel (I'd love a TLK prequel too)..see how Balto began his life, the
circumstances that brought him to where he is at the beginning of Balto.
But..that's just me. ^-^

  -- Audrey, who wishes they'd drawn the wolves in Balto 2 more like they did in
Balto.




________________________________________________________________
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Ok, sorry, I think I just posted a post with nothing in it on
accident.  Sorry!!
    Well, I didn't even post it, I just hit the "back" button and it
posted automatically.  That's irritating.

   Anyway.

"> Oh, ,the Production Notes are anything relating to the movie
that's
> found in the folded insert. That's a trick DVD makers pull. THey
are
> never much. And I think the so-called DVD Rom features are nothing
> more than links in the InterActual DVD player."

   What a rip!   I was hoping they would at least have a documentary
on the real story of Balto or something.   I bet people would want to
see that.  I was watching Jeopardy one time (It was even the Teen
Tournament) and the answer went like this:

"This dog helped bring medicine to the Alaskan Town of Nome during a
Diphtheria epidemic in the 1920s..."

    And NOBODY got it!!  They had no idea and didn't even guess.  And
Alex said,

   "...That was Balto."

    I guess Balto is kind of an unknown movie...?


Oh, Sparf, I FINALLY figured out who your Broadway impression sounds
like.   It came to me at 3 o clock in the morning.
Ready?

  ALF !!

At least, that's what it sounds like to me.  I looked Alf up and
there were 3 guys who did his voice, all uncredited.  The one I'm
thinking of is the "real" Alf.. they guy who does it for those 10 10
220 commercials.  But I don't know which one he is.

   Anyway, I bet you could do a terrific Alf impression.

:o)
--Baltoship


>
> Anyone go to my files section at all? Baltoship, I know after what
> you said about Mr. Cummings that my voices will probably drive you
> nutzo :)

--- In baltosanctuary@yahoogroups.com, "sparf1 <sparf1@y...>"
<sparf1@y...> wrote:
> Oh, ,the Production Notes are anything relating to the movie that's
> found in the folded insert. That's a trick DVD makers pull. THey
are
> never much. And I think the so-called DVD Rom features are nothing
> more than links in the InterActual DVD player.
>
> Anyone go to my files section at all? Baltoship, I know after what
> you said about Mr. Cummings that my voices will probably drive you
> nutzo :)

Ok...  Thanks for the info.  I would have had no idea.  I thought I
was just a doofus and couldn't find it in the chapter list or
something.  (Well, I may *still* be a doofus, but.. Not in THIS
capacity, anyway.  XD)
     Well that is disappointing because it specifically says "Cast and
Crew Bios" and I think it said interviews or something too.
Darnit!!
    Alright, now I love the whole DVD situation and I'm not exactly
complaining, but it seems like they are not having anybody actually
test these things before they sell them.  I rented Dinosaur the other
day and was playing the Cave Game on it, and it didn't work either.
You're supposed to go in there and find 3 water sources in the cave,
and there is this little reservoir thingy at the bottom of your
screen?  And it has 3 little segments that are supposed to fill up
whenever you find a water source.   But it doesn't work at all.  You
just wander around in the cave, finding the water, and the thing
never fills up.  So you can't finish the game and you're just all
crushed and stuff because you've gotta find water for your Dino Herd
but you can't so they're all going to die of thirst!!


   Mmph.  Well anyway. I'm over that.

   I will have to double check that Steele pic, but I think you're
right..  I kind of remember looking at it and thinking, "Where is
that pic in the movie?"  but then I was so bewildered by the missing
features that I didn't give it a second look.

That and ahh ..(ahem.)  I was really kicking some butt in that Sled
Dog game.

:o)
--Baltoship




--- In baltosanctuary@yahoogroups.com, "... <SnowWolf@b...>"
<SnowWolf@b...> wrote:
> I get the 100th message! Oh boy... ^_^;;
>
> Anyways, the DVD features are a glitch. You should be unable to
access
> them, as are any other people who bought this American version of
the
> DVD. Other countries don't seem to experience this
problem...they're
> lucky.
>
> Balto's eyes are white in some of the menu pics because they used
the
> redone Balto covers that appeared with Balto II's release...and
since
> he didn't have yellow eyes in Wolf Quest, he doesn't in the menus
> either. Strange, huh?
>
> I'm just wondering though...that background for the 'scenes' menu?
> Where did that pic of Steele come from? I don't recall it in the
movie
> at all.
>
> ~Snow
>
>
>
> --- In baltosanctuary@yahoogroups.com, "baltoship <cawcawcaw@e...>"
> <cawcawcaw@e...> wrote:
> > Ok, I finally got Balto on DVD, and it says there are supposed to
be
> > DVD Rom features, so I put it in the ol' DVD Rom and I could not
> find
> > any of the "Production Notes" that they say are supposed to be on
> > there?   I found the Sled Dog Game (Yipee, by the way.  Talk
about
> > your riveting entertainment.) but I couldn't get to the part of
the
> > menu where it says "DVD Rom Features"?
> >
> >    And I didn't know how to play them.  Is there some kind of
> > secret?
> >    Did you guys notice too that the Jenna in the Sled Dog Game
> wears
> > a yellow bandana?
> >    Also I think it's funny that they have Balto's eyes colored
white
> > in some of the menu pictures and stuff.   Are they trying to fool
us
> > or something?
> >
> > :o)
> > --Baltoship

Some parts of it were passable, namely the first
> half, but then it just fell apart so much that it became difficult
to
> watch.

    It is funny and interesting that people cut this movie in half so
much.  I have read a lot of reviews from people who specifically
liked one half but not the other, and I guess it should be that way
because the two halves are so different.
    I liked the first half because there is more happening in it.  You
get the pups being born, Balto's nightmares and Aleu growing up, so
that is plenty of scenery change happening, and it's a lot more
grounded in reality.  Then the second half has so many more spiritual
elements and the reality gets lost.  Characters start disappearing
and reappearing at will (Blech.  I hate that about it.) and the
*songs* start, and the scenery doesn't change much.  (The last half
hour or so is nothing but brown cliff faces and some snow and
icebergs.)   But then again, the second half is sort of more
dramatic, and it's about all the adult characters, so it feels more
mature.
     I have always thought of the Wolverine scene as the beginning of
the end, the start of the "fall apart," because I did not like the
heavy reliance on the spiritual creatures.   Usually I turn it off at
that point, or sometimes I make it all the way through Muru's scene.
(I think the song is weird, but it's passable.) I think the part
where the drawings come to life is one of the best examples of real
artistry in the movie.

  Still, it excelled at one thing: opening up *viable* options
> for a third installment. Foreshadowing, in a sense.



>
>  For example, what about Jenna? She didn't
> only get short shrift in Balto 2, but the story itself treated her
as
> little more than a bit character. She didn't even get to see Aleu
go,
> and Aleu didn't get to see her, either.


     There isn't even a *single* scene with Jenna and grown-up Aleu!
Jenna really got the boot, which I think sucked!   She was such a
favorite in the first movie- I know they wanted the story to focus on
the "wolf" thing, but Jenna could have had a few lines with Aleu, at
least.


> it wouldn't require the introduction of any more useless
characters,
> which would allow them to spend more time on the canines we've
grown
> to love already: Balto, Jenna, and Aleu.

    Yeah, Way.  I thought the addition of the 3 idiot wolves was
really annoying and took away from developing Aleu, (And Niju, too--
They could have used that time to give us some back story on him,
maybe?)
    I don't get why the movie people feel they need to add "comic
relief" characters.  If they want to add humor to a movie, it's
better to have your *main characters* exchange some funny lines now
and then.  The funniest parts in Balto come from Boris and Muk and
Luk, not Nikki, Kaltag and Star, and they are just randomly
interspersed with the dramatic scenes.   Part of what makes Balto
such a great movie is that not all the characters are sharply type-
cast.
   Boris *seems* like "Comic Relief" but he is really a lot more than
that.  He has some of the funny lines, but also the most heartfelt
and poignant ones.  And Balto is not always sullen or heroic.  He has
a couple really good lines, and some very cute moments too!  (Trying
to flatten down his little head-fur, talking about his paw-size, etc.)
>   It seems to me like the stricter character types (Like N, K and
S) are the ones that add the *least* to the movie.
    They are also the ones that drag it down to the "slapstick" level,
and probably take from "Balto" the potential to resonate with the
older viewers.  The viewer comments occasionally mention
how "childish" Balto was, and this cannot be due to the adult-
oriented story.  I think it is because of the 3 Comic Relief
characters.  One complaint even *I* have about Balto is that the NKS
scenes feel very disjointed from the more mature scenes.  In the
alleyway, we feel so sorry for Balto being insulted by the other
dogs, and then there is a sharp comic relief bit between NKS... and
then we go back to the very sincere, mature scene of Balto seeing the
wolves on the hillside and feeling that he has no place among dogs or
wolves.  I have always thought that interlude with Star & Co.  does
not belong there at all, because it jarringly interrupts the emotion.



>
> The point here is that there is basically no excuse for a bad Balto
3.


    Yes, I totally agree.  There is just way too much potentially
great material.    I am trying to be optimistic about this one;
I think the Land Before Time series looks a bit more polished now
than it did in the first couple sequels.  (The animation, anyway.)
It looks better and more competent than most of the Balto 2
animation... I mean, at least Littlefoot *looks* like Littlefoot,
where Balto and Jenna don't look like themselves at all.   So maybe
that will improve with more practice.

>  There's a broad spectrum
> of incredible movies that could be made from the weak ending of
Balto
> 2;

   It is such an *unusual* ending for an animated movie.  Balto 2 is a
weird movie all over.   I'm not saying it's altogether good or bad,
but it definitely has a lot of strange scenes and weird action.  I
suppose in a way that is an accomplishment, because it could have
turned out "typical," and that would be awful.
    Thank goodness it did not end up being a Secret of NIMH 2.  (Can
we all say, "Aleu to the Rescue"  Or "Aleu's Wilderness Adventure"??)

:o)
--Baltoship

I half-liked Balto 2. Some parts of it were passable, namely the first
half, but then it just fell apart so much that it became difficult to
watch. Still, it excelled at one thing: opening up *viable* options
for a third installment. Foreshadowing, in a sense.

Besides the obvious choices of Balto's past, and Aleu's adventures
with the wolf pack, there are a few other reasonable choices for
continuations of the story. For example, what about Jenna? She didn't
only get short shrift in Balto 2, but the story itself treated her as
little more than a bit character. She didn't even get to see Aleu go,
and Aleu didn't get to see her, either. A creative scriptwriter could
definitely do something with that; not only would it make sense, but
it wouldn't require the introduction of any more useless characters,
which would allow them to spend more time on the canines we've grown
to love already: Balto, Jenna, and Aleu.

And maybe Boris would get to do some flying for once in his rotten
life. ;)

The point here is that there is basically no excuse for a bad Balto 3.
If the scriptwriter from Land Before Time makes an unwelcome return...
there will be some serious explaining to do. There's a broad spectrum
of incredible movies that could be made from the weak ending of Balto
2; messing it up would be so pathetic that it would almost be funny,
if I didn't like Balto so much.

So, yeah.

</random>

-Ag

Oh, ,the Production Notes are anything relating to the movie that's
found in the folded insert. That's a trick DVD makers pull. THey are
never much. And I think the so-called DVD Rom features are nothing
more than links in the InterActual DVD player.

Anyone go to my files section at all? Baltoship, I know after what
you said about Mr. Cummings that my voices will probably drive you
nutzo :)

I get the 100th message! Oh boy... ^_^;;

Anyways, the DVD features are a glitch. You should be unable to access
them, as are any other people who bought this American version of the
DVD. Other countries don't seem to experience this problem...they're
lucky.

Balto's eyes are white in some of the menu pics because they used the
redone Balto covers that appeared with Balto II's release...and since
he didn't have yellow eyes in Wolf Quest, he doesn't in the menus
either. Strange, huh?

I'm just wondering though...that background for the 'scenes' menu?
Where did that pic of Steele come from? I don't recall it in the movie
at all.

~Snow



--- In baltosanctuary@yahoogroups.com, "baltoship <cawcawcaw@e...>"
<cawcawcaw@e...> wrote:
> Ok, I finally got Balto on DVD, and it says there are supposed to be
> DVD Rom features, so I put it in the ol' DVD Rom and I could not
find
> any of the "Production Notes" that they say are supposed to be on
> there?   I found the Sled Dog Game (Yipee, by the way.  Talk about
> your riveting entertainment.) but I couldn't get to the part of the
> menu where it says "DVD Rom Features"?
>
>    And I didn't know how to play them.  Is there some kind of
> secret?
>    Did you guys notice too that the Jenna in the Sled Dog Game
wears
> a yellow bandana?
>    Also I think it's funny that they have Balto's eyes colored white
> in some of the menu pictures and stuff.   Are they trying to fool us
> or something?
>
> :o)
> --Baltoship

Ok, I finally got Balto on DVD, and it says there are supposed to be
DVD Rom features, so I put it in the ol' DVD Rom and I could not find
any of the "Production Notes" that they say are supposed to be on
there?   I found the Sled Dog Game (Yipee, by the way.  Talk about
your riveting entertainment.) but I couldn't get to the part of the
menu where it says "DVD Rom Features"?

    And I didn't know how to play them.  Is there some kind of
secret?
    Did you guys notice too that the Jenna in the Sled Dog Game  wears
a yellow bandana?
    Also I think it's funny that they have Balto's eyes colored white
in some of the menu pictures and stuff.   Are they trying to fool us
or something?

:o)
--Baltoship

Haha! The apostrophe's (just kidding!) drive me nuts. I get annoyed
with the improper use of them....but one thing that gets me more is
putting prepositions at the end of sentences. "Where are you at?"
"Where'd it go to?" There is no need to do this! The sentence looks
just fine without 'at' stuck on the end for no reason! It sounds bad, too.

It's almost as annoying as using the word "like" three out of every
twenty words one speaks. *shudder*

~Snow

Hi Baltoship! I just wanted to say that I, for one (and maybe the
only one)understand the spelling AND use of Et Cetera!!!! WOO HOOO!!
I think you might be right, the schools do not teach stuff like this
any more. One of my pet peeves is the improper use of apostrophes.
Like, "go get some nail's to put that board up." or "put your
cigarette butt's here." (an actual sign outside of where I work)
*AAAIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!* It makes me want to scream! An apostrophe makes
it a possesive or a contraction!!!! Where did these people learn
grammar, or punctuation for that matter.

Just thought I would let you know you weren't the only one who feels
this way.

Take care,

Jim

Ok.  I have had a strange day, and several rants have come into my
mind suddenly, and I have nowhere else to post them.  So I figure
this is the place to complain about things that  annoy me.  I don't
know where this rationale comes from, but I feel like posting, so I'm
going to.

Rant #1
Re: The Rhinos in Ice Age...

    Why IS it that as soon as two male ANYTHINGS are seen hanging out
together, they are automatically "Gay"?
    Is America so obsessed with sex that people are totally incapable
of seeing two males hanging out together as friends?   (Or a male and
female, for that matter-- because that means they are obviously and
automatically having a relationship.)

   Seriously, to the movie going public, ANY TIME two males are in the
same place at the same time, and friends, this somehow just MEANS
they are gay.

   And not JUST that, but people are so convinced of their
shortsightedness, that they will actually condemn a movie (like Ice
Age) for portraying two males as friends??
    NOT two males having sex.  NOT two males being romantic with
eachother.
   Just Hanging OUT!  (In this case, bullying Sid.)

   "Oh, this movie is not appropriate for children, because it makes
gay references!  (whine, whine.)"

    That's right.  There are two mean rhinos hanging out together.
And movies are not allowed to show males of the same species doing
anything but being aloof with eachother, or fighting.
    Anything even remotely "friendly" must mean Gay.

   Is my interpretation faulty, or are people just WAY OVERSEXED in
today's world, where they see sex everywhere and between everyone?

     Am I the only one who is irritated by the fact that I can't even
have coffee with a male friend without people assuming we're
a "couple" or boyfriend/girlfriend, and either commenting on it or
implying it?

    Sometimes friends just HAVE COFFEE !  Why is this so difficult?

    Seriously, it would have been really weird to have a male and
female rhino doing that "bullying" bit.  They wanted them to be big
and mean, and bullies usually ARE same-gender groups of 2, 3, or
more.
    And I'm not saying that they WERE or they WEREN'T Gay (who
knows)... Just that it's stupid that people always ASSUME they are
gay, and then they will actually include that as a criticism in their
review of the movie.
    I have always thought the Tulio/Miguel complaints were a little
strange, too.

   Ok, so they're "Gay"... Well, they skinny dip in the same hot
spring together, so they must be.  (Yeah, these are the same
creatures that shower communally in locker rooms, and stand at
urinals and pee, side by side, and don't even care??)  But they're
both crazy about Chel, and Tulio even puts the moves on her and
basically ditches Miguel for her?
       This is really what gay men do...?  And again, I'm not saying
for sure that they are or they aren't... But just for the sake of
argument, how many times do you have to see a guy making out with a
girl he's crazy about before you'll believe he's straight?

   I am sure straight guys don't appreciate how skimpy the
requirements for "gay" have gotten... And probably gay guys don't
either.  And I am even a GIRL, and I find it frustrating as all heck
that people interpret my having coffee with a guy to mean that we are
in a sexual relationship.

  I know, I know.. Who cares what people think, right?   But wouldn't
it be nice if people would keep their assumptions to a minimum until
they get some confirming information one way or another?  At the very
least, can they refrain from making *comments* about what they think
is going on?

Oy.




Rant #2
Ect vs. Etc.

    I have come to the conclusion that there is almost no one online
who understands that the word "Et cetera" pretty much EXISTS.   I
don't know if they're just not teaching this in school, or what... if
everyone is dyslexic?  If people think "Ect" is an abbreviation for
some legitimate word, maybe?
    Ectoplasm?
    Ectopic Pregnancy?


Rant #3

    Rediculous:  To diculous again.

    This is a non-word.  It needs to die.
  The REAL word is 'ridiculous'.


   Ok.  I'll go away now.  I have just been reading movie reviews, and
is there any activity that gets one's dander up like reading
everyone's "rediculous" comments and criticisms of movies that are at
least "ok," if not good?


What Women Want

"I thhout this movie was stoopid...Gibson should stick to the action
genre. On the other hand, he did seem strangely at ease wearing panty
hose and applying nail polish."


(Weird that this person can spell "genre," but not "thought"... But
of course Mel is gay or a cross dresser, independent of the context
of these scenes in the film.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
"He also begins to read the mind of his daughter, Ashley Johnson, who
is blossoming into womanhood (and he cannot do anything about it),
and the mind of a suicidal mousy worker at his ad agency."

(This was actually not a bad review, but I don't give a cent of
credence to anybody who uses the phrase 'blossoming into
womanhood'... It just Ain't Right.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------
"..men do try to know what were thinking but thats just not usually
what happens and with Meg Ryan when she comes into the movie, the
movie kind of died..."

  (Meg Ryan is not in What Women Want.)

------------------------------------------------------------------

  Ice Age


"The only part that actually had me laughing was the Dodo stuff b/c
it was just so rediculous. Overall though I thought this sucked...
For a "children's film", this was extremely mean-spirited, violent,
and crass."

  (What movie did this guy watch..?  He must have been in the bathroom
when the mother jumped off the waterfall rather than sacrifice her
baby to the tiger.  And when we learn that Manny adopts the child
despite the fact that hunters killed his family.  Oh.  And when Diego
defends Manny even in front of Soto, and nearly dies protecting
Manny.  And when...)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Interestingly enough, the main hunter never mentions what happened
nor sheds a tear about the death of his wife (who apparently drowns
off-camera)"

   (Right.  He just keeps using the dogs to keep looking for her
throughout the movie, and doesn't give up hope that she or the baby
might still be alive. And finally the other hunters have to take the
dog leashes away from him, telling him that it's time to let her and
the baby go.  Oh yeah.  And they specifically say that the Humans
can't talk.   So how *could* he "mention" it anyway?)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

  "which is why I assume the voice of Manny wasn't John Goodman, which
it should have been. In my opinion, that was the only flaw."

    (Totally objective here, but how many animated features do you
want or expect John Goodman to star in?  There are at least 4
already, and possibly more on the way. )

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Surely a kids movie would be better without so many unnecessary
smashing, punching, cursing.."

   (Seriously.  Can you find a single "curse" word ANYWHERE in Ice
Age?)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"There was one part though in the movie at the end the sand splits in
half, which was not quite realistic, funny but not realistic."

   (Talking Animals, fine.   But this person will NOT BE SILENT when
sand splits in half!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------


"the occasional lapses into dramatic territory (such as the
revelation of what happened to Manfred's family, and the rather
violent end that comes to one of the villains) seem to come in from
another movie altogether."


   (Uh huh?  This would be the "violent end" that they don't even
show, and it occurs entirely off-camera?)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"it appears as though Manfred the Mammoth had his entire family
killed by hunters and now he is taking a baby back that will grow up
and kill him, too? Is he stupid?"

   (No. The *viewers* are.   They do not understand the parallel
meaning in this movie, that the baby is a semblance of Manfred's own
child.  And it is because he lost his child that he must care for
this one.  To leave it to die would make him no better than the
hunters that killed his family.
    This is really not hard.  In the cave sequence they provide a very
clear shot of the baby right next to the cave drawing of the baby
mammoth, and Manfred looking at the two of them and seeing that they
are/were both innocent children.  So he "adopts" the baby and returns
it to the father.  Because *Manfred* was a father.  He knows the pain
of losing a child.)

     People don't understand the depth of this film.  They figure if
they don't get it, it must be because there is something wrong with
the movie or the characters.  )
----------------------------------------------------------------


Balto

"I come from Alaska, and I really hated this movie. It was much too
difficult for me to get past all the inaccuracies and wild plot
holes...To begin with, using a dog sled to get around was *not*
unusual. It wasn't a pasttime in Nome. It was a way of life. It was
the only way to efficiently get anywhere in that day and age."


(Umm.. Ok?  That is why the *first* line in the animated start of
Balto is,
"Back then, the fastest and most reliable way of getting around was
with teams of dogs pulling long sleds..")

"The original story is that Nome had an outbreak of diphtheria, so a
dog sled was sent out to get medicine from Anchorage... Using a dog
sled to get to Anchorage wasn't some kind of last resort."

  (I don't understand this complaint.  He says Balto is inaccurate,
but the reality was that they *did* use dog teams to get the
medicine.  And that is what happened in Balto.  The train line ended,
so they sent sled teams.   ??)



Weirdness.
:o/
--Baltoship

**Thanks!!  ^__^  I aim to please.

    Actually, I am trying to get better at Balto, and I just want to
sketch him a gozillion times until I get really good.  maybe then
I'll do some color stuff.  (I would like to do my own version of a
Balto 1 cover.)  I finally won a Balto DVD, so I will get to practice
all I want.

   Someday I would like to try Jenna too, but... Oh, she is so
difficult to draw!!  How'd they do that?

:o/
--Baltoship

--- In baltosanctuary@yahoogroups.com, "Mum's the word!
<silverhuskey@b...>" <silverhuskey@b...> wrote:
> I just browsed through your artwork in the Files section Baltoship,
> and I loved all of the sketches.  Especially the first one and the
> third one.  He just looks so noble and sweet. :)  Do you have any
> plans to color them?
>
> ~Silver Huskey

--- In baltosanctuary@yahoogroups.com, "sparf1 <sparf1@y...>"
<sparf1@y...> wrote:
> Hm, John Goodman. Well, he WAS good in The Emperor's New Groove,

  I think he fit that role very well.  He reminds you of a big, good
hearted guy who is just out there doing his thing.  I would have a
tough time seeing him as a bad guy.


  Incidentally, what's wrong with Jim Cummings? I
> mean, sure he's in a lot of stuff but he's able to alter his voice
> so much that you'd barely know it was him sometimes.


**That's what drives me batty.  I can recognize just about every
Single ONE of his disguises!   So for me, it's like hearing the same
guy over and over.
    And he is just used WAY too much, in way too many movies.  I mean,
it gets to the point where, if you want to watch an animated movie,
you can't ESCAPE him.
    He plays at least 3 separate characters in El Dorado ALONE, all of
them with his "disguises"... I get so sick of hearing them that it's
actually a pleasant diversion when he uses something close to his
real voice, like Steele.

  Ugh.  He is Darkwing.  He is Darkwing's neighbor "Herb"... He is
CatDog, and Bonkers, and the announcer for *everything* on Fox
Kids... and on and on.   It's like, enough already, y' know?  And
right about the time you start thinking,

"Ooh.. Have I found a movie he ISN'T in?"
Nohhh..  He shows up as one of the palace guards, or one of the
henchmen, or a couple of the people in the crowd...


Ugh.

    I know, I'm like the only animation person who doesn't like him.
There are millions of people who just exhalt this guy and think he's
so cool.    To me he is just... TOO MUCH.

    I am getting tired of Dave Ogden Stiers, too.   I mean, I am ok
with it if someone shows up in 2 (or 3) major animated pictures, but
after 4 or 5 (especially in a major role.) it starts to get
overdone..

  Same with Tony Jay.
> He's a great voice actor, and though he's not in as much stuff, I
> still enjoy most stuff with him in it.

    I like Tony Jay because he doesn't use those disguises.  He just
puts himself out there.  He doesn't try to fool you, and fail at it.
He has a pretty neat voice, too.. it is all deep and creepy.

:o)
-Baltoship