Rating: 
Summary: Balto II An Enjoyable Wolf Quest
Review: 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. Movie: ***** (5/5).The DVD, however, isn't as great as the movie itself. Obviously designed for the littlest children, the game is VERY easy and extremely boring. It involves walking Balto across the ice to save Aleu, and deals with his paw prints rather then movie trivia. There's a DVD-ROM preview of a CD-ROM game, which doesn't look too interesting; the trailer is here along with trailers for the original "Balto," "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary," and the latest movies in the "Land Before Time" and "Beethoven" video franchises. DVD extras: ** (2/5), and that's being generous for the "E.T." trailer. Technically this DVD is great, with perfect picture and good sound. The French and Spanish language tracks provide a good opportunity to help learn a forigen language, as they always do on DVDs. The movie is presented in 1:33:1 full frame, which is the original aspect ratio; don't complain about the lack of widescreen here. Since Universal produced this directly for video, it was originally filmed to fit TV screens, not reformatted from a widescreen version. The original BALTO was produced in widescreen but presented in full frame on the DVD (why??), however that is not the case here. Technicals: ***** (5/5.) All in all, this movie is an enjoyable Wolf Quest you'll want to be sure to add to your collection -- but don't expect much other then a great movie from the DVD edition. Review Text Copyright ©Jake Lipson, 2002.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the first Balto movie!
Review: My children and I all enjoyed the first Balto (even though it's not entirely "accurate" but then again most movies that are based on a true story aren't!) but Balto II- Wolf Quest was much much better! We just gave it to my preschool age daughter and she is totally fascinated by it. The Native American singing/flutes/music throughout it is beautiful with only a couple of musical parts feeling a little awkward. One part I did especially appreciate was that when Balto and Jenna sent their pups to live with new humans, they didn't make it look like a horribly gross injustice that was heartwrenching and agonizing. Babies being separated from their mommies is always hard for children to understand but they did that part very well. This is not made for adults so keep that in mind but it IS wonderful for children and adults who like cartoons, getting down on a childs level and aren't too stuffy about watching shows made for them. =) You'll probably recognize quite a few of the voices but not be able to *place* them. Read the credits for a walk down memory lane! =) (probably for those over 30)
Rating: 
Summary: and the winner for worst movie of 1998 is...
Review: wow this movie sucked! along with thumbelina and pebble and the penguin its just so freakin retarded. i think they should make a 3rd balto: balto 3: dog gone retarded----wait wasnt that the first and 2nd one too?? here are some words to describe it: suck suck suck suck suck suck suck...had enough? wake up, get a life, and agree with me that this movie sucks the big one!
Rating:
Summary: Yuck
Review: If you liked the first movie (or even if you didn't) then you'll hate this one. The script, plot, and music are all terrible. About the only thing you'll enjoy is Disney's classic animation. It looks like the storywriters were trying to write the "New Age Gospel" for kids and decided to use Balto and his daughter as the missionaries. If you're gonna do that at least give it a decent plot. Example: That little mouse that sings a song -- and a poorly-written song at that. It's entirely new-age-ish and doesn't really help the plot along at all. Where the first movie was based on a true story, this one doesn't contain one scrap of truth. While that's okay for a film, it sure is a disappointment to those of us expecting a true extension to the story. If your local library has a copy, maybe that's worth looking it, but don't waste your money. Buy the first movie instead.
Rating:
Summary: Um yeah....no.
Review: Why do these companies insist on copying Disney's stupid idea to make OVA sequals to all of their best(and worst) movies. The original Balto was a great and wonderful feature that told a true story and held its self well enough on its own. What I don't understand is why they felt they had to tarnish the film's reputation with cheesy animation, bad voice acting, rediculous diologue, and bad musical numbers. That's right, Universal went and added one song sequence after another with this mess of a film. If you like cheaply made sequels to great films then you'll enjoy this one. But if you want to see a better movie, watch anything else.
Rating:
Summary: Great sequel
Review: I've loved the first Balto movie when I first saw it, and I still do. When I saw the previews for "Balto II: Wolf Quest" I couldn't wait to see it, and when I finally saw it the day it came out I loved it! :) It was a bittersweet movie, and I thought it was better then most direct-to-video sequels. I loved the plot, the songs, the charactors...everything. Everything except the charactor animation and Balto & Jenna's voices. I liked Kevin Bacon and Bridget Fonda better. All in all, I loved Balto II: Wolf Quest, and I give it 5 stars and 2 paws up! lol :)
Rating:
Summary: The movie that ruined my life...well, almost.
Review: Balto (the original) was my favourite movie ever and still is (even though now I'm twelve) and I don't care who knows it. I was always hoping for a sequel, then they go make this terrible movie. The original was all possible (minus the talking animals) but this one-nightmares, a wolf goddess, vanishing animals- is nothing of the sort. The plot is easy to follow but generally sucks, the villian appears halfway through and the ending is terrible: the first part is slightly sad and leaves two wolves with ruined lives and Balto with a daughter... well, I've said too much, just in case you do want to watch this for some reason. The second part of the ending counteracts the message of the first one:anyone can be a hero. Balto's mother isn't just some random wolf, she's... well, suffice it to say that Balto is descended from someone very special, so it seems you do need a pedigree to help someone. Balto's voice has changed and everyone looks terrible. Don't buy this. Don't rent this. Don't ever watch this.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: I really like this one. Good story. Good music... I also like how it incorporates American Indian Animal Spirit Guides. From what I can tell, these are accurate, although vaguely described. I do wish they could have found a way to incorporate something about Dog (Loyalty) and Wolf (Teacher, Pathfinder) though.
Rating: 
Summary: Nowhere as good as the original, but still fun
Review: For those of you who are offended by the 'humanistic' and 'naturalistic' content of this film, please get a life. Respect for nature does not equal evil, and if you want to pick, then watch it WITH your children and guide them. That's what parents are supposed to do. That having been said, The movie's plot IS cookiecutter, the animation was good for a D2V sequel, and the color scheme for the characters was wrong. For example, Balto's eyes changed color between the first film and now. Who knows why?
The original voice cast was almost all unavailable for the sequel, each person being involved in various other projects, which is why most of them didn't come back. As for others, maybe they know that D2V sequels in general are lower quality and didn't want their name associated with it? Overall, I was pleased, but that's because I tend to read things into movies that they lack, and so I don't find them as lacking. I'm nuts. :)
Rating:
Summary: disappointing sequel
Review: The original Balto was a great film and is very worth seeing - a great story making for a superb family film. The sequel is anything but worth the time or money. Poor animation is the least of the trouble. It is silly propoganda of the worst sort. Even for one who cares about the earth and her inhabitants - this film is pitifully manipulative, poorly written, and an insult to its prequel. Skip it!
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