Balto III: Wings of Change is the final Balto movie. It was released two years after Balto II: Wolf Quest. Europe and parts of Asia saw a 2004 release spread over numerous months. Balto III was officially released in the United States on February 1, 2005. Unlike Wolf Quest, WoC plays it safe and treads on familiar ground. Audiences return to Nome and an unconventional sled race is the main focus of the movie. Balto shares the spotlight with his son, Kodi. Phil Weinstein reprises his role as director. Screenwriters Elana Lesser and Cliff Ruby also make a return on the production side. On the casting side, the familiar voices of Maurice LaMarche, Jodi Benson, and Charles Fleischer are back. New voices include Jean Smart, Bill Fagerbakke (best known for his role as Patrick in SpongeBob SquarePants), and Kathy Najimy (a familiar voice for fans of King of the Hill).
While not as highly received as Balto, this movie fairs better among audiences and fans than Wolf Quest– it currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 62% versus WQ’s 53%. Balto III: Wings of Change is best summed up as a course correction for the overall direction and visual mistakes its predecessor made.
DVD Information
Cover Scans & DVD Menu Screenshots
Plot Summary
DVD (NTSC) Information
Balto III: Wings of Change was released on February 1, 2005 in North America. It is readily available to buy on DVD including a triple pack with its predecessor movies. Fans can also buy or rent a digital copy on Amazon Prime. The movie was also released on Blu-ray in Europe and can be imported, but the disc must be played on a region-free or Region B player.
Technical Features:
DVD Encoding: Region 1 (Only for United States and Canada)
Languages: English, Spanish and French
Available subtitles: English and Spanish
Available captions: English
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Bonus Material:
The Ultimate Rescue Challenge Game
Cover Scans and DVD Menu Screenshots
Plot Summary
It has been three years since Balto completed the serum run and became a hero in Nome. In the meantime, one of his sons Kodi, has become the lead sled dog with the US post office. Kodi and his team deliver the mail with pride, even if they’re late one too many times. The lead dog complains about the team’s lateness, but the rest of the dogs laugh it off. After all, who else is going to deliver the mail? This foreshadowing of Wings of Change’s overall plot is far from subtle. As if on time, Balto finds himself fascinated with an open cockpit Bushmaster airplane that has recently arrived in the small Alaskan town.
He has no idea what it is other than it can fly, and that he’d love to fly on it. Jenna states that she’s much happier on the ground. Balto and Jenna give chase to the plane, but it quickly flies away and the two dogs continue on to town. There they meet Kodi and the rest of the team. As everyone greets each other, Balto notices the plane in the distance. He runs ahead to take a closer look and is greeted by the pilot, Duke. The man affectionately ruffles the wolf-dog’s fur before strolling into town. The rest of the dogs finally catch up and nervously inspect the flying machine. Balto climbs onto the wings and examines the cockpit as Kodi cracks a joke about his father flying away in the plane if he could.
Back at the beached boat, Boris is giving himself a bath when a female goose named Stella catches him by surprise. Taken aback by her beauty and well-animated assets, he’s smitten. Fortunately for him, so is Stella. Before they can converse any further, she flies off in alarm as Muk and Luk arrive to play with their uncle. Tired of their antics, Boris chases the two polar bear cubs off. This only further endears Stella to the grumpy goose and she suggests the two go on a flying date. He says “yes” only to realize that he’s not good at flying. In a panic, Boris runs to Balto and asks for help to escape from the date.
The wolf-dog is shocked to learn that while the goose he’s known his entire life can fly, he’s actually afraid of heights. Balto offers to help him overcome his fear of flying, which is ultimately to no avail. Boris decides to go through with the date against his better judgment.
Back in Nome, Dipsy and Mel eavesdrop on a meeting between the postmaster and Duke. The two men have reached an agreement where Duke and his plane will deliver the mail to Nome instead of the mushers and their sled dog teams. Panicked, the two dogs call for an emergency meeting. Soon the entire sled dog team is gathered under the floor of the post office where Dipsy relays the conversation between the postmaster and the mushers to everyone else. They learn not all hope is lost. Thanks to the frontier spirit they have a chance to prove themselves via a race between the plane and the sled team. The winner will determine who delivers Nome’s mail.
The dogs decide that they’ll need someone fast and experienced to lead their team in the race. Naturally, they choose Balto. Worried that he and the team might not be fast enough to outrun the plane, the wolf-dog runs to Boris for help. The goose is delighted to be called away from his date with Stella by his canine friend. Stella for her part is crushed, even having gone as far singing a jazzy number to motivate Boris to fly with her. Balto returns to Kodi and the rest of the sled dogs to tell them of his doubts about beating the Bushmaster plane. The dogs completely ignore his concerns and continue to praise him and hype themselves up for the race. Somewhat defeated, but not in terrible spirits, Balto leaves and seeks out Jenna.
She listens to his concerns about the race and assures him that he won’t let their son down, no matter the outcome. As they have a heart-to-heart talk, Balto reminiscences about the pups growing up. He fondly remembers Kodi’s struggles to be as fast as his father and how he constantly trained with his son. Returning to his present thoughts, Jenna again reassures him and he leaves for the night. On the way back to the boat, Balto sees the plane. Unable to resist his fascination, he wanders over to the plane and paws at the propeller. Duke greets him kindly and allows Balto to sit in the cockpit with him.
Nearby, Boris has convinced Stella that he has a sprained wing and cannot fly. So she dotes on him for the date night and he’s pleased with himself. So pleased in fact that the next morning he brags about his trickery to Balto and the sled team just before the race. Oblivious to Stella’s presence despite Balto’s warnings, Boris suddenly finds himself hassled and chased by the goose. She chases him into a mailbag that’s unceremoniously loaded into the Bushmaster plane.
The dogs are given their mailbag and the starting gun is fired. Both dog and machine take off, but it is the plane that reaches the town of White Mountain first. The dogs arrive just as Duke has finished exchanging mail and is preparing to leave. Before the pilot can take off, he spends a few moments deicing his the plane’s wings. By the time the dog team is back on the trail, the plane is high in the sky and pulling ahead of them. In Nome Jenna, Mel, and Dispy await the team’s return.
On the trail the dogs have run into a fierce storm and narrowly avoid an accident. Duke fairs much worse as the storm has created near whiteout conditions for him, and he flies off course. The sled dogs are able to push through the storm and Kodi asks his father if he still hears the plane. Balto realizes the sound of the plane engine isn’t to be heard and the team pushes on to Nome. Under clear skies they have beaten the plane back to town and their jobs are safe. The team celebrates near Balto’s boat, but the wolf-dog warns Kodi that their jobs are only safe for now. Progress can’t be halted. Annoyed and unwilling to listen, Kodi storms off.
Muk and Luk then tell Balto and Jenna about a monster that came crashing down in the forest. Balto deduces that the “monster” must be the Bushmaster plane and that Duke is in danger of being exposed to the elements. He tries to rally Kodi and the rest of the sled dogs to form a search party, but the dogs aren’t interested in helping. Balto leaves to search alone, disappointed in his son. As he prepares to leave Nome, Stella catches up with him. She wants to know where Boris has gone and the wolf-dog is surprised that his old friend is missing.
Balto, Stella, Muk and Luk form a search party. The two polar bear cubs recall where they heard the plane go down as Stella takes to the skies to scout ahead. In Nome, word of the plane’s disappearance has gotten out, but no one knows where Duke may have crashed. Jenna finds Kodi with the mail team instead of with Balto. She tells her son where he should be as he looks down in shame. On the trail the search party runs into a variety of perils as they search for the downed plane.
Meanwhile, Jenna has finally gotten through to Kodi as he tries to convince the team to help with the search. They stubbornly refuse and Kodi quits the team in order to help his father. Stunned into silence, the rest of the dogs watch as he leaves.
Back in the wilderness, Balto and crew have finally found the downed plane thanks to Stella’s scouting. After a confrontation with an ornery moose that is only ended with with an equally ill-termed moose, everyone finally reaches the plane.
(Writer’s note: Okay, I have to cut in here. I told myself no editorializing, but I can’t help myself. Giving the territorial moose heavy New York City accents just breaks the suspension of disbelief so hard. All of that weirdness just to make a joke from a 1990s sitcom or a rejected skit from the Animaniacs. Few people born after 1986 are going to get the reference.)
Duke is alive, but has an injured leg. Muk and Luk find Boris a short distance from the plane. Stella, Muk, and Luk carry Boris home while Balto drags Duke home on a piece of the plane turned into a makeshift sled. Wolf-dog and man traverse the wilderness, and the journey is going well until an ice bridge collapses under the duo. Just as the two are about to slid off the cliff and into a ravine, Kodi and his teammates show up to rescue Balto and Duke.
The journey takes all night, but the team arrive in Nome with Duke in tow. The townsfolk are amazed to see that the dogs have brought the pilot home safely and everyone celebrates. Boris spends more time with Stella. Jenna is proud of Kodi, and they watch together as Balto flies in the cockpit with Duke in his newly named “Balto Flyer.”