A sudden Balto 2 fanart! I first tried to make it closer to the original style, and though my own drawing style was based on Balto once, it seems I just can stick with it 1 to 1, so… A drawing is more semirealistic
I had such a blast working on this. It is everything I ever dreamed of for an animated film of this story. I always imagined the film that never came to be. The rights had been bought by now defunct FILMATION back in 1981, but for reasons I do not know of, it never materialized. Granted, rights are often bought for books in the anticipation of a film getting made, but they never happen. That is a lot more common than we think. I imagine it was much the same for this film, so I doubt it went into pre-production or anything before it ceased to be. It's a shame, as I would've loved to have seen this film as a kid alongside Fox and the Hound, Watership Down, Secret of NIMH, Balto and American Tail. I think I would've had a childhood crush on Bracken. Or maybe Rune... I was a weird kid who often attached herself to strange characters, which still follows me today.
Anyway, it was fun to visualize how a VHS cover would've looked like had that film been made, complete with frayed edges and general wear and tear to show its age and how loved it was in someone's home.
And yes, the U rating was completely intentional, both for laughs and face-palming irony. It cannot be an '80s animated film without a good dose of traumatic imagery/themes somehow sneaking past the radar. I like to think the person in charge of rating this "film" fell asleep at the desk or didn't even watch it and just slapped the U rating on there. Because, all animal stories are for children, right?
As previously mentioned, I look to capture various major scenes in the book in this Don Bluth '80s film style in the near future. I just need to warm up to this style before then and compile a list of the scenes from beginning to end. And maybe make a few model sheets to ensure the characters are on-model between scenes.