#simon wells

STEELE

Some sort of addition and logical continuation of this, this and this posts. It is something I wanted to discuss in details, so maybe there are people, who think the same, but whose voices weren't heard. There's the one very weird angle about the original film and its fans — for some reason everyone is totally okay with Balto's idiotic pacifism-passiveness to death, hits and attempts of murder and with Steele's lame, undeserved and anti-climatic "defeat", as if everythnig is fine, and there's nothing morbid. And if you dare even to doubt in it, they will look at you like at some cruel traitor and heretic and attack you like some religious fanatics, over-confidently and blindly (dogmatically) saying you're wrong and immature and stuff, and that Balto is "too good and kind to hurt someone, he is saint or whatever" (excuse me, but from what Care Bears creche these people went?! seriously, they all mourn on how "poor Balto gets beaten by horrible Steele", but once you point out that the protagonist should dodge attacks and kick his ass, they are like "Whaaat?! No way! You are bad for saying so!"). I don't know, it is some form of gaslighting or some similar crap for sure. Am I only one, who sees that there's something wrong?!

Seriously, what's wrong with people, who fanatically defend the antitoxine fight scene (and Balto's stupid behavior beyond comprehension) and Steele, and what's wrong with Balto here, so he allows Steele to harm and to kill him and wants to befriend with this psychopath?! Every excuse I heard from such people doesn't stand up to any criticism or logic. I can easily debunk this nonsense in order the most loud ones: 1. "Balto wanted to keep his strength and to not be exhausted" — nonsense. Balto would keep it, if he at least dodged the attacks, exhausting Steele. With all Steele's attacks and hits he was more exhausted and weakened. 2. "Balto didn't want to get wounds, he wanted to survive just like wild animals do, avoiding fights and making peace in a pack." — nonsense. Balto got wounds and hits, when Steele bit him, and it happened exactly because Balto allowed him to do this. Even animals, if there's no other way to resolve the conflict and avoid a fight, brutally put their aggressive pack member in his place and either banish or kill. 3. "Balto didn't want to slow down the rescue operation, so if he fought, he'd make things worse" — nonsense with shade of victimblaming. Exactly Steele already severely slowed it down way before Balto's arrival and now continues to do this, also killing his owner and teammates with cold and hunger. 4. "Balto wanted to prove to the dogs he is kind and good and can be trusted" — nonsense. These idiots were betting and sadistically giggled, when Steele kicked him. And Balto saw and knew what they did, earlier they participated in bullying and bullied him as well. 5. "Balto wanted to remind them about the serious duty aka saving lifes of sick children" — nonsense. Balto stated clearly that he needs exactly the medicine for saving Rosie and others, to help the team is a secondary thing in fact — it was their wish to go with him or to stay. 6. "Balto wanted to awake the dogs' nobility, so they will see his goodness and Steele's badness" — for f*ck's sake, they all knew Steele's monstrous nature all along! These hypocrites knew Steele's a monster way before Balto and before the beginning of the movie! They hated him all along! Both Steele's own team and the rival team he kicked from the race and harmed earlier! And looking at the boiler room near the finale of the film, they easily kicked him! All this time they could put Steele on his place, but tolerated and swallowed his crap, participating in bullying, until they found out he's a liar *applausing*, and none of them begged Balto for forgiveness!

No wonder, why his mother chose to love a wolf... And Balto isn't smart, if he craved to be accepted by these scumbags... 7. "Balto wasn't brave and confident enough to fight Steele, he was afraid of Steele" — nonsense. Balto was ready to fight Steele in the alley twice (firstly for protecting Boris, later against Steele and his gang after they mocked on his mother for mating with a wolf), in the boiler room and near the finish line, he wasn't afraid of Steele. His line "Just leave him out of this, Steele!" blatantly states Balto isn't afraid of him and is ready to fight, he challenges Steele for a fight.

8. "Balto didn't want to escalate the conflict, because Steele could order to the dogs to attack Balto, so Balto had no chances against several dogs" — nonsense. First of all, the movie gives no visual or verbal hints of Steele's potential order for attack or any desire from the dogs' side to tear Balto apart at the first bark of Steele. Second, at best only Nikki and Kaltag would participate in the fight. Third, in the alley scene Balto demonstrated he was ready to fight four dogs, implying, he would easily defeat Steele and his three lackeys, he was fearless, and he's faster than all of them. And he is f*cking half-wolf, so he is obviously stronger than all of them. And Balto wasn't afraid to attack the grizzly bear with high risk to get fatal wounds into chest and stomach from the bear's big and sharp claws.

9. "But the main thing is to save the children, not to defeat some villains! They're just obstacles on the hero's path! Balto wanted only to save Rosie and the kids, the ending is great in that! That's the victory of Balto, not over Steele!" — so what?! For saving lifes you are not allowed to defend yourself, your own life, and to defeat and punish those, who try to take away those lifes?! If Balto wants to save Rosie and the kids, he himself has to be alive and healthy, hence he should never allow Steele to attack and to hurt him, he should never allow Steele to attack the medicine box. If Balto died and the box was destroyed, then everything would be lost. And why to add a villain in the first place?! Wild animals, deadly epidemy and hazardous cold weather are enough for this, there's no need in a villain, a villain (especially such type like Steele) has no reason to exist by this logic. 10. "But keeping the villain alive and abandoned by others makes the movie less cliched and more family-friendly and warming especially near the end! And it makes the protagonist kind and good, since he didn't hurt anyone! This scene shows Balto's true kind nature and selfless care for others and Steele's bad nature and egocentrism!" — extremely stupid argument. First of all, the movie is already the drama about kids deaths in epidemy and xenophoby/speciecism. Second, the antagonist commits atrocities through entire movie. Third, a main character doesn't become worse or "less good/kind/nice", if he/she defends own life and health and fights evil for protecting others and punishing this evil. Fourth, by this logic let's change the TLK 1994 ending for more "family-friendly vibe in the end", let's not allow Simba to fight Scar and keep him "saint pacifist" in the same way Balto was, let's not kill Scar, but just collectively leave him in his cave to sit and think on his bad behavior like planning and then murdering his brother, attempt of murdering his nephew, usurping power and also using lies, propaganda and revanchism for using hyenas as his weapons for keeping this power, tyranny etc. WTF?! Do you understand how stupid this is?! Seems to me, such Steele defenders are either "I can fix him, I am for all good against of all evil, we don't have to stop evil by evil, or there will be more evil" thinkers or bullies themselves, who don't want for their kind to get some punishment for their atrocities, or just "high ground moral" hypocrites, which always ignore pain and suffering of victims, but start to yell and punish these victims, when they finally brutally punish their tormentors and bullies (and for a victim it is totally justified — horrible people absolutely deserve this, I see nothing wrong with brutal beating, mental and physical breaking and smashing various abusers, tormentors, bullies etc, because these critters understand only own language), saying "But you are a good boy/girl! You don't have to be like them! You have to overgrow and forgive them! You are higher than them! You're bigger person! They are just playing! It is the problem in you, they rightfully call out your sins! How dare you to defend yourself and fight back! How dare you to show negative emotions! Or else you are bad just like them or even worse! To be nice is not a being weak!" and all other disgusting crap, full of double standards.

The only more or less interesting argument is that "It is cooler that the villain becomes the reason of own demise or defeat, and it is funny how Steele digs grave for himself without even realizing that". In some aspects it kinda makes sense, because if he accepted Balto's help, either running with him in pair like two lead dogs or just following him, humans still would consider exactly Steele as the main hero simply because he is the older and more experienced lead dog that ran in many races before in contrast to younger and inexperienced Balto. Plus, well, his musher would praise exactly him, because he didn't see, who actually led the team. Same for the version, if Balto ran in the team since the beginning, i.e. if he was allowed to run after he won the run in Nome. But everything else makes zero sense. it is a bad writing, when a protagonist does nothing for self-defense or fight or opposing to evil, and where every obstacle disappears by itself, without any effort from a main character, as if he is under insulting divine plot armor. Like, then why should I relate to him, if everyone solves a problem for him, and if he swallows all crap?! And if the villain does everything for own undoing, then why the movie isn't called Steele, which by this logic is the main character with arc of falling into madness and lack of morality?!

But I tell that again. There should be no suicidal empathy, there should be no tolerance to evil. If someone hurts you or tries to take away your life, if someone torments and hurts others physically and with really serious verbal insultings, you are fully allowed to defend yourself and punish such person, smash their faces etc. You have no moral obligation to be kind to those, who tries and wants to hurt and to destroy you. Simply saying — goodness has to be with fists. Not everyone deserves your kindness, and not everyone can change and admit own mistakes. And Steele is exactly this irredeemable abomination, which deserves the most brutal beating and even death. He always was this abomination. And he should be killed without any mercy. But we'll talk about it in details later. Speaking about the interviews with the director. One of his depictions of Steele was "Never having had to try very hard, he is not ready for adversity when it confronts him, and his grip on right and wrong goes away as soon as he is rattled." Actually, even before the infamous antitoxine scene Steele already demonstrated the behavior of a very dangerous and unhinged sadist and psychopath with tendencies to hurt with risk of death, and certain his acts toward Balto can be considered as an attempt of murder, not just verbal and physical bullying or abuse. 1. The opening scene with sled races fully demonstrates and even cements already in the beginning Steele's evil nature, confirming, he was always evil — for getting all glory and victory, for staying the adored champion and hero to his death, Steele will hurt and even kill every potential rival. Seriously, although at first glance it looks like just an attempt to frighten and intimidate, but it is pretty clear that Steele was ready to bite and hence to injury the dog from the rival team, the dog dodged by luck, but still was scared.

Really, look at this. He was aiming specifically to bite his paw. The dog dodged it just by a miracle.

And, well, due to this bite trick the rival team, the dogs and their musher, they stumble, get tangled in the harness, fall at high speed, crash and knock each other down, including overturning the sled with the musher, which could cause them all to get fractures and injuries even from the runners of the sled.

And the rival musher saw it, and looking at his reaction, Steele does it not the first time, he did that before. 2. Later Steele uses the same bite trick near Balto in the Rosie's hat scene.

Balto's fast reaction saved Balto's life and health, so he perfectly dodged Steele's attack, jumping toward Rosie's head (where this friggin reaction was in the grizzly bear scene and in the antitoxine fight scene, I ask?!), or else Steele would bite him and hence made serious wound on Balto's paw, Balto would fall and possibly crash into something (humans or boxes), getting serious wounds.

Wow, at this time Steele was aiming to bite in neck or head/face...

In fact, if Steele bit him, Balto could fall under paws of Steele and his dogs and also under the sled itself, so Balto really had the risk to die.

As well as Steele's team could be injured as well. 3. In the alley scene Steele throws a rock into Balto's head, so Balto also gets thrown away to those planks and beams.

It could cause a serious wound of especially head for sure. 4. And then the smashing paw scene. By doing that, Steele literally puts Balto in grave danger, because after Balto's unintentional growl (well, for some reason, the moron musher heard a growl instead of a whine and didn't notice Steele's aggressiveness and malice) at the human all townfolks of Nome would decide to shoot Balto.

"He can't be trusted! He is half-wolf! You saw his teeth! He could turn on me!" = "Let's shoot this dangerous wild animal for showing aggression toward not only a dog, but to a human!" 5. Then this jump. If Balto didn't dodge, Steele would jump on him and hurt him, not just break the tree.

So, yes, Steele made attempts of murder even before the infamous antitoxine scene. 6. Then this infamous antitoxine fight scene I so hate. These two hits and one bite (I remind, before this Balto got powerful hits from the bear with risk of deep and fatal wounds from big and sharp claws and then the bear almost crushed his chest = risk for broken bones and ribs etc, and he wasn't afraid of it, and now Steele hits him into these same body places the bear hit him previously).

And here we go! At first the attacking the medicine box

and then the two confident, clear and blatant attempts of murder he doesn't even hide anymore! Both the throwing Balto to the ice rock, so he gets head injury and gets knocked out for a while, and then pulling Balto to the edge of the cliff for throwing him away to his death (and only Jenna's friggin bandana like deus ex machina saves the day and Balto). And when Balto lied moveless, Steele sadistically laughed, thinking Balto is dead. I repeat it again, already two open attempts of murder!

What was in the heads of the filmmakers, if they forbid Balto to fight or at least to dodge these attacks in such conditions?! What was in their heads, so they force Balto to act like a holy idiot, who would be ready not only to turn his other cheek for another punch, but even to open his own butt for Steele by this logic, so he apparently has a crush on Steele, not Jenna?! And what's in heads of those fans, which defend Steele and this scene, as if everything is right?! Am I only one, who sees how morbid and f*cked up this is?! What's in heads of those, who find Steele not being brutally punished and killed as a good story decision?! No one living soul will give even a glimpse of normal explanation! Inhale and exhale... 7. After the antitoxine scene Steele literally attempts to murder Balto again and also tries to murder own sled team and owner and to destroy the medicine box only for preventing Balto to "steal" Steele's glory and the status of a hero. Yupp, he ruins Balto's trails to path and lures the team to the edge of the mountain, so they all will fall and die and stuff, the medicine won't arrive to Nome, the kids will die. And all this only for keeping own status of the hero and "If I don't bring the medicine, then no one will".

And the cherry on the top of the cake — Steele was there and hid near, Steele watched, how the sled team struggles to not fall, how Balto and the box fall from the mountain, so the team (the musher and the dogs) will freeze to death in snow storm.

Or else why Steele in details told in his "tragic story", how desperate for love and glory Balto grabs the medicine box and falls from the mountain and dies?! Steele planned it and watched it for being sure Balto is dead, the medicine box is destroyed, and the team is lost to cold death with no chances for anything else. Third blatant and nearly successful attempt of murder of already several characters. And all for own and sole and personal glory.

And people still defend him?! Just because he is a dog?! He deserves to be beaten like Spitz in Call of the Wild (either the book or 2020 film) at minimum. I also never understood, why Steele's death was deleted, and why his "defeat" in the final film was so childish, safe, family-friendly and anti-climatic. I always thought it is due to budget limits or whatever. Not to mention that the scene itself still had this stupidity with Balto's over-compassion toward Steele, when dogs order him to give his collar to Balto, and when Steele tries to murder Balto again and then dies, as well as the stupidity that Steele dies due to own stupidity in the comedy style of those students from Tucker and Dale VS Evil movie (for real, Steele just missed during the attack and got caught by the collar). But the answer actually exists. According to Simon Wells, it was the order of Steven Spielberg to keep Steele alive for "symbolism, how Balto and Steele switch roles in the end without very cruel and dark finale". And with all respect to the legends of animation and cinematography, but it is one of the insultingly dumbest story decisions and explanations I ever heard. The aspect I recently realized — in contrast to the deleted scene from the early script with Steele's death, in the final movie nobody among dogs knows that Steele is an attempted murderer. In the end they just conclude "Oh no, you lied to us that everyone tragically died, but you just left them, they are alive!", but that's it, nobody knows what he has done. Do you get it now? Do you finally understand now the full scale of the problem?!

I remind, he tried to murder Balto, his teammates and owner (well, I wouldn't mind, if Steele ate this d*ckhead actually) and also destroy the medicine box for sabotaging the rescue operation, killing the sick kids and getting all glory for himself. As I always told, Steele deserved brutal punishment and beating, not this childish and harmless "leaving alone" crap. And looking at how dangerous and unhinged he is, he should be killed, because even although he is "ignored and left" by all, he can escape to some other town (I mean, travelling alone many miles of wilderness to Nome, he even wasn't eaten by bears, wolves or lynxes somehow), and through lies and manipulation he can become a "king of a village" again, where he'll have followers, who really consider him as the true hero, who ran "the longest and the most hazardous part" of the relay, but was overshadowed, forgotten, robbed, betrayed and wronged, as well as he still is able to do something horrible to Balto and his friends, because, most importantly, humans don't know that Steele is the attempted murderer. Funny, but even his musher doesn't know this. That's why forbidding Balto to beat Steele and keeping Steele alive are the most idiotic decisions in the story. Basically keeping extremely dangerous terrorist with sadistic and homicidal tendencies without punishment and alive, so he can again put the characters in grave danger and return to throne.

James Baxter “The Real Roger Rabbit” Roger Rabbit in the Style of Different Animators Source