A look at the cover gives you the impression: "All Dogs Go to Heaven" is another Disney rip-off that is fun, cheery, and basically the "G" symbol is a warning sign for parents who would rather not die of boredom while their kids watch. Isn't it? No. It is NOT. "All Dogs" is an original movie with a story-line completely unlike anything Disney would do. This is pretty much a cartoon tragedy, about a starring character who isn't even a nice guy. "Robin Hood" (1973) starred a thieving character, but he was a nice guy, risking life and limb to help the poor. Charlie (marvelous voice of Burt Reynolds) is a thief who would like to help himself to some pizza and a run of success in gambling.
"All Dogs" is a sad story that depicts the canine underworld, a dog-eat-dog world of exploitation, lies and murder. Charlie is, as the rest of the dogs say, a dog with "a record." In fact, Charlie gets run over... and this not being a Wile E. Coyote cartoon, he dies. But, of course, if he didn't miraculously return, this would be a short featurette. The way he returns is so original, and so dominant in what happens later on, you simply can't see how the writers ever dreamed it up.
The story is spectacular and certainly a strong point, but that's not where it ends. The animation is mindblowing. Although not like "The Secret of NIMH," it is still breathtaking, beautifully drawn and moves smoothly. The characters look like they're talking more than in many Disney cartoons. The effects, all hand-drawn, must have been extremely tedious to work on, what with sparks, explosions, powerful electrical charges, nightmarish visions of Hell reminiscent of "Fantasia"'s Chernabog character.
The characters, too, are unlike others. The usual story of an animated movie (actually, any movie) would be the righteous hero versus the evil villain. Sometimes, the hero isn't all he seems, but he comes round soon enough. In "All Dogs," the battle isn't hero-vs.-villain, it's villain-vs.-villain, thief-vs.-thief, except we're supposed to sympathize with one of the combatants. We eventually do come to root for Charlie, and boo Carface. In such movies, the hero/thief is a nasty guy who's frosty at the surface but a good soul at heart. Charlie, by contrast, although not as evil as his partner-later-to-be-enemy Carface, is a bad guy who stays bad even after he's been betrayed. He deceives little Anne-Marie to get some money. Instead of the hero inside surfacing at last, Charlie's is a wholesale transformation from bad-at-heart to good-at-heart. That is extraordinary, and special. Plus, he has a wide assortment of friends, from a small but courageous dog to an opera-singing alligator, always helped along by a bunch of faithful dogs unlike Carface's thugs. These friends, however, rip off "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961) by acting exactly like the dogs in that Disney movie's Twilight Bark. This isn't a genuine act of idea robbery; how the hell WOULD the dogs communicate, by mail?
"All Dogs Go to Heaven" is one of the more complex animated movies. It involves stuff that will fly right over the head of little ones or traumatize them, like being eaten alive by bloodthirsty fish. It's more adult-oriented in its true theme and its true meaning, but kids will love it for the funny sidekicks, but they will also cry till their eyes are dry over the ending, that is one of the most emotionally powerful tragedies you've ever seen. Or is it? After all, all dogs go to Heaven.
"All Dogs" is a sad story that depicts the canine underworld, a dog-eat-dog world of exploitation, lies and murder. Charlie is, as the rest of the dogs say, a dog with "a record." In fact, Charlie gets run over... and this not being a Wile E. Coyote cartoon, he dies. But, of course, if he didn't miraculously return, this would be a short featurette. The way he returns is so original, and so dominant in what happens later on, you simply can't see how the writers ever dreamed it up.
The story is spectacular and certainly a strong point, but that's not where it ends. The animation is mindblowing. Although not like "The Secret of NIMH," it is still breathtaking, beautifully drawn and moves smoothly. The characters look like they're talking more than in many Disney cartoons. The effects, all hand-drawn, must have been extremely tedious to work on, what with sparks, explosions, powerful electrical charges, nightmarish visions of Hell reminiscent of "Fantasia"'s Chernabog character.
The characters, too, are unlike others. The usual story of an animated movie (actually, any movie) would be the righteous hero versus the evil villain. Sometimes, the hero isn't all he seems, but he comes round soon enough. In "All Dogs," the battle isn't hero-vs.-villain, it's villain-vs.-villain, thief-vs.-thief, except we're supposed to sympathize with one of the combatants. We eventually do come to root for Charlie, and boo Carface. In such movies, the hero/thief is a nasty guy who's frosty at the surface but a good soul at heart. Charlie, by contrast, although not as evil as his partner-later-to-be-enemy Carface, is a bad guy who stays bad even after he's been betrayed. He deceives little Anne-Marie to get some money. Instead of the hero inside surfacing at last, Charlie's is a wholesale transformation from bad-at-heart to good-at-heart. That is extraordinary, and special. Plus, he has a wide assortment of friends, from a small but courageous dog to an opera-singing alligator, always helped along by a bunch of faithful dogs unlike Carface's thugs. These friends, however, rip off "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961) by acting exactly like the dogs in that Disney movie's Twilight Bark. This isn't a genuine act of idea robbery; how the hell WOULD the dogs communicate, by mail?
"All Dogs Go to Heaven" is one of the more complex animated movies. It involves stuff that will fly right over the head of little ones or traumatize them, like being eaten alive by bloodthirsty fish. It's more adult-oriented in its true theme and its true meaning, but kids will love it for the funny sidekicks, but they will also cry till their eyes are dry over the ending, that is one of the most emotionally powerful tragedies you've ever seen. Or is it? After all, all dogs go to Heaven.