All Dogs Go to Heaven
Encyclopedia
All Dogs Go to Heaven is a 1989 Irish
-English
animated film
directed
and produced
by Don Bluth
and released by United Artists
. The film tells the story of two dogs, Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt Reynolds
) and his loyal best friend Itchy Itchiford (voiced by Dom DeLuise
). Charlie is murdered, but he forsakes his place in Heaven to return to earth where he and Itchy team up with a young orphan girl, Anne-Marie (voiced by Judith Barsi
) who teaches them a lesson about honesty, loyalty, and love.
The film was produced at Sullivan Bluth Studios
in Dublin, Ireland
, funded by UK-based investors Goldcrest Films
. On its cinema release it competed directly with an animated feature released at the same time, The Little Mermaid
produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation
. While it did not repeat the box-office success of Sullivan Bluth's previous feature films (An American Tail
and The Land Before Time
) it was very successful on home video
, becoming one of the biggest-selling VHS releases ever. The film inspired a theatrical sequel
, a television series
and a holiday direct-to-video film
.
, Charlie B. Barkin (Burt Reynolds
), a roguish mongrel dog
with a con man's charm, is working with his gangster business partner, Carface Carruthers (Vic Tayback
), at a casino fashioned out of a derelict oil tanker
. Carface, unwilling to share the earnings, has Charlie imprisoned at the pound, but Charlie breaks out with the help of his best friend Itchy Itchiford (Dom DeLuise
). To get Charlie out of the picture for good, Carface and his sidekick, Killer (Charles Nelson Reilly
), plan and execute his murder.
Charlie goes to heaven
by default, despite not having done a single nice thing in his life. Charlie cheats death by stealing his "life watch" (a glowing pocket watch
) and winding it back up, allowing him to return to Earth. As Charlie leaves Heaven, a Whippet Angel (Melba Moore
) tells him that if his watch stops, he will immediately die and go to hell
. However, as long as his life watch keeps ticking, Charlie is immortal.
Back on Earth, Charlie reunites with Itchy and plots his revenge against Carface by setting up a rival business. Carface keeps a little orphan girl named Anne-Marie (Judith Barsi
) for her ability to communicate with animals, giving him an advantage when betting on races. Charlie "rescues" Anne-Marie, telling her that they will help the poor and he will find her a family. Instead, he proceeds to exploit her gift just as his rival did, to make money from various animal competitions. Anne-Marie notices and becomes upset, since Charlie was using her in the same way that Carface did, but Charlie still convinces her to help him since he actually treats her fairly and kinder than Carface did.
Anne-Marie and Charlie have an argument when she finds a wallet that he had stolen earlier in the film from a respectable family for startup cash. That night, Charlie has a nightmare in which he is banished to hell and is attacked by a Hellhound
(Frank Welker
) and its minions.
The next day, Anne-Marie goes to return the wallet. Charlie finds her eating breakfast with the family whose wallet was stolen, where he discovers that the couple is planning to take Anne-Marie in. Charlie tricks Anne-Marie into leaving by pretending to be sick. After escaping an ambush with Carface and Killer, Charlie and Anne-Marie fall through the floor of an old warehouse into an underground sewer where they narrowly avoid being eaten by King Gator (Ken Page
), a giant alligator
who becomes their ally.
Itchy accuses Charlie of caring more for Anne-Marie than him or their business, Charlie, in frustration, proclaims he does not care for her at all. Anne-Marie overhears them, runs away, and is recaptured by Carface.
Charlie goes to Carface's casino/boat to rescue Anne-Marie. Carface has anticipated his arrival, and captures him. King Gator comes to their rescue, frees Charlie and eats Carface. Anne-Marie falls into the water, along with Charlie's watch. Charlie leaps into the water to save Anne-Marie and the watch, but is unable to get to both. He saves Anne-Marie and loses the watch, whereupon he dies a second time.
Anne-Marie ends up with her new family and Charlie is allowed back into heaven, instead of hell, since he gave his life to save his friend. He's given one more chance to give his heartfelt goodbyes to Anne-Marie and Itchy, finally proving his love for her. Leaving Itchy in her care, Charlie finally departs for the afterlife, where he finds (rather comically) that Carface has also ended up in heaven and attempts to use his clock to return home just as Charlie did. The Whippet Angel chases him down saying he won't ever be able to come back, but Charlie assures the audience he will be back.
Supporting characters
after finishing work on The Secret of NIMH
. The treatment
was originally about a canine private eye
, and one of three short stories making up an anthology film
. The character of a shaggy German Shepherd Dog
was designed specifically with Burt Reynolds
in mind for the role. However, Bluth's first studio, Don Bluth Productions, was going through a period of financial difficulty, ultimately having to declare bankruptcy, and the idea never made it beyond rough storyboards. The concept was revived by Bluth, John Pomeroy
and Gary Goldman
and rewritten by David N. Weiss
, collaborating with the producers from October through December 1987. They built around the title All Dogs Go to Heaven, and drew inspiration from films such as It's a Wonderful Life
, Little Miss Marker
and A Guy Named Joe
. The film's title came from a book read to Bluth's fourth grade class in school, and he resisted suggestions to change it, stating he liked how "provocative" it sounded, and how people reacted to the title alone.
During the production of their previous feature film, Sullivan Bluth Studios had moved from Van Nuys, California to a state-of-the-art studio facility in Dublin, Ireland
, and All Dogs Go to Heaven was their first to begin production wholly at the Irish studio. It was also their first to be funded from sources outside of Hollywood; the previous two feature films, An American Tail
and The Land Before Time
, had been backed by Amblin Entertainment
and Universal Pictures
, and executive producers Steven Spielberg
and George Lucas
had exercised a degree of control over the content of the films, a situation Bluth found disagreeable. The studio found investment from UK-based Goldcrest Films
in a US$70m deal to produce three animated feature films (though only two, All Dogs Go to Heaven and Rock-a-Doodle
, would be completed under the deal). The three founding members of the studio, Bluth, Pomeroy and Goldman, had all moved to Ireland to set up the new facility, but during the production of All Dogs Go to Heaven, John Pomeroy returned to the U.S. to head up a satellite studio which provided some of the animation for the film. Pomeroy also used his presence in the U.S. to generate early publicity for the film, including a presentation at the 1987 San Diego Comic-Con.
The film's lead voices, Burt Reynolds
and Dom DeLuise
, had previously appeared together in a number of films, including The Cannonball Run
. For All Dogs Go to Heaven, they requested they be allowed to record their parts in the studio together (in American animation it is more common for each actor to record their part solo). Bluth agreed, and allowed Reynolds and DeLuise to ad-lib extensively; Bluth later commented "their ad-libs were often better than the original script". However, Reynolds was more complimentary of the draft, warmly quipping, "Great script, kid," as he left the studio. Another pair of voices, those of Carface and Killer (Vic Tayback
and Charles Nelson Reilly
, respectively) also recorded together.
As production neared completion, the studio held test screenings and decided that some of the scenes were too intense for younger viewers. Writer and producer John Pomeroy
decided to shorten Charlie's nightmare about being condemned
. Co-director Gary Goldman also agreed to the cut, recognising that the concession needed to be made in the name of commercial appeal. Don Bluth owns a private film print of the uncut version, which has yet to be released onto video or DVD.
In the song "Let Me Be Surprised", Charlie says "Damn that Carface. I'll kill him!" This has been controversial to some parents of small children.
, which had distributed their previous two films, the studio found an alternative distributor in United Artists
. Somewhat unusually, production investors Goldcrest Films covered the cost of the release print
s and the promotional campaign, in return for a greatly reduced distribution fee from UA. This was similar to the arrangement with United Artists when they distributed Bluth's first feature film, The Secret of NIMH
. Goldcrest Films invested $15 million in printing and promoting the film. Due to contractual issues, very little tie-in merchandise accompanied the film's theatrical release; several computer games and software packages were released, and restaurant chain Wendy's
offered toys with their Kids' Meals or regular fries.
All Dogs Go to Heaven opened in North America on November 17, 1989, the same day as The Little Mermaid
produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation
; once again, Sullivan Bluth Studios' latest feature would be vying for box office receipts with Disney's, just as their previous one (The Land Before Time
) had. Many critics looked down upon the film, drawing unfavorable comparisons to Disney's offering, criticizing the disjointed narrative, the quality of the animation, and the songs by Charlie Strouse and T.J. Kuenster. Some also found the darker subject material objectionable in a family film, featuring as it does depictions of death, violence, drinking, smoking, gambling, demons and Hell. But reviews were positive, with critics praising the film's emotional qualities, humor and vibrant color palette. Roger Ebert
, who was unimpressed with An American Tail, gave it three out of four stars. More recent reviews of the film have generally been less harsh, with Box Office Mojo
awarding it a B- rating.
On its theatrical release, while still making its budget of $13.8 million back, All Dogs Go to Heavens performance fell short of Sullivan Bluth Studios' previous box office successes, grossing US$27m in North America alone, just over half of what An American Tail and The Land Before Time each took. However, the film became a sleeper hit
on its home video release; a strong promotional campaign helped it become one of the top-selling VHS releases of all time, selling over 3 million copies in its first month.
; a television series, All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series
; and An All Dogs Christmas Carol
, a Christmas
special based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
, were made. Don Bluth and his studio had no involvement with any of them.
Track listing
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
animated film
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by Don Bluth
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
and released by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. The film tells the story of two dogs, Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
) and his loyal best friend Itchy Itchiford (voiced by Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
). Charlie is murdered, but he forsakes his place in Heaven to return to earth where he and Itchy team up with a young orphan girl, Anne-Marie (voiced by Judith Barsi
Judith Barsi
Judith Eva Barsi was an American child actress. She was small in stature and often played characters younger than her actual age...
) who teaches them a lesson about honesty, loyalty, and love.
The film was produced at Sullivan Bluth Studios
Sullivan Bluth Studios
Sullivan Bluth Studios was an American animated film production company established in 1985 by animator Don Bluth. Bluth and several colleagues, all of whom were former Disney animators, left Disney in 1979 to form Don Bluth Productions, later known as the Bluth Group...
in Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, funded by UK-based investors Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films is a British film production company founded by Jake Eberts in January 1977. It enjoyed great success in the 1980s with films such as Local Hero , The Killing Fields and Hope and Glory mostly produced by David Puttnam on modest budgets. The company also benefited from the new...
. On its cinema release it competed directly with an animated feature released at the same time, The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. While it did not repeat the box-office success of Sullivan Bluth's previous feature films (An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
and The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
) it was very successful on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
, becoming one of the biggest-selling VHS releases ever. The film inspired a theatrical sequel
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 is a 1996 American animated family film, and a sequel to United Artists' 1989 animated film All Dogs Go to Heaven. It is directed by Larry Leker and Paul Sabella...
, a television series
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series is an animated television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 in syndication and on the Fox Family Channel from 1998 to 1999, with 41 half-hour episodes produced in total. It was produced by MGM Animation and was distributed by Claster Television...
and a holiday direct-to-video film
An All Dogs Christmas Carol
An All Dogs Christmas Carol is a 1998 animated TV movie which was originally aired on ABC. It is the third and currently final installment in the All Dogs Go to Heaven film series. Unlike the first two films, Carface is the story's main character...
.
Plot
In 1939, New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Charlie B. Barkin (Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
), a roguish mongrel dog
Mixed-breed dog
A mixed-breed dog, also known as a mutt or mongrel, is a dog whose ancestry is generally unknown and that has characteristics of two or more types of breeds. A mixed-breed may be a cross-breed dog, a random-bred dog, or a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations...
with a con man's charm, is working with his gangster business partner, Carface Carruthers (Vic Tayback
Vic Tayback
Victor "Vic" Tayback was an American actor.-Life and career:Tayback was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the son of Helen and Najeeb James Tayback. His parents were immigrants from Aleppo, Syria. Tayback moved with his family to Burbank, California, during his teenage years and attended...
), at a casino fashioned out of a derelict oil tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
. Carface, unwilling to share the earnings, has Charlie imprisoned at the pound, but Charlie breaks out with the help of his best friend Itchy Itchiford (Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
). To get Charlie out of the picture for good, Carface and his sidekick, Killer (Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
), plan and execute his murder.
Charlie goes to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
by default, despite not having done a single nice thing in his life. Charlie cheats death by stealing his "life watch" (a glowing pocket watch
Pocket watch
A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design,...
) and winding it back up, allowing him to return to Earth. As Charlie leaves Heaven, a Whippet Angel (Melba Moore
Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
) tells him that if his watch stops, he will immediately die and go to hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. However, as long as his life watch keeps ticking, Charlie is immortal.
Back on Earth, Charlie reunites with Itchy and plots his revenge against Carface by setting up a rival business. Carface keeps a little orphan girl named Anne-Marie (Judith Barsi
Judith Barsi
Judith Eva Barsi was an American child actress. She was small in stature and often played characters younger than her actual age...
) for her ability to communicate with animals, giving him an advantage when betting on races. Charlie "rescues" Anne-Marie, telling her that they will help the poor and he will find her a family. Instead, he proceeds to exploit her gift just as his rival did, to make money from various animal competitions. Anne-Marie notices and becomes upset, since Charlie was using her in the same way that Carface did, but Charlie still convinces her to help him since he actually treats her fairly and kinder than Carface did.
Anne-Marie and Charlie have an argument when she finds a wallet that he had stolen earlier in the film from a respectable family for startup cash. That night, Charlie has a nightmare in which he is banished to hell and is attacked by a Hellhound
Hellhound
A hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
(Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
) and its minions.
The next day, Anne-Marie goes to return the wallet. Charlie finds her eating breakfast with the family whose wallet was stolen, where he discovers that the couple is planning to take Anne-Marie in. Charlie tricks Anne-Marie into leaving by pretending to be sick. After escaping an ambush with Carface and Killer, Charlie and Anne-Marie fall through the floor of an old warehouse into an underground sewer where they narrowly avoid being eaten by King Gator (Ken Page
Ken Page (actor)
Ken Page is an American cabaret singer and actor from St. Louis, Missouri, best known as the voice of the evil bag of bugs Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Kingdom Hearts series, and for playing Old Deuteronomy in the original Broadway and video cast of Cats.Ken...
), a giant alligator
American Alligator
The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...
who becomes their ally.
Itchy accuses Charlie of caring more for Anne-Marie than him or their business, Charlie, in frustration, proclaims he does not care for her at all. Anne-Marie overhears them, runs away, and is recaptured by Carface.
Charlie goes to Carface's casino/boat to rescue Anne-Marie. Carface has anticipated his arrival, and captures him. King Gator comes to their rescue, frees Charlie and eats Carface. Anne-Marie falls into the water, along with Charlie's watch. Charlie leaps into the water to save Anne-Marie and the watch, but is unable to get to both. He saves Anne-Marie and loses the watch, whereupon he dies a second time.
Anne-Marie ends up with her new family and Charlie is allowed back into heaven, instead of hell, since he gave his life to save his friend. He's given one more chance to give his heartfelt goodbyes to Anne-Marie and Itchy, finally proving his love for her. Leaving Itchy in her care, Charlie finally departs for the afterlife, where he finds (rather comically) that Carface has also ended up in heaven and attempts to use his clock to return home just as Charlie did. The Whippet Angel chases him down saying he won't ever be able to come back, but Charlie assures the audience he will be back.
Cast
Main characters- Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as Charlie B. Barkin, a roguish German Shepherd/CollieCollieThe collie is a distinctive type of herding dog, including many related landraces and formal breeds. It originates in Scotland and Northern England. It is a medium-sized, fairly lightly built dog with a pointed snout, and many types have a distinctive white pattern over the shoulders. Collies...
hybrid and the main protagonist. He was Car Face's partner but was betrayed by him and wanted revenge. He has a change of heart after meeting Anne-Marie and even risked his life to safe her. The character was designed specifically with Reynolds in mind for the role, and the animators mimicked some of his mannerisms. - Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
as Itchy Itchiford, a paranoid, nervous, and cowardly DachshundDachshundThe dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
who has long been best friends with Charlie. He has a hyperactive need to scratch himself when he's "nervous", thus giving him his name. He constantly argues against most of Charlie's greedy and dangerous plans, as they usually put him in a state of panic. Though he disliked Anne-Marie in the beginning for interfering with his and Charlie's friendship, she eventually touched his heart as she did Charlie's. - Judith BarsiJudith BarsiJudith Eva Barsi was an American child actress. She was small in stature and often played characters younger than her actual age...
as Anne-Marie, a young human orphanOrphanAn orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
girl with the ability to talk to and understand animals. This was Barsi's final role as she and her mother were killed by Judith's father in a double murder-suicideMurder-suicideA murder–suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons before or at the same time as killing himself or herself. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms, including:...
a year and a half prior to the film's release. "Love Survives" was dedicated in her memory. - Vic TaybackVic TaybackVictor "Vic" Tayback was an American actor.-Life and career:Tayback was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the son of Helen and Najeeb James Tayback. His parents were immigrants from Aleppo, Syria. Tayback moved with his family to Burbank, California, during his teenage years and attended...
as Carface Carruthers, a shifty, psychotic American Pit Bull TerrierAmerican Pit Bull TerrierThe American Pit Bull Terrier is a medium-sized, solidly built, short haired dog whose early ancestors came from England and Ireland...
/BulldogBulldogBulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
hybrid gangster and main antagonist. He seems to like cars, because he has a car kiddie ride, complete with a projector and a fan. - Charles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
as Killer, a misnamed, cowardly, neurotic, spectacles-wearing SchnauzerSchnauzerA Schnauzer is a German dog type that originated in Germany in the 15th and 16th centuries. The term comes from Schnauze , the German word for "snout", because of the dog's distinctively bearded snout. The word Schnauzer also means moustache in German; some authorities, such as Encyclopædia...
/PoodlePoodleThe Poodle is a breed of dog. The poodle breed is found officially in toy, miniature, and standard sizes, with many coat colors. Originally bred as a type of water dog, the poodle is highly intelligent and skillful in many dog sports, including agility, obedience, tracking, and even herding...
hybrid (could also be known as a schnoodle) who serves as Carface's sidekick. In the end of the movie, he helped Anne-Marie to shore after the ship sank.
Supporting characters
- Loni AndersonLoni AndersonLoni Kaye Anderson is an American actress who played the role of Jennifer Marlowe on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.- Early life :...
as Flo, a female Rough CollieRough CollieThe Rough Collie is a long coated breed of medium to large size dog that in its original form was a type of collie used and bred for herding in Scotland. Originating in the 1800's, it is now well known through the works of author Albert Payson Terhune, and through the Lassie novel, movies, and...
and friend of Charlie's. - Melba MooreMelba MooreBeatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
as a WhippetWhippetThe Whippet is a breed of dog in the sighthound family. They are active and playful and are physically similar to a small Greyhound.- Description :...
Angel, who welcomes deceased dogs into Heaven. Later named "Annabelle" in the sequel. - Ken PageKen Page (actor)Ken Page is an American cabaret singer and actor from St. Louis, Missouri, best known as the voice of the evil bag of bugs Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Kingdom Hearts series, and for playing Old Deuteronomy in the original Broadway and video cast of Cats.Ken...
as King Gator, Charlie's new friend; a gigantic and flamboyant American AlligatorAmerican AlligatorThe American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...
and voodooNew Orleans VooDooThe New Orleans VooDoo are an Arena Football League team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play their home games in New Orleans Arena....
witch doctorWitch doctorA witch doctor originally referred to a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. It is currently used to refer to healers in some third world regions, who use traditional healing rather than contemporary medicine...
, living below the streets of New Orleans. King Gator's duet with Charlie, a musical number called "Let's Make Music Together", is a parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the elaborate water ballets seen in Esther WilliamsEsther WilliamsEsther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
films. - Rob Puller and Earleen Carey as Harold and Kate, a married couple who later become Anne-Marie's new parents.
- Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as the HellhoundHellhoundA hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
from Charlie's nightmare. (uncredited)
Production
The earliest idea for All Dogs Go to Heaven was conceived by Don BluthDon Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
after finishing work on The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
. The treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
was originally about a canine private eye
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
, and one of three short stories making up an anthology film
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
. The character of a shaggy German Shepherd Dog
German Shepherd Dog
The German Shepherd Dog , also known as an Alsatian or just the German Shepherd, is a breed of large-sized dog that originated in Germany. The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with its origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, the German Shepherd is a working dog...
was designed specifically with Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
in mind for the role. However, Bluth's first studio, Don Bluth Productions, was going through a period of financial difficulty, ultimately having to declare bankruptcy, and the idea never made it beyond rough storyboards. The concept was revived by Bluth, John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy is an American animator who has worked for several major studios, including The Walt Disney Company and Sullivan Bluth Studios...
and Gary Goldman
Gary Goldman
Gary Wayne Goldman is an American Film Producer, Director, Animator, Writer and voice actor, he is well known for working on films with Don Bluth like Anastasia, An American Tail and The Land Before Time...
and rewritten by David N. Weiss
David N. Weiss
David N. Weiss is an American writer and labor leader. He is a screenwriter of films, including All Dogs go to Heaven, The Rugrats Movie, Shrek 2, Clockstoppers, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and The Smurfs and has also written for television shows such as Mission Hill...
, collaborating with the producers from October through December 1987. They built around the title All Dogs Go to Heaven, and drew inspiration from films such as It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, Little Miss Marker
Little Miss Marker
Little Miss Marker is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alexander Hall. The screenplay was written by William R. Lipman, Sam Hellman, and Gladys Hellman after a short story by Damon Runyon. The film stars Shirley Temple, Adolphe Menjou, and Dorothy Dell in a story about a little girl held...
and A Guy Named Joe
A Guy Named Joe
A Guy Named Joe is a 1943 film made by MGM, directed by Victor Fleming, produced by Everett Riskin, from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, adapted by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan from a story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm. It starred Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne and Van Johnson, with Esther Williams...
. The film's title came from a book read to Bluth's fourth grade class in school, and he resisted suggestions to change it, stating he liked how "provocative" it sounded, and how people reacted to the title alone.
During the production of their previous feature film, Sullivan Bluth Studios had moved from Van Nuys, California to a state-of-the-art studio facility in Dublin, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and All Dogs Go to Heaven was their first to begin production wholly at the Irish studio. It was also their first to be funded from sources outside of Hollywood; the previous two feature films, An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
and The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
, had been backed by Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
and Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, and executive producers Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
had exercised a degree of control over the content of the films, a situation Bluth found disagreeable. The studio found investment from UK-based Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films is a British film production company founded by Jake Eberts in January 1977. It enjoyed great success in the 1980s with films such as Local Hero , The Killing Fields and Hope and Glory mostly produced by David Puttnam on modest budgets. The company also benefited from the new...
in a US$70m deal to produce three animated feature films (though only two, All Dogs Go to Heaven and Rock-a-Doodle
Rock-A-Doodle
Rock-a-Doodle is a 1992 American animated re-telling of Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler. This film was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Goldcrest Films for The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and originally released in the United States on April 3, 1992.-Plot:Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose...
, would be completed under the deal). The three founding members of the studio, Bluth, Pomeroy and Goldman, had all moved to Ireland to set up the new facility, but during the production of All Dogs Go to Heaven, John Pomeroy returned to the U.S. to head up a satellite studio which provided some of the animation for the film. Pomeroy also used his presence in the U.S. to generate early publicity for the film, including a presentation at the 1987 San Diego Comic-Con.
The film's lead voices, Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
and Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
, had previously appeared together in a number of films, including The Cannonball Run
The Cannonball Run (film)
The Cannonball Run is a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett, and was directed by Hal Needham. It was produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films. There was a sequel, 1984's Cannonball Run II.-Plot:...
. For All Dogs Go to Heaven, they requested they be allowed to record their parts in the studio together (in American animation it is more common for each actor to record their part solo). Bluth agreed, and allowed Reynolds and DeLuise to ad-lib extensively; Bluth later commented "their ad-libs were often better than the original script". However, Reynolds was more complimentary of the draft, warmly quipping, "Great script, kid," as he left the studio. Another pair of voices, those of Carface and Killer (Vic Tayback
Vic Tayback
Victor "Vic" Tayback was an American actor.-Life and career:Tayback was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, the son of Helen and Najeeb James Tayback. His parents were immigrants from Aleppo, Syria. Tayback moved with his family to Burbank, California, during his teenage years and attended...
and Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
, respectively) also recorded together.
As production neared completion, the studio held test screenings and decided that some of the scenes were too intense for younger viewers. Writer and producer John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy is an American animator who has worked for several major studios, including The Walt Disney Company and Sullivan Bluth Studios...
decided to shorten Charlie's nightmare about being condemned
Damnation
Damnation is the concept of everlasting divine punishment and/or disgrace, especially the punishment for sin as threatened by God . A damned being "in damnation" is said to be either in Hell, or living in a state wherein they are divorced from Heaven and/or in a state of disgrace from God's favor...
. Co-director Gary Goldman also agreed to the cut, recognising that the concession needed to be made in the name of commercial appeal. Don Bluth owns a private film print of the uncut version, which has yet to be released onto video or DVD.
In the song "Let Me Be Surprised", Charlie says "Damn that Carface. I'll kill him!" This has been controversial to some parents of small children.
Release and reaction
Dissatisfied with the terms imposed by Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, which had distributed their previous two films, the studio found an alternative distributor in United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. Somewhat unusually, production investors Goldcrest Films covered the cost of the release print
Release print
A release print is a copy of a film that is sent to a movie theater for exhibition.-Definitions:Release prints are not to be confused with the other types of print used in the photochemical post-production process:...
s and the promotional campaign, in return for a greatly reduced distribution fee from UA. This was similar to the arrangement with United Artists when they distributed Bluth's first feature film, The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
. Goldcrest Films invested $15 million in printing and promoting the film. Due to contractual issues, very little tie-in merchandise accompanied the film's theatrical release; several computer games and software packages were released, and restaurant chain Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
offered toys with their Kids' Meals or regular fries.
All Dogs Go to Heaven opened in North America on November 17, 1989, the same day as The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Feature Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
; once again, Sullivan Bluth Studios' latest feature would be vying for box office receipts with Disney's, just as their previous one (The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
) had. Many critics looked down upon the film, drawing unfavorable comparisons to Disney's offering, criticizing the disjointed narrative, the quality of the animation, and the songs by Charlie Strouse and T.J. Kuenster. Some also found the darker subject material objectionable in a family film, featuring as it does depictions of death, violence, drinking, smoking, gambling, demons and Hell. But reviews were positive, with critics praising the film's emotional qualities, humor and vibrant color palette. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, who was unimpressed with An American Tail, gave it three out of four stars. More recent reviews of the film have generally been less harsh, with Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo
Box Office Mojo is a website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. Brandon Gray started the site in 1999. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury and they grew the site to nearly two million readers when, in July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through...
awarding it a B- rating.
On its theatrical release, while still making its budget of $13.8 million back, All Dogs Go to Heavens performance fell short of Sullivan Bluth Studios' previous box office successes, grossing US$27m in North America alone, just over half of what An American Tail and The Land Before Time each took. However, the film became a sleeper hit
Sleeper hit
A sleeper hit, a.k.a. surprise hit , refers to a film, book, single, album, TV show, or video game that gains unexpected success or recognition...
on its home video release; a strong promotional campaign helped it become one of the top-selling VHS releases of all time, selling over 3 million copies in its first month.
Sequel
The success of the film, particularly its performance on home video, prompted several follow-up productions. A theatrical sequel, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 is a 1996 American animated family film, and a sequel to United Artists' 1989 animated film All Dogs Go to Heaven. It is directed by Larry Leker and Paul Sabella...
; a television series, All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series is an animated television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 in syndication and on the Fox Family Channel from 1998 to 1999, with 41 half-hour episodes produced in total. It was produced by MGM Animation and was distributed by Claster Television...
; and An All Dogs Christmas Carol
An All Dogs Christmas Carol
An All Dogs Christmas Carol is a 1998 animated TV movie which was originally aired on ABC. It is the third and currently final installment in the All Dogs Go to Heaven film series. Unlike the first two films, Carface is the story's main character...
, a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
special based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, were made. Don Bluth and his studio had no involvement with any of them.
Soundtrack
On July 1, 1991, A soundtrack to All Dogs Go to Heaven was released but according to Amazon.com, it has been discontinued by the manufacturer.Track listing
- "Love Survives" - Irene CaraIrene CaraIrene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
and Freddie JacksonFreddie JacksonFrederick Anthony "Freddie" Jackson is an American soul singer. He was an important figure in R&B during the 1980s and early 1990s...
- Length: 3:25 (Unlike the NTSC version, the soundtrack and European versions sound high-pitched.) - "Mardi Gras" - Music Score - Length: 1:17
- "You Can't Keep a Good Dog Down" - Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise - Length: 2:30
- "HellhoundHellhoundA hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
" - Music Score - Length: 2:09 - "What's Mine Is Yours" - Burt Reynolds - Length: 1:48
- "At the Race Track" - Music Score - Length: 1:49
- "Let Me Be Surprised" - Melba Moore and Burt Reynolds - Length: 4:54
- "Soon You'll Come Home" (Anne-Marie's Theme) - Judith Barsi - Length: 2:38
- "Money Montage" - Music Score - Length: 3:43
- "Dogs to the Rescue" - Music Score - Length: 3:10
- "Let's Make Music Together" - Ken Page and Burt Reynolds - Length: 2:24
- "Goodbye Anne-Marie" - Music Score - Length: 2:10
- "Hallelujah" - Candy Devine - 1:21