All Dogs Go to Heaven is a 1989 animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and co-directed by Gary Goldman (his directorial debut) and Dan Kuenster.
Charlie escapes from Heaven to return to Earth where his best friend, Itchy Itchiford (voiced by Dom DeLuise), still lives, in order to take revenge on Carface.
In 1939 New Orleans, Charlie B. Barkin escapes from the dog pound with the help of his best friend Itchy Itchiford and returns to their casino riverboat on the bayou.
Carface had secretly been responsible for Charlie getting committed to the pound due to greed and decides to get rid of him for good this time by killing him with a car.
They soon discover that Carface's success has been from a kidnapped young orphan girl named Anne-Marie for her ability to talk to animals, which proves helpful when betting on races.
Anne-Marie threatens to leave when she realizes she has been used, but Charlie persuade her to stay by bringing pizza to a family of poor puppies and their mother (Flo) at an abandoned church.
Charlie and Anne-Marie narrowly escape an ambush by Carface and his assistant Killer and hide in an abandoned building, but the ground breaks and they fall into the lair of a giant alligator named King Gator.
As Killer finishes pushing her to shore Kate and Harold are waiting with police and medical personnel, alongside Itchy, Flo, and the other dogs from New Orleans.
Leaving Itchy in her care, Charlie returns to Heaven, where, in a mid-credits scene, Carface finally arrives and takes his own watch, vowing revenge against King Gator.
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.
[9] The music for All Dogs Go to Heaven was composed by Ralph Burns with lyrics by Charles Strouse, T.J. Kuenster, Joel Hirschhorn, and Al Kasha.
[11] An official soundtrack was released on July 1, 1989, by Curb Records on audio cassette and CD featuring 13 tracks, including seven vocal songs performed by various cast members.
"Love Survives", the end credits song and overall theme, was dedicated to Anne-Marie's voice actress Judith Barsi, who was shot by her father, József, along with her mother, Maria, before the film's release on July 25, 1988.
[17][18] Roger Ebert, who was unimpressed with Bluth's previous film An American Tail, gave it three out of four stars, remarking that the animation "permits such a voluptuous use of color that the movie is an invigorating bath for the eyes" and that although he preferred The Little Mermaid, which opened on the same day, he still found Dogs to be bright and inventive.
[17] In contrast, film critic Leonard Maltin gave it one-and-a-half out of four stars, due to unappealing characters, confusing storytelling, and forgettable songs.
[19] Common Sense Media was concerned about the depictions of illegal drug usage and excessive thematic elements plotting in a family oriented movie.
[20] Dissatisfied with the terms imposed by Universal Pictures, 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 prints and the promotional campaign, in return for a greatly reduced distribution fee from UA.
All Dogs Go to Heaven received a nomination for "Best Family Motion Picture: Adventure or Cartoon" at the 11th Annual Youth in Film Awards ceremony, being beaten by Disney's The Little Mermaid.