All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)

Directed by: Don Bluth
Written by: David N. Weiss
Music by: Ralph Burns, T.J. Kuenster, Charles Strouse

Released on: November 17, 1989
Running Time: 89 minutes

Budget: $
Box-Office: $27.1 million in the U.S., $ million worldwide

CAST

Charlie B. Barkin... Burt Reynolds
Anne-Marie... Judith Barsi
Itchy... Dom DeLuise
Dog Caster... Daryl Gilley
Vera... Candy Devine
Whippet Angel/Annabelle... Melba Moore
Flo... Loni Anderson

INTERESTING FACTS

Gary Goldman explained in July 2002 that the concept for this movie was "from one of [director Don Bluth]'s memories as a child. He remembered someone reading him a book of that title. Our research didn't turn up a book, but we liked the title and we built a story around it. We purposely gave it a Damon Runyon feel, with the names of the characters (i.e. 'Itchie', 'Killer' and 'Carface') and the situation with the little girl, but instead of human characters around her, we used dogs. It is sort of take-off of the old Bob Hope and Lucille Ball movie, 'Sorrowful Jones'. We recruited a young USC film school graduate, David Weiss to write the script. The rest is history. That's it in a nut shell."

The co-director further added in November 2002 that he had been working with Don Bluth "on an idea about a story of a German Shepherd with Burt Reynolds as the voice since we first met Burt in 1983. He's the one that wanted to be a German Shepherd. Don wrote the story and it was scripted by David Weiss, who also wrote the script for Rock-A-Doodle.Writer Robert Towne attended a story pitch at our Dublin studio and counselled us on the story structure of the film."

Some of All Dogs go to Heaven had to be cut to maintain a theatrical general audience rating. Part of the scenes where Charlie is killed and Charlie's nightmare about being tortured in Hell (he was told by the angel he could never return to Heaven) were thought to be too distressing for young children: "Charlie's nightmare in hell was severly edited and a beautifully animated scene of the Devil Hound with face in camera saying 'NOW YOU ARE MINE!' was removed" because it was too scary, explained Don Bluth in November 2002. "On the 'Damn that Carface', the 'Damn' was removed. It used to read 'Damn that Carface, I'll kill 'im!'"

This was the last film voiced by Judith Barsi (the voice of Anne-Marie, and also Ducky in The Land Before Time), who died tragically after her work on All Dogs go to Heaven was completed -16 months before the movie's release. In July 1998, she and her mother were shot to death by her father, who then killed himself. "This story is one horrific tale of Hollywood history," commented Don Bluth in May 2002. "We contemplated a credit on All Dogs in her memory. But, we were already going to make the audience cry by sending Charlie back to heaven. We were torn, but decided not to remind the audienced of her tragic death. She was a terrific little actress. She could evoke any emotion you asked for. Never mimicking lines read to her. She understood verbal direction, even at her young age. Her Ducky lines, 'Yup Yup Yup' will live forever."

When she was a teenager, Loni Anderson (born in 1946, the voice of Flo)'s mother was very struck by an attractive actor on TV and told her daughter that was the kind of guy she ought to marry -the star's name was Burt Reynolds (born in 1936, Charlie). The two stars got married during the shooting of All Dogs Go To Heaven, and would adopt a son that same year; unfortunately, Burt and Loni got a dirty divorce five years later, in 1993.

Director Don Bluth commented that "MGM/UA was very happy with All Dogs on video. It sold 4.3 million units in the U.S.A., that first year (1990), 200,000 more than the first video release of Land Before Time."

There is also an All Dogs go to Heaven II and All Dogs Christmas Carol available, and an All Dogs go to Heaven animated TV Series. All Dogs II sees Charlie becoming more tired of Heaven and wanting to leave, and Carface becomes the Devil's assistant! Charlie finds his way back to Earth on a Heavenly mission to recover Gabriel's Horn, expecting to be able to enjoy his former pleasures, but being a ghost causes Charlie a few problems! This first sequel featured the voices of Bebe Neuwirth as Annabelle, Charlie Sheen as Charlie, Ernest Borgnine as Carface, and Sheena Easton as Sasha. Dom DeLuise was the only returning cast member from the original movie, as Itchy. The movie failed miserably at the box-office, racking in less than $9 million domestically.