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All Dogs Go To Heaven
All Dogs Go To Heaven is a musical, animated exploration of the fundamental conflict between good and bad and of the notions of caring and friendship. While all dogs may be welcome in heaven, the open admission policy doesn't necessarily ensure that a dog is worthy of, or even ready to accept his heavenly blessing. When criminal dog Charlie Barker (Burt Reynolds) and his sidekick Itchy (Dom DeLuise) escape from the dog pound, it isn't long before they realize that former business partner-in-crime Carface (Vic Taybak) has turned against them. Carface puts a permanent end to the partnership by killing Charlie, but Charlie ascends to heaven only to spurn his promised life devoid of surprises and fight to return to a life of vengeance, danger, and adventure on earth. When Charlie realizes that Carface has been using the animal-talking talents of young orphan girl named Anne-Marie (Judith Barsi) to further the success of his gambling business, Charlie steals her away and starts his own lucrative business venture. Charlie and Anne-Marie begin to become friends, but Anne-Marie's strong sense of what is right conflicts with Charlie's complete lack of moral standards and puts their friendship at risk. Worse, Charlie's quest for revenge threatens his own life as well as the lives of his friends Anne-Marie and Itchy. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
All Dogs Go To Heaven 2
While it pales in comparison to the outstanding animation of its predecessor, Don Bluth's imaginative if somewhat graceless All Dogs Go to Heaven, this 1995 sequel has some nice moments of its own. Charlie Sheen replaces Burt Reynolds as the voice of Charlie Barkin, the afterlife-stranded pooch who sought vengeance against his killer in the previous film but instead discovered the joys of earthly love and community. This time, a bored Charlie, looking for a little adventure, reteams with his old pal Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise) to retrieve Gabriel's Horn after it's stolen. Dropping down from Dog Heaven to take on his old nemesis (and killer), Carface (Ernest Borgnine), Charlie falls for a sexy Irish setter (Sheena Easton) and helps a boy caught in a jam. Featuring grand pop songs by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 provides kids with a simpler story than Bluth's original film, as well as less unsettling violence. On the downside, director Paul Sabella, a Hanna-Barbera veteran who produced television's The Smurfs, either can't or won't stretch much as an artist here. --Tom Keogh


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