Taking my cue from Keith Wilton's review of the " 2001 " trailer where he quoted from the original cinema criticism I cannot resist beginning this with a brief extract from Sight and Sound's critic Julian Stringer's review of the film under discussion. "Like any number of children's fictions, "All Dogs Go to Heaven" can be read as a rape parable, the intention of which is to control and use a virgin orphan child.
One scene closes with a show of affection (Anne-Marie kissing Charlie), sealed by an iris shot which harks back to an earlier period of popular American film, the silent cinema, whose sexual dynamic was often exactly this need to have narrative power over an innocent female."
By way of explanation it might be necessary to point out that Anne-Marie is a little girl and Charlie is a dog and that Mr. Stringer seems to have read a lot of children's fiction that escaped my attention as a child. As far as I'm concerned there isn't a rape parable in the whole lively 85-minutes.
After breaking out of a local dog-pound our mongrel hero Charlie (voiced by Burt Reynolds) and his friend Itchy a basset hound (voiced by Burt's real-life friend Dom de Luise) return to the casino run by Charlie's business partner Carface a vicious pitbull terrier who bears a striking resemblance to our beloved Clive James (especially when he smiles).
Carface double-crosses Charlie and manages to assassinate him with the help of a runaway car. But you can't keep a good dog down and Charlie refuses to stay dead, returning to earth long enough to rid the world of Carface and find a family for a little orphan girl whom he has befriended in the process.
As the final credits roll, I noticed that no less than ten names were associated with the story and I'm rather afraid it does have at times the appearance of something that was created by a committee. That said I was constantly entertained by the story-line although I have a problem with Don Bluth's cartoons.
The artwork is always superb, and there is an anarchic spirit at work which is always admirable, but 1 don't feel that true emotion, as opposed to sentiment, comes easily to his studio.
It took a Disney to make "Snow White" or Pinocchio but imagine what those features would have looked and sounded like if Tex Avery had been in charge of the studio. There is a wonderful craziness about Avery's humour which is perfect for a seven minute short, but can be fairly disruptive when extended to feature length.
The race sequence in the casino in Bluth's film for example is full of outlandish invention, but for this old-timer everything happens just that second too fast, so instead of an accumulation of gags building in impact, the images begin to assault the senses and fail to entertain as they might.
This was especially a feature of the recent Feivel Goes West which again had wonderful animation but seemed in such a hurry to serve up the gags that the experience proved exhausting. For a perfect example of fast-paced humour see the "Under The Sea" sequence from Little Mermaid where the gags are exactly placed and happen in mini-seconds yet register beautifully.
Fortunately the casino sequence mentioned above is the only example of over-frenetic humour in this particular film and there are plenty other moments where the comedy works beautifully.
Visually the film is a delight. Bluth's background artists are as skillful and imaginative as any in the Studio (by which I measure everything) and there are some really stunning moments of real dramatic power. In a dream, Charlie, who has previously been warned that he will never be able to re-enter Heaven if he decides to return to earth, imagines that he is dying and going to the other place. The "other place" and what happens to Charlie when he gets there is the true stuff of nightmare and I don't know who was more relieved when he woke up, me or Charlie.
The final battle too, between Charlie and Carface's gang during a storm which quite literally rocks the boat, is another bravura piece of animation and is certainly as thrilling as the climax of Little Mermaid.
If I have been over-critical of a film that gave me a great deal of enjoyment it is simply because it had the misfortune to land on my desk at the same time as The Little Mermaid.
Overall the film is constantly entertaining with brilliant animation and some genuinely touching moments. The print and sound are first class and it is sure to entertain any audience (except those in search of mucky parables).
Distributed by: Derann
Films.
Format: Super 8mm.
Supplied on: 3 reels (600ft).
Approximate Running Time: 82 minutes.
Colour & Sound.
Reviewer: John Kane.
Reviewers rating: Print A Sound A
This page was last updated 02 Dec 2002