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1* AcclaimedFlop: While not as universally beloved as Creator/DonBluth's previous efforts, it still found its fans and admirers among critics despite being pummeled at the box office by the release of ''The Little Mermaid''. It went on to be the highest-grossing VHS release of 1990, selling more than 3 million copies in its first month alone.
2* AllStarCast: In addition to Creator/BurtReynolds, who was at his peak popularity at the time, there's also his ''[[Film/TheCannonballRun Cannonball Run II]]'' co-stars Creator/DomDeLuise and Creator/CharlesNelsonReilly, as well as Reynolds's then-wife Loni Anderson and ''Series/Alice1976'' star Vic Tayback (As mentioned below, the film is technically a Reynolds star vehicle). It was also part of Creator/JudithBarsi's continuing rise in fame before being cut short by her tragic murder in 1988.
3* TheCastShowoff:
4** Melba Moore gets to show off her gospel singing chops during the credits.
5** Likewise Burt Reynolds was eager to show off his own singing.
6* CelebrityVoiceActor:
7** The project began as a star vehicle for Creator/BurtReynolds, who wanted Bluth to give him an animated role similar to the ones he'd given his frequent co-star Creator/DomDeLuise in his other movies. [=DeLuise=] wasn't even cast as Itchy until later, when Reynolds needed someone to better ad lib off of. Reynolds was also the one to propose that the story involve [[TookALevelInKindness taking a level in kindness]].
8** In the Finnish dub of the film, Charlie was voiced by Vesa-Matti Loiri, a known Finnish actor, musician and comedian. This being his only dub role along with the role of The Genie in the Finnish dub of Disney's Aladdin.
9* ChildrenVoicingChildren: Even though she died in 1988, Judith Barsi voiced Anne-Marie. Lana Beeson provided the singing voice of Anne-Marie at age 11.
10* TheDanza: When the heavenly whippet looks in Charlie's records, it's revealed that his middle name is [[Creator/BurtReynolds Burt]] and his parents were Burt R. Barken and Loni A. Bowzar, who resemble canine versions of Reynolds and his then-wife Loni Anderson (Anderson herself cameos as Flo).
11** In the sequel, Creator/CharlieSheen stars as Charlie Barkin.
12* DuelingMovies: Released on the same day as ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' and got utterly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] at the box office. Creator/DonBluth's studio struggled in the following decade while ''The Little Mermaid'' started The Disney Renaissance.
13* ExecutiveMeddling: Resulted in some of the scarier images from the film, such as Charlie's body flying off the pier when he's hit by the car[[note]]One tie-in book for the film recycled concept art for its illustrations. This included one where the silhouette of Charlie's body can be seen flying alongside the car.[[/note]] and a few seconds of the Hell sequence, getting neutered in order to be [[AnimationAgeGhetto more appropriate for children.]] A lot of casual swearing peppered throughout the film was also cut out, an artifact from which can be heard on the soundtrack album, when Charlie angrily mumbles to himself "Damn, that Carface, I'll kill him!" (In the movie, the "damn" is awkwardly cut out).
14* InMemoriam: The ending credits song from the original movie, "Love Survives", is dedicated to Judith Barsi (the speaking voice of Anne-Marie).
15* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Not the movie, but the original Beth Brown book the film was inspired by has been out of print for decades and is very hard and expensive to find.
16* LateExportForYou: The film wasn't released in Finland until 1996 for some reason.
17* NonSingingVoice: Lana Beeson sings as Anne Marie for "Soon You'll Come Home." Creator/JudithBarsi, her speaking voice, was given the option to sing it herself, but [[AbusiveParents broke down in stress from events at home]] during the audition and the filmmakers decided it best not to push her.
18** Jesse Corti sings Charlie's parts in the sequel film in place of Creator/CharlieSheen.
19* RealitySubtext
20** Creator/JudithBarsi's murder during the film's production had a significant influence on it, such as changing Carface's machine gun to [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms a completely made-up laser gun]] and some minor design changes to [[InkSuitActor make Anne-Marie look more like her late actress]]. It unarguably has had an effect on audiences as well, who often find both the themes of morality and Anne-Marie's woobie background all the more emotional.
21** Most American viewers completely missed the GeniusBonus of a horse named "The Grand Chawhee". Look into [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Haughey the political situations of Ireland]] (where Sullivan/Bluth studios was based) from around the time it was made and maybe then you'll get it.
22* SleeperHit: The first film, it did poorly in the box office but became one of the greatest-selling home video releases of all time. This is what prompted MGM to have the sequel made.
23* ThrowItIn: Most of Charlie and Itchy's dialogue was ad libbed or retroscripted, for instance the emotional scene at the church, allowing for Creator/BurtReynolds and Creator/DomDeLuise to create a more natural performance for the characters.
24* TroubledProduction: Not as bad as most of Bluth's movies, but it did have a few snags.
25** First, Bluth and co. repeatedly hit walls trying to get an adaptation of the original Beth Brown story to work. In a chance meeting with writer Creator/RobertTowne, Bluth pitched him the story and asked for feedback. Towne reportedly came up with a better, more succinct story in the five minutes it took him to go to the bathroom afterward than the crew had in months.
26** Then, Bluth butted egos with original producer Creator/StevenSpielberg over Spielberg always having final say in their collaborations, leading to Bluth eventually deciding to produce the film independently.
27** And lastly was the murder of [[Creator/JudithBarsi their lead actress]] after she had recorded all of her lines, forcing certain violent aspects of the film to be toned down, such as Killer's tommy gun becoming a laser blaster.
28** Production was otherwise smooth and the film met its intended release date of November 17th 1989... when it was [[DuelingMovies promptly curb-stomped]] by ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}''.
29* WagTheDirector: Haha, but seriously... Creator/BurtReynolds and Creator/DomDeLuise, who had developed a repertoire with one another after starring in several movies together, insisted that Don Bluth leave the room during recording sessions so that they could improvise off one another better. Despite his initial chagrin, Bluth would later admit that some of the film's best lines came from their improv.
30* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
31** The film was originally meant to be the third collaboration between Bluth and Creator/StevenSpielberg, but Spielberg quit after the two butted egos on ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime''.
32** The first treatment of the film more closely followed the book. It was conceived as a short entitled "Canine Mysteries" as part of a package film, which would have also included an adaptation of ''The Velveteen Rabbit''. Based on some recently-shared concept art, the dogs would have had more direct interaction with humans.
33** Several seconds of the Hell sequence were cut for being too frightening. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr7khtV7GAs The full version]] has recently surfaced.
34** Burt Reynolds originally read his part with a more cartoonish "doggie" (read: Franchise/ScoobyDoo) voice, which nobody liked. Reynolds persisted, saying it was cute, until Dom [=DeLuise=] pulled him aside and said "Burt, don't be an [[PrecisionFStrike asshole]]," at which point he dropped it.
35** Most of the film originally took place in heaven and had a ton of angel characters, which was where Bluth and co. initially started having story problems. Bluth asked writer Creator/RobertTowne for feedback, and Towne told him to focus more on the dogs than the heaven.
36* WriteWhoYouKnow: Charlie was designed after Gary Goldman's dog Burt (named for Reynolds). Goldman first found the pooch chasing after Reynold's car leaving their first lunch meeting.
37----
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39!!The TV Series
40* AllStarCast: The TV series does surprisingly maintain most of the actors from the second film, including Ernest Borgnine, Bebe Neuwirth and Dom De Luise. Charles Nelson Reily even returns to reprise Killer from the first film. This does not go unpromoted as the show's opening even lists all the actors individually, a rarity for cartoon openings.
41* ChannelHop: From syndication to [[Creator/FreeForm Fox Family]] in 1998.
42* TheOtherDarrin: Ernest Borgnine replaced Vic Tayback, who died a year after the first film was released, as the voice of Carface while Bebe Neuwirth replaced Melba Moore as Annabelle/The Heavenly Whippet. Charlie, meanwhile, has a different voice for every installment (Burt Reynolds in the first, Charlie Sheen in the second, Steven Weber in the TV series), presumably because each one became cheaper to the point that Reynolds ''and'' Sheen were too expensive.
43* PlayingWithCharacterType: Creator/StevenWeber generally tends to voice villainous and sleazy characters. By contrast, Charlie, while a pretty sleazy ex-mob boss who frequently indulges in his countless vices, is still a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who tends to do the right thing.
44* RecycledTheSeries: ''Series/TouchedByAnAngel'' [-WITH DOGS!-]
45* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Lasted one more season on Fox Family after picking it up from first-run syndication in 1998.
46* RoleReprise: All the voices from the sequel reprise their roles besides Charlie Sheen as Charlie (see The Other Darrin above). Creator/DomDeLuise and Charles Nelson Reily are the only two actors from the first film to reprise their roles however.
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