Line #22 YMMV/AllDogsGoToHeaven


1	!!The 1989 original
2	* AccidentalInnuendo: [[https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/992caedb-762a-4e75-8ccd-39306862e667_1.1b1ddd150f038dbc9e57ff2e170e5eff.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF The artwork for the cover of the blu-ray]] seems to depict Anne Marie [[NoYay giving the viewer bedroom eyes]].
3	* AdaptationDisplacement: The number of people who have even heard of the original 1943 book by Beth Brown, much less read it, could be counted on one hand. The book itself is exceedingly rare, and it can fetch up to hundreds of dollars on Amazon. [[InNameOnly The two have essentially nothing in common]], save that they're about death and dogs. Bluth himself admitted that despite having known the story as a child, when making his version, all he could remember was the title, and after failing to find a copy of the book, combined with info being scarce back then, he deciced to make his own story using the title.
4	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Did Charlie really mean it when he told Itchy that [[spoiler: they'd use Anne-Marie for all she was worth than then dump her in an orphanage]], or was he just telling Itchy what he wanted to hear? Consider the guilty look on his face when [[spoiler: he notices Anne-Marie listening in on the conversation.]]
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
6	** Say what you will about Burt Reynolds' singing, but "Let Me Be Surprised" is genuinely good. It helps that Charlie's parts aren't too rangy for Reynolds' limited singing skill and he shares the song with the more musically capable Melba Moore.
7	** "Let's Make Music Together" (yes, [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment that song]]). Once you get past the sheer insanity of it, it's actually a solid R&B tune.
8	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
9	** Anne-Marie is either a lovable [[TheWoobie woobie]] HeartwarmingOrphan, or she provokes SweetnessAversion. She is probably [[SickeninglySweet the latter to Charlie initially]].
10	** Charlie himself as well. While no one can deny he starts out greedy and selfish, there is a lot of debate from viewers over whether his CharacterDevelopment is enough to redeem himself or not.
11	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The {{Trope Namer\|s}}, albeit [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick indirectly]]. While the character ''does'' come back a few scenes later, King Gator's bombastic, Esther Williams-style musical number is neither foreshadowed or even mentioned after it occurs (aside from King Gator singing the single word "Forever!" once). However, it ''does'' give some plot points: [[spoiler: Anne-Marie gets sick after she's been drenched in sewer water, and the alligator [[ChekhovsGunman even comes to eat Carface]] later because he liked the sound of Charlie's howl.]] The {{Trope Namer\|s}}aspect comes from the fact that the movie breaks its own rules about who can talk to what to make the musical number make sense. King Gator shouldn’t be able to speak to Charlie and vice versa.[[note]]That being why Anne-Marie is so valuable; she alone can talk to ''all'' animals.[[/note]]
12	* CommonKnowledge: Ironically, while King Gator's out-of-place music number sticks in people's mind, they generally forget that he's not just a OneSceneWonder -- [[spoiler:King Gator [[ChekhovsGunman returns, defeats (and eats) Carface and]] ''attempts'' to save Charlie (who dies nevertheless when his life-watch stops)]].
13	* CriticalDissonance: The film was widely panned by critics in its initial release, with most making unfavorable comparisons to Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid\|1989}}'', so much so that [[Creator/DonBluth Bluth]]'s American tour to promote the film was ended very early, according to his online biography. Upon its video release, audiences were able to appreciate it without it being caught in the shadow of ''Mermaid''.
14	* CrossesTheLineTwice: One of the puppies comes to Charlie wanting more pizza. Charlie tells him to eat the box.
15	* CrossoverShip: As mentioned under FriendlyFandoms, there's a lot of crossover fan art for this movie with ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'', some of which depicts Balto and Charlie [[HoYay making out]].
16	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
17	** King Gator, for being the {{Trope Namer\|s}}for BigLippedAlligatorMoment, with his bizarre yet nonetheless very memorable sequence. He also aids in [[ChekhovsGunman saving the day in the climax]], helping Charlie rescue Anne-Marie and disposing of Carface in the process.
18	** The Hellhound -- for managing to be the darkest and scariest villain in the series, despite having the least lines and screentime of the RoguesGallery.
19	%%** The Grand Chawhee. Bonus points for being a literal darkhorse. %%(Needs more context to better explain why he's popular)%%
20	* FanficFuel: While the sequels were never meant to be a legitimate expansion of the first film's canon, fans have taken it upon themselves to connect several elements that appear across the movies and the TV show (the [[TimeyWimeyBall leaps in time and space]], the events leading to Charlie and Itchy becoming guardian angels, Carface's VillainDecay, the politics between heaven, hell and Earth) into a more linear story. It helps that the story is still fairly simple and the characters are very loosely defined.
21	* FirstInstallmentWins: While the sequel and TV show have their fans and are agreed to have their own memorable characters and interesting stories, the first movie is generally agreed to be the only one that works as a whole movie rather than a bunch of decent, disjointed ideas.
22	* FriendlyFandoms: There exists a lot of fanart and fanfiction which cross this film over with the Creator/StevenSpielberg-produced ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'', another [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Renaissance]]-era animated feature starring dogs. It helps that most of the animators for that film also worked on the two [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail Bluth]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime films]] Spielberg produced, so their character designs compliment one another to the point that many mistake ''Balto'' for a Bluth film.
23	* HarsherInHindsight:
24	** Despite the entire movie being about his character's death, Creator/BurtReynolds was the last of his co-stars to die. Of the main cast, at least. As of 2023, supporting actors - Ken Page, Loni Anderson, and Melba Moore are still alive. [[note]]Many sentimental fans remarked that Reynolds' death in 2018 meant that Charlie, Itchy and Anne-Marie can [[TogetherInDeath be together again]].[[/note]]
25	** A film with heavy themes of mortality and several scenes of a little girl in danger becomes a lot more difficult to watch knowing the tragic fate of [[Creator/JudithBarsi that little girl's actress]]. Even worse, the film's plot is kicked off with a ''murder''.
26	** Charlie makes a passing remark about Carface having put on weight early in the movie. Vic Tayback, Carface's VA, died of a heart attack six months after the movie's release.
27	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct
28	** Not that anyone doubted the acting abilities of the great Creator/DomDeLuise, but his tearful "You're my friend" speech to Charlie is easily his best performance in a Creator/DonBluth film.
29	** Creator/BurtReynolds' acting is also an example. Most of his dialogue was ad-libbed, giving it a certain restraint and sincerity not often heard in animation, not to mention providing the animators with a very natural performance to work with.
30	** Creator/JudithBarsi, as she always did, gives it her all. Making the WhatCouldHaveBeen because of her murder at the hands of her father all the more tragic.
31	* HilariousInHindsight
32	** King Gator is a [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas big fat green overacting character voiced by Ken Page who was about to eat one of the heroes.]]
33	** Related, one of the supporting characters in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is a musically inclined big-lipped alligator who lives in the Louisiana bayou.
34	** The Fire-type starter Pokémon in Generation IX [[https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/skeledirge evolves into]] a singing ''no''-lipped alligator with a secondary Ghost type and a voodoo-like (or possibly demon-like) appearance.
35	** As [[spoiler:the pink whippet angel chases around Carface, yelling that he can never come back if he uses his stopwatch to escape Heaven, Charlie assures the audience that "he'll [Carface] be back"]]. Seven years later, the characters will indeed be back in a sequel.
36	* JerkassWoobie: Charlie Barkin. He's a con artist and a compulsive liar, but he literally goes to hell and back for the people he loves, plus it's implied that, despite his crimes, he's extremely nice to his customers. After having to say goodbye to Anne-Marie with tears rolling down his face, he most definitely needs a hug.
37	* {{Moe}}: Anne-Marie. She is a sweet, orphaned little girl who just wants a family, and refers to Charlie as her best friend. For a good many folks who grew up during the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Renaissance Age]], she was THE HeartwarmingOrphan.
38	* {{Narm}}: The idea that Burt Reynolds' singing is [[InformedAbility so amazing]] that King Gator decides to spare his character's ''and'' [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment do a musical number with him]]. It brings to mind [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTVIeHouYLQ a certain Spongebob gag]].
39	* NarmCharm: Despite its [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment infamy]], "Let's Make Music Together" is still a really good song. It helps that King Gator seems to be a nice guy once you're on his good side.
40	* NeverLiveItDown: Trope-namer for BigLippedAlligatorMoment. Which has now been used to describe something not foreshadowed and with so little influence, yet people forget the original scene ''does'' have a plot effect.
41	* ParodyDisplacement: The "Let's Make Music Together" musical number starts out as an homage to ''Film/KingKong.'' Many people won't recognize this, because while everybody has heard of ''King Kong'', [[MainstreamObscurity many people haven't actually seen it]]. Even if you have, the song is so distracting that it's easy to forget the reference.
42	* PopularWithFurries: Like many of Creator/DonBluth's other films, this one was considered by many furries who grew up in the 80s and 90s to be their equivalent of a ClosetKey.
43	* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The game on Amiga and DOS is just a collection of poorly programmed mini-games tied together with cutscenes. The horrific ear-bleeding sound combined with the three colors it runs in the DOS version practically defines SensoryAbuse. And while the Amiga version has better sound, the limited space results in short audio clips playing on loop.
44	* RetroactiveRecognition: Ken Page, who voiced the {{big lipped alligator\|Moment}}, would go on to voice Oogie Boogie in ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''.
45	* SequelDisplacement: Because of the utter lack of continuity between the first film and everything that followed it, many are surprised to realize that Sasha, one of the most popular characters of the series, was not in the original, or that the Heavenly Whippet [[NoNameGiven is yet to be named Annabelle.]]
46	* SignatureScene: Musical numbers aside, the [[NightmareSequence hell scene]] is the most memorable part of the film, and for [[NightmareFuel good reason]].
47	* SoOkayItsAverage: Maybe not Bluth's best movie, but it's certainly not his worst. The sequel and TV show also have a sizable fan base of people who feel this way about them, saying that they have a lot of interesting ideas and characters but weak stories.
48	* SpecialEffectsFailure:
49	** After Charlie sings the line, "I don't wanna die," he reacts to the appearance of the little thing of powder for taking his pawprint, and ''then'' it appears.
50	** In the shot where Killer is bringing Anne-Marie to the shore at the end, we can see the fire-consumed boat sinking into the water. Problem is, the perspective of the water on the background combined with the placement of the boat completely ruins the foreshortening, accidentally making it look like the boat is a really tiny object sinking right next to Anne-Marie and Killer.
51	* SweetnessAversion: "What's Mine Is Yours." Justified in-universe in that Charlie is not only being watched by wholesome, sweeter than sweet Anne-Marie, but the pups' caretaker -- who also happens to be an old flame of his. The pups, for their part, disregard the lesson [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments almost immediately.]]
52	* ValuesDissonance: Itchy's stereotypical "Chinaman" gag in "You Can't Keep A Good Dog Down." The film was released in 1989, and even then jokes like that were just ''barely'' acceptable.
53	* VindicatedByHistory: While it got mixed reviews and didn't make much money at the time of its release, the first movie has since garnered a cult following, along with a lot of viewers who see it as Don Bluth's last good movie before his AudienceAlienatingEra. The film was also a massive sales success on VHS, making it a staple of a lot of kids who grew up in the Nineties.
54	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Undoubtedly Creator/DonBluth's least kid-friendly film, despite a few scenes that are obviously for kids. Not only does a murder-revenge gangster story include a lot of "inappropriate" stuff like first degree murder, theft and drinking, but the movie plays it totally straight. That's not to mention the terrifying images of {{Hell}} and {{Satan}}, and the real clincher, [[spoiler:killing the protagonist permanently]], which is unheard of in Western animation for children.
55	* TheWoobie
56	** Anne-Marie. The RealitySubtext doesn't make it any better.
57	** Itchy, after his run-in with Carface near the end of the movie. The animated series ups his Woobie status even further, showing him as being the victim of an abusive owner and in the episode "Fearless Fido", he has a PTSD reaction to Ferris wheels due to a traumatic event he had as a pup.
58	----
59
60	!!The TV Series
61	* AwardSnub: "A Little Heaven", the theme song for the TV series, was nominated for a Daytime UsefulNotes/EmmyAward in 1997, but lost to ''Guiding Light''.
62	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic
63	** "Find A Little Heaven," a sweet little gospel pop tune.
64	** While most of the songs in the Christmas special range from passable to awful, "I Always Get Emotional At Christmastime" is an excellent, almost Broadway-quality showstopper. It helps that both singers are Broadway veterans, and the song works in the favor of both their singing voices: not too rangey for Charles Nelson Riely, but it allows Bebe Neuwirth to give a slinky, over-the-top performance.
65	** And Steven Weber is clearly having fun with "Clean Up Your Act."
66	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xFcl9EGIUI Itching And A Twitching.]] is awfully catchy.
67	* ContestedSequel: Like the sequel proper, it has plenty of dedicated fans, but is generally agreed to be extremely sub-par to the original.
68	* CryForTheDevil: Ghost Of Christmas Past in ''The Christmas Carol'' reveals that Carface had a rather tragic past that certainly makes one feel sorry for him. Even the Ghost (Itchy) thinks it was pretty unjust.
69	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Belladonna, who's considered to be such an [[VileVillainSaccharineShow entertaining and compelling villain]] that many fans felt she deserved to be on a better show.
70	* EvilIsCool: [[TerribleTrio Belladonna, Carface and Killer]], even with their VillainDecay, are often considered the biggest redeeming factor of the series, helped a lot by their LargeHam personalities and voice acting.
71	* GuiltyPleasure: It has fans who like it sincerely, but it also has just as many who don't but have a soft spot for it, especially if they're fans of the original Bluth film.
72	* HilariousInHindsight: Ernest Borgnine and Charles Nelson Riely play the BigBad and his [[PunchClockVillain incompetent sidekick]], respective. Two years after the series ended, they'd appear in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' with the roles reversed, Borgnine as [[HeroWithAnFInGood an incompetent superhero]] and Riely as one of his many nemeses.[[note]]And like the sequel, Borgnine is playing a character who is "EEEEEE-VILLLLL!!!"[[/note]]
73	* IronWoobie: Itchy Itchiford. There are several moments throughout the series where you'll want to reach into your screen and hug the poor guy. In a flashback episode, Itchy is forced to do humiliating tricks to a cruel master who treats him like trash and calls him stupid. There are many times in the series where Charlie will outright lie to or manipulate Itchy for his own personal gain. In the episode "Fearless Fido", its revealed that he had an absolutely humiliating date as a puppy that was so bad that it gave him a PTSD reaction to ferris wheels and let's not forget the episode where Charlie uses a miracle dog tag to become human and ties poor Itchy to a post when he goes off and dines at a fancy restaurant. Yet despite all this, Itchy remains Charlie's loyal sidekick through thick and thin.
74	* JerkassWoobie:
75	** Killer is a textbook example of this, as what little menace he had in the movie is completely gone here. It's especially notable in episode "Sidekicked" where he constantly badmouths and insults Itchy yet feels depressed over the fact that his boss, Carface will most likely leave him to rot at the pound.
76	** Despite Charlie reverting to [[{{Jerkass}} his old ways]] for the sake of comedy, he has his moments now and then, like when he talks about never celebrating a birthday in "An Itch In Time". "He Barked She Barked" also makes apparent that Charlie is aware of his many vices and how often he lets his friends down, lamenting that he deserved to get EasilyCondemned by Belladonna.
77	** Carface of all dogs becomes one in the ChristmasSpecial, due to his revealed FreudianExcuse of being callously abandoned as puppy and finally starting to demonstrate pangs of conscience serving Belladonna.
78	** Teddy from the episode "Field Trip". He's a brat who hates dogs so much he deliberately sends them to the pound but he's also clearly neglected by his grandmother in favor of the dogs she takes care of. His tearful and horrified reaction when Charlie tells him about what happens to dogs at the pound is enough to make him change.
79	* MoralEventHorizon: Belladonna crosses it in the GrandFinale Christmas special by trying to get all dogs kicked out onto the streets [[KickTheDog on Christmas Day]], including one ill pup who [[WouldHurtAChild would have died]].
80	* {{Padding}}: Belladonna's part of "I Always Get Emotional At Christmas Time". It really has nothing to do with the plot and kind of comes out of nowhere, as the musical number is Killer's until she shows up and her part is mainly just to make it longer.
81	* SweetnessAversion: Creator/BebeNeuwirth sounds like she's trying ''really'' hard to sound whimsical as Annabelle, reading all of her lines with an over-the-top tremolo, but it comes off less as whimsy and more like she's sitting on a washing machine.
82	* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: The show's animation and writing is pretty low budget and formulaic, even compared to other cartoon shows of its time, and ''absolutely'' compared to the original film. It retains a lot of the AllStarCast of the two movies however, and they all seem to be giving it their all with what they're given.
83	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Belladonna. See EnsembleDarkhorse above. As an EvilCounterpart for Annabelle, TheCorrupter for Charlie and a more effective underworld BadBoss for Carface than Red that [[EvenEvilHasStandards actually causes him moral conflict]], along with a good dose of LaughablyEvil [[NotSoHarmlessVillain while still a real menace]], many fans felt she went to waste in the low-budget TV series over one of the darker higher quality films, and even in that, only appears in a few episodes.
84	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
85	** Surprisingly, the TV series had a considerable amount of expectations from the films' small but dedicated fanbase when it first aired, and most of them were disappointed that it largely eschewed themes of mortality, not to mention turned Charlie back into an unsympathetic {{jerkass}}, in favor of mediocre SaturdayMorningCartoon antics. Most would agree that Charlie and Itchy becoming guardian angels is at least a good setup.
86	** The GrandFinale of the series, and the franchise as a whole, ending on Carface actually redeeming his soul after contemplating all his experiences with the afterlife made for good BookEnds to Charlie doing the same in the first film, and even adds a genuinely tragic backstory to the mix. It could have done with a more believable execution than a cheesy YetAnotherChristmasCarol however.
87	** One truly ideal use for Belladonna would have been to connect the dots between the series and the two films and use her presence to explain the characters' new circumstances (eg. Annabelle recruiting Charlie and Itchy specifically to protect other dogs' souls from her, Carface having escaped from hell by allying with her, with Killer getting dragged in). However there is no elaboration, and Belladonna herself only appears in a handful of episodes, let alone gets dynamics developed.

Context YMMV / AllDogsGoToHeaven