The Good

The ability to knock out both films in one shot (especially for a low price) is the kind of offer that's hard to resist.

The Bad

No extras.

All Dogs Go to Heaven/All Dogs to to Heaven 2 comes to us in this boxset that while void of special features is the kind of release that makes me delighted to own it. I am just excited to have the ability to watch the first and second movie back to back. The first All Dogs Go to Heaven is certainly the better tale in which Charlie (voiced by Burt Reynolds) gets double-crossed and sent to heaven. However, the pearly gates aren't open to him and he is sent back down to earth to be a guardian angel. While this tale hits all the obvious notes it is really made by the voice talents of Reynolds and Dom DeLuise who plays the role of Itchy.

All Dogs to to Heaven 2 isn't nearly good as the first one. Centering on a horn that falls from heaven our canine friends (and some new ones) return to earth to retrieve it. If any movie ever gave a terrific example of why sequels are generally a bad idea, this film certainly does that.

Features

No extras came with this DVD.

Video

All Dogs Go to Heaven - Full Screen 1.33:1. I love the look of this film. With it's almost dried out colors and older style of animation, I can very much appreciate the style in which this film was created. While I understand the supped up look of All Dogs to to Heaven 2, I have to say I like the older style of animation better. I just wasn't a big a fan of the way this movie's settings were drawn.

Audio

All Dogs Go to Heaven -Dolby Digital. Languages - English and French Dolby Surround. Subtitled in French and Spanish. Close Captioned. All Dogs to to Heaven 2 - Dolby Digital. English 5.1 - Dolby Surround. French and Spanish - Dolby Surround. Subtitled in French and Spanish. Close Captioned. The audio on these two discs was fine. I didn't notice any dropouts or points where the audio skipped or got scratchy. Since these two titles are more audio dependent than most, I very much appreciated they way they sounded.

Package

They have split the front cover with two iconic shots from both of the movies. Just by looking at them you can tell the difference between the animation styles. The one for All Dogs Go to Heaven is much richer in my opinion. The back cover features a description of both movies, a cast list and some technical specs for each. The front cover of each disc is the same as the one presented on the split/front cover. The back contains a little more a description of each movie but is generally the same as the cardboard cover that houses it.

Final Word

Okay, I love Charlie Sheen but having him do the voice of Charlie the dog in the second movie is just a bad idea. Also, I don't really care for the slicked up look that this film employs. I know that it was some years between films but that doesn't mean that things need to change just for the sake of change. While I am sure that Burt Reynolds wasn't able to be part of things for whatever reason (either monetarily or otherwise), I sort of wish that after the first All Dogs Go to Heaven, they would have let sleeping dogs lie.

All Dogs Go to Heaven was released November 17, 1989.