The classic animated tale from Don Bluth, the prodigious artist behind some of the 80's most enduring cartoons, continues in the tradition of quality with this release. Offering some of that same unique aesthetic which made his Secret of NIMH so appealing, Bluth takes this rowdy kids feature and blends it with dark atmospherics that help create the memorable surroundings where a criminal canine world is thriving.
The animation is obviously not as fluid as modern eyes are used to, though the painstakingly detailed, hand drawn backgrounds retain more charm then anything created by computer in the last 15 years. There is a certain warmth emitted from this style that hearkens back to a day when cartoons actually used to be pure, and had none of the compromising marketing techniques thrown in to gather wider audiences, as mega-budgeted cartoon franchises pander today.
The small but heartfelt supernatural story which explores the doggy afterlife of one street dog Charlie will remain a classic animated film for years to come. Overshadowed by some of his other work, Bluth still manages to prove why he is so highly respected in the business with nearly every concentrated frame. What does tarnish the film a bit however, is All Dogs Go to Heaven's insistence on breaking out into song every so often. The original music, and the voices who sing it (particualrly Burt Reynolds in the lead) are pretty awful, and noticeably sinks the film from being uniformly well received. The entire pacing may as well feel alien to young kids brought up on today's animated features, but for those willing to appreciate a time when hand drawn art was approached with more sensitivity in the American animated world, All Dogs Go to Heaven is a nostalgic treat.
The animation is obviously not as fluid as modern eyes are used to, though the painstakingly detailed, hand drawn backgrounds retain more charm then anything created by computer in the last 15 years. There is a certain warmth emitted from this style that hearkens back to a day when cartoons actually used to be pure, and had none of the compromising marketing techniques thrown in to gather wider audiences, as mega-budgeted cartoon franchises pander today.
The small but heartfelt supernatural story which explores the doggy afterlife of one street dog Charlie will remain a classic animated film for years to come. Overshadowed by some of his other work, Bluth still manages to prove why he is so highly respected in the business with nearly every concentrated frame. What does tarnish the film a bit however, is All Dogs Go to Heaven's insistence on breaking out into song every so often. The original music, and the voices who sing it (particualrly Burt Reynolds in the lead) are pretty awful, and noticeably sinks the film from being uniformly well received. The entire pacing may as well feel alien to young kids brought up on today's animated features, but for those willing to appreciate a time when hand drawn art was approached with more sensitivity in the American animated world, All Dogs Go to Heaven is a nostalgic treat.