An All Dogs Christmas Carol (1998)

Boring

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The first All Dogs go to Heaven is not my favourite Don Bluth movie, but it is one of his most charming and memorable. I actually didn't mind the sequel either, it was nothing great due to its dull animation and rushed story but it wasn't awful as I liked the soundtrack and voice work, plus I can name worse sequels. This one was very nice and heart warming. Is it as good as the original? Not quite. But is it better than the sequel? I think it is. I however have real issue with the IMDb rating for this movie, literally saying it is horse poop. Seriously it is not that bad, I can think of a number of animated movies worse than An All Dogs Christmas Carol. Titanic:The Animated Movie? Doogal? The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue? Pokemon:The First Movie? Cool World? Enough of that, let's get down to business. Right the animation is better than it was in the second. It's not quite as luscious as the animation in the original, but there are some nice backgrounds and the characters are at least well drawn. I also really liked the music, and I am probably alone here but I found the soundtracks here and in the second more memorable than in the original personally. The first song can be repetitive to some but it is nice and well sung, Carface's song about being a puppy was rather touching and Clean Up your Act was irresistibly catchy.The story is also much better thought out and paced. One or two scenes do drag I agree, but I loved the canine twist on the immortal Christmas literary classic A Christmas Carol and the dig at It's a Wonderful Life(It's a Wonderful Carface) and it was less rushed than the second in my opinion. Plus the dialogue was pretty good. Then there were the characters. Charlie and Sasha aren't given as much to do but they are pretty likable, while Timmy is adorable. The two scene stealers were Carface, who steals the movie as a Scrooge-like caricature and the villainess Bella Donna who is deliciously bitchy. The voice acting on the whole is well done. Ernest Borgnine is brilliant as Carface, while Dom DeLuise is humorous as Itchy. Sheena Easten is lovely as Sasha, while Bebe Neuwirth was a huge improvement in the dual roles of Annabelle(Melba Moore was better though, and I found Neuwirth irritating in the second film) and Bella Donna(she gave the better vocal performance of the two with Bella Donna). The only weaknesses for me were Steven Weber, who just lacks that roguish charm, and Charles Nelson Reilly, who not only sounds different here, but got annoying at times.Overall, An All Dogs Christmas Carol wasn't really that bad. Actually it is quite charming and heart warming. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I loved watching this movie as a youngster, its the re-telling of the Charles Dickens classic, Christmas Carol....Only by dogs...Carface the local mob dog decides to rob the dog community of their Christmas gifts and decorations thus cancelling Christmas and so Charlie, the dog that has retributed for his earlier crimes in 'All dogs go to heaven' and vows to bring Christmas back and so he gets helped by the heavenly forces who offer him a once in a life time gift to get all access in the magics and show Carface the past, present and future....The film has some great songs which will entertain the kids and keep them happy with a brilliant voice cast who do justice for the film....There are occasions which make you laugh out loud...A Christmas treat for the family.

i didn't really like the way they done it like a Christmas carol but i liked one of the songs that was about it it was a bit shut up by the end. But kids might enjoy the dog side of it.I think it would have been better if Charlie sheen was doing the voice of Charlie.and they hadn't had the annoying song at the start which got so repetitive by the end. the song that was the best was car-faces song about when he was a puppy. i didn't like car-faces dog friend who loved Christmas but couldn't tell car-face he was annoying. it didn't really get me in the Christmas mood round about Christmas time. I thought it was a bit plane and boring especially at the end but the songs do keep you interested. And i think it would be an okay film for younger kids.

I still prefer the original 1989 film, but this entry is a great improvement over "All Dogs 2". Dickens' basic plot for "A Christmas Carol" has been cleverly reworked here. Ernest Borgnine is wonderful as Carface, and this film allows us to see a different side to him. The talented Bebe Neuwirth does a nice job of pulling off an interesting dual role as both good Annabelle and evil Belladonna. The songs are good, and "Clean Up Your Act" is downright irresistible. This one is not as good as the first, but charming nonetheless.