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| All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series | |
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 The title card of the series |
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| Format | Animation |
| Directed by | John Grusd Gary Selvaggio |
| Starring | Charlie B. Barkin Dom DeLuise Sheena Easton Ernest Borgnine Charles Nelson Reilly Bebe Neuwirth |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 40 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 min |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| First shown in | September 21, 1996 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series is an animated television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which aired from 1996 to 1999 with 41 half-hour episodes produced. Don Bluth’s 1989 animated feature All Dogs Go To Heaven featured a roguish mutt named Charlie, who died, went to heaven (as all dogs do), conned his way back to Earth for vengeance on his killer, then found redemption through a little orphaned girl. The film warmed audience’s hearts, spawning a film sequel and this animated series.
The series picks up where All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 left off. Charlie and Itchy live in San Francisco (rather than New Orleans) as guardian angels, getting their missions from Anabelle. The show was a family sitcom, with Charlie and Itchy getting mixed up in several misadventures while trying to do the right thing. Charlie’s villainous rival, Carface and his hench-dog Killer also carried over into the series, as did Charlie’s pooch pals Sasha, and Annabelle.
Most of the voice actors from the feature film reprised their roles in the series, including Dom DeLuise, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Nelson Reilly, Bebe Neuwirth, and Sheena Easton.
Contents |
Characters
- Charlie B. Barkin: (voiced by Steven Weber) As always, Charlie is the star of the show. Working as a guardian angel, he is always on the lookout for trouble. As himself, by contrast, he is constantly making it.
- Itchy Itchiford: (Dom DeLuise) Always loyal, Itchy is back as Charlie's devoted sidekick once more. With a deep sense of duty and a great zeal for life, Itchy generally tries to keep his buddy in line, but he's usually lucky just to keep up.
- Annabelle: (voiced by Bebe Neuwirth) The whippet archangel Annabelle pops up in the series on a regular basis to give Charle and Itchy their assignments. Good-hearted as always, there is some room for question as to whether she trusts Charlie a little more than she should.
- Sasha LaFleur: (voiced by Sheena Easton) Making a return from All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Sasha is Charlie's on-again, off-again "girlfriend." Their relationship during the series has ups and downs as intense as any roller coaster, with exchanges of romantic words one episode and thrown objects the next. Sasha also runs a diner called the "La Fleur Den," or "The Flea Bite."
- Winnifred Bessime de Winkerville: (voiced by Tress MacNeille) Prefers to be called "Bess," as opposed to her long-winded full name. Bess is Itchy's girlfriend in the series, having met him in "Cyrano de Barkinac" when the dachshund stopped a mail truck which would have otherwise hit Bess. She is a show dog with a remarkable pedigree and an impressive collection of trophies and awards, and she frequenly jogs to keep herself in top condition.
- Carface Caruthers: (voiced by Ernest Borgnine) Back again and (almost) as rotten as ever, Carface pops up in the series anytime Charlie isn't able to cause enough trouble on his own.
- Killer: (voiced by Charles Nelson Reilly) Killer is back as Carface's henchman (again), although he is only a minor character. Pathetic and slow-witted, he is essentially useless to Carface as anything but a stooge, and usually even fouls that up.
- Belladonna: (also voiced by Bebe Neuwirth) Annabelle's hellish cousin, Belladonna is forever trying to foul things up for the dynamic dog duo. Sly, sadistic, and even mildly seductive at times, Belladonna is a veritable canine of Satan.
Movie and series differences.
Viewers have observed a number of continuity flaws between the series and the movies it originated from. Some of these "errors," have been explained in the course of the show, while others have not.
Charlie
At the end of All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Charlie gave up being an angel to live on earth with Sasha. However, in the series he somehow has returned to being an angel. To further the confusion, the angel-wing pin (or "merit badge," as hereferred to it in the movie) which Annabelle said he could claim in "oh, say... twenty years," is now in his possession. Morevoer, it now seems to go beyond being a mere badge of honor, apparently gifting him with increased strength.
Itchy
At the end of All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, Itchy chose to stay in Heaven because of the wings and lack of fleas which he enjoyed there. However, in the series he is once more on Earth, literally in the flesh. His personality has also been altered-whereas before he was reserved almost to the point of cowardice, now he shows a remarkable zest for life. The question of his presence on Earth is answered when, in one episode, it was revealed that he had willfully signed up for working alongside Charlie.
Carface
Carface, who was banished to Hell at the end of the second movie, is also back in the world of the living in several episodes. This, unlike Itchy's presence, is never properly explained.
Charlie and Sasha
Perhaps the most continuous discrepancy surrounds the matter of Charlie and Sasha's relationship. Whereas they were (for want of a better word) married and living with David at the end of the second movie, in the series their relationship is significantly altered. They now live separately, neither of their homes are in a human residence, and their relationship is shaky. Charlie still shows plain admiration of Sasha, while Sasha's attraction to Charlie, though clearly present throughout the series, varies in clarity from episode to episode. In "The Perfect Dog," Sasha mostly points out Charlie's shortcomings (much more blatantly than in All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, when she did it with a humorous tone), only showing her true concern for him when she believes he is dead, at which point she admits that she wants him rather than a "perfect dog."
Episodes
See List of All Dogs Go to Heaven episodes.
Home Video History
In the 1990's several VHS of the series were released, each containing 2 episodes. In 2006 two volumes of the series were released by MGM entertainment, each containing 4 episodes. There is currently no plan to release more episodes of the series on DVD. Also, every episode of the series can now be viewed on iTunes.
Broadcasting History
- United States
- ABC (1996-1997)
- Fox Family Channel (1997-1998)
- UPN (2003-2005)
- Toon Disney (2006)
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series |
- All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series at the Internet Movie Database
- All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series at TV.com
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