There was a time when Disney had some competition, way before Dreamworks popped up out of nowhere, and that competition was MGM and their Don Bluth films. The difference between the two pivotal Family Film juggernauts were night and day. Disney relied on a dash of dark versus light fairytale magic where everything worked out in the end so that little boys and girls were able to go on an adventure in a surreal fantasy world were most things were friendly. Bluth and company relied heavily on mixing realism with their tales, giving kids and adults a hard look at the ugliness of humanity and the world, be it in the form of dogs or rats or space aliens, but providing them with a moral lesson that no one is perfect but that everyone can strive to be. All Dog’s Go To Heaven heavily signified this aspect of the Bluth era. Unfortunately for fans like myself who were exited to see Bluth’s work coming to BD (The Secret of NIHM, Anastasia, Dragon’s Lair) be prepared to be disappointed with this one.

QUALITY:
All Dog’s Go To Heaven is all over the map terrible. The picture has its moments where there is a clash of vibrant color and character line definition but for the most part its soft, smeared, bland, and film condition retains scratches, little white blips, and other dirty little discrepancies. The fact that this film is from 1989 should be a sort of get out jail free card for the awful transfer found here but after seeing Disney’s Pinocchio and Bambi, films that predate this one by decades, the conclusion is that MGM and 20th Century Fox just didn’t put in the elbow grease to bring a beloved family film to BD with pizzazz like other companies have. Audio is even worse. Dialogue is buried beneath a booming music score and the crash, bang, pow of the films lively action but you’ll be playing remote tag with the volume trying to keep a steady balance to find some enjoyment in watching the film. Disappointing.

BONUS FEATURES:
Theatrical Trailer