Frenetic Action, Plot Chaos Clutter Up ‘Dogs’ Sequel
Contrary to its title, “All Dogs Go to Heaven 2,” not every canine in the film ends up perched on a fluffy cloud, smiling beatifically, a halo floating over its head.
Near the end of this sequel to the 1989 animated film, one of its scruffier doggie characters actually joins the scarlet-faced feline devil in the underworld. Maybe a better title would have been “All Dogs Go to Heaven But One.”
Although “Dogs 2,” which opened Friday, has its flashes of wit, it is so worried about possibly losing the attention of a young audience that it packs three times as much plot as is necessary into its 84 minutes. As a result, the movie is afflicted with stretches of narrative chaos.
The sequel brings back Charlie and Itchy, the original movie’s canine sidekicks, and finds a clever way to return them to Earth for further adventures. The trouble begins when Carface (Ernest Borgnine), one of the newest celestial arrivals, rebels against the prevailing sweetness and light and tries to steal Gabriel’s horn, without which the Pearly Gates can’t open. When the instrument accidentally falls to earth, landing in San Francisco, Carface tumbles after it.
Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Itchy (Dom DeLuise) are dispatched to San Francisco to retrieve the horn. But Charlie finds he likes the bad old days too much and is put in touch with a shady character named Red (George Hearn), who is actually the devil in disguise. Red gives the two friends special collars that transform them from angels into dogs for one day, but at a price. Their adventures culminate in a doggie Armageddon during which the angels are sucked out of heaven and imprisoned in a canine Alcatraz.
And that isn’t the half of it. Charlie also becomes the guardian angel for a little boy who has run away from home and falls in love with Sasha (Sheena Easton), a sleek, doe-eyed nightclub singer. Meanwhile, Carface has his own difficulties.
“All Dogs Go to Heaven 2,” directed by Paul Sabella, makes the mistake of not trusting its characters to be engaging in themselves and relies instead on increasingly frenetic Saturday-morning cartoon-style action to drum up energy.
But Ernest Borgnine’s tough, cigar-chomping bulldog gets off some good lines, and George Hearn’s devil huffs and puffs up a storm. The film’s strongest element is its score by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the same team that supplied “Muppet Treasure Island” with its songs.
xxxx “ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN 2” Locations: East Sprague, North Division and Showboat cinemas Credits: Directed by Paul Sabella and Larry Leker; with the voices of Charlie Sheen, Sheena Easton, Dom DeLuise, Ernest Borgnine and Bebe Neuwirth Running time: 1:24 Rating: G