Sabella, Paul

All Dogs Go To Heaven 2

While it pales in comparison to the outstanding animation of its predecessor, Don Bluth's imaginative if somewhat graceless All Dogs Go to Heaven, this 1995 sequel has some nice moments of its own. Charlie Sheen replaces Burt Reynolds as the voice of Charlie Barkin, the afterlife-stranded pooch who sought vengeance against his killer in the previous film but instead discovered the joys of earthly love and community. This time, a bored Charlie, looking for a little adventure, reteams with his old pal Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise) to retrieve Gabriel's Horn after it's stolen. Dropping down from Dog Heaven to take on his old nemesis (and killer), Carface (Ernest Borgnine), Charlie falls for a sexy Irish setter (Sheena Easton) and helps a boy caught in a jam. Featuring grand pop songs by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 provides kids with a simpler story than Bluth's original film, as well as less unsettling violence. On the downside, director Paul Sabella, a Hanna-Barbera veteran who produced television's The Smurfs, either can't or won't stretch much as an artist here. --Tom Keogh

Get ready for plenty of thrills and excitement as everyone's favorite pups unleash their charm in this lively tale of courage, love and friendship that is captivating entertainment and dog gone good fun for all! All dogs do go to heaven...and some lucky few return to earth. That's what happens when mischievous mutt Charlie Barkin (Charlie Sheen) is asked to retrieve Gabriel's horn when itis stolen from heaven. Seeing his chance to have some fun, Charlie recruits his sidekick Itchy (Dom DeLuise) and happily steps up to the challenge. Immediately, the two get side tracked into trouble...until a sweet young runaway boy and a beautiful Irish setter (Sheena Easton) set them straight. But time is running out, and if Charlie is going to secure the valuable horn, he will have to prove himself worthy of his wings by taking on two incredible villains in a hair-raising, breathtaking race to the finish!

An All Dogs Christmas Carol

Another straight-to-video sequel of a so-so animated film. The original 1989 All Dogs Go to Heaven was hardly inspired but contained expert Don Bluth animation and the amusing voices of Burt Reynolds and his gang. Now Steven Weber voices the animated mutt Charlie who is still palling around with the same gang through three movies and an animated series. Here the arch villain, Carface (Ernest Borgnine), gets the traditional Dickens treatment of being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. The opening number, "When I Hear a Christmas Carol," is a good start, but soon TV-ish animation and the low humor wears one down. Kids who like the earlier Dog efforts won't be disappointed, but the entire series can never be defined as great entertainment. The saving grace is the foolproof Christmas Carol visitations. --Doug Thomas

All your favorite characters from the All Dogs Go To Heaven children's series are back in this captivating canine retelling of a Christmas classic the whole family will love! It'sshaping up to be a wonderful Christmas for all the precious pooches at the Flea Bite Cafe. There's shining packages, sparkling decorations, and even a hefty donation fund for Timmy, a lovable little pup who's in need of an operation. But the festivities and good will don't mean anything to Carface,a big bully of a bulldog. Carface doesn't like Christmas. In fact, he even hates it. And together with his bad dog buddies, he's come up with a plan to ruin itfor everybody! But that's when Charlie and Itchy step in andwith a little divine interventiondevise a brilliant plan of their own to save Christmas and transform Carface from a holiday humbug to a bonafide Yuletide hero!

Babes In Toyland

In this animated reworking of the 1961 movie, Mother Goose characters are pitted against the evil Barnaby, intent on preventing Toyland's factory from fulfilling Santa's order. This time it's the lamb-owning Mary, not the contrary Mary, who's intrigued with Tom, the Piper's son. The pair wants to save Mary's inherited factory, while the orphaned Jack and Jill seek to escape their uncle/jailer Barnaby. In a pop psychology twist, Barnaby wants Mary's factory, not Mary herself. His main beef is with the toys, because--it turns out--he never had any as a child. Pirate goons, an actual monkey wrench, and a forestful of goblins do their worst, but all ends well when Tom sics his newly invented larger-than-life toy soldiers with Inspector Gadget-like gizmos upon the villains. Christmas is saved, Mary and Tom envision their future, and many songs are sung by voice talents including the late Charles Nelson Reilly, as Humpty Dumpty. (Ages 3 and older)--Kimberly Heinrichs

Everyone's favorite nursery-rhyme characters come magically and musically to life in this delightful animated adventure based on the classic holiday tale. Featuring the voices of James Belushi, LaceyChabert, Bronson Pinchot, Christopher Plummer and Charles Nelson Reilly, Babes in Toyland isa wonderful tune-filled tale that will delight the entire family time and again. It's two days before Christmas, and the Toyland Toy Factory has just received its biggest order ever. But theevil Barnaby, who doesn't believe in toys, has plans to shut the factory down and spoil the holidayfor everyone. Now it's up to Jack and Jill to stop Barnaby's plot and save Christmas!

Tom Sawyer

The classic Mark Twain book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is presented here as an animated video featuring the voices and music of country music stars Mark Wills, Lee Ann Womack, Rhett Akins, and Hank Williams Jr. Other famous voices include Betty White and Don Knotts. Twain's general plot is reproduced fairly faithfully: Tom falls in love with Becky, Tom and Huckleberry Finn witness a murder and later risk their lives to save the falsely accused Potter, and Tom and Huck eventually find Red Beard's buried treasure. Subtle elements have been changed for either political correctness or plot convenience: for instance, the name "Injun Joe" has been changed to "Injurin' Joe" and Becky has gained an antagonist father. A not so subtle change is the presentation of the characters as animals: Tom and Becky are cats, Huck is a fox, and Joe is a bear. The video is skillfully animated (much more so than the cover suggests) and the voice talent is excellent. Pop-country music lovers will love featured songs such as "You Can't Keep a Country Boy Down" and "There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel," although they seem more appropriate for adult audiences than the 5- to 12-year-olds this video is aimed at. All in all, this is an entertaining, accessible presentation of a classic story that kids will enjoy. --Tami Horiuchi

A mischievous orphan with a knack for tall tales, Tom lives with his exasperated aunt in the riverfront town of Hannibal, Missouri. Along with his ragtag best friend Huckleberry Finn (Jeff East) and his fetching sweetheart Becky Thatcher, Tom's life is a series of clever and irrepressible adventures. But when he and Huck witness a crime, Tom must decide if he will risk his life to exonerate town bum Muff Potter (Warren Oates).

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 [Region 2]

While it pales in comparison to the outstanding animation of its predecessor, Don Bluth's imaginative if somewhat graceless All Dogs Go to Heaven, this 1995 sequel has some nice moments of its own. Charlie Sheen replaces Burt Reynolds as the voice of Charlie Barkin, the afterlife-stranded pooch who sought vengeance against his killer in the previous film but instead discovered the joys of earthly love and community. This time, a bored Charlie, looking for a little adventure, reteams with his old pal Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise) to retrieve Gabriel's Horn after it's stolen. Dropping down from Dog Heaven to take on his old nemesis (and killer), Carface (Ernest Borgnine), Charlie falls for a sexy Irish setter (Sheena Easton) and helps a boy caught in a jam. Featuring grand pop songs by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 provides kids with a simpler story than Bluth's original film, as well as less unsettling violence. On the downside, director Paul Sabella, a Hanna-Barbera veteran who produced television's The Smurfs, either can't or won't stretch much as an artist here. --Tom Keogh

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 [Region 2]

While it pales in comparison to the outstanding animation of its predecessor, Don Bluth's imaginative if somewhat graceless All Dogs Go to Heaven, this 1995 sequel has some nice moments of its own. Charlie Sheen replaces Burt Reynolds as the voice of Charlie Barkin, the afterlife-stranded pooch who sought vengeance against his killer in the previous film but instead discovered the joys of earthly love and community. This time, a bored Charlie, looking for a little adventure, reteams with his old pal Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise) to retrieve Gabriel's Horn after it's stolen. Dropping down from Dog Heaven to take on his old nemesis (and killer), Carface (Ernest Borgnine), Charlie falls for a sexy Irish setter (Sheena Easton) and helps a boy caught in a jam. Featuring grand pop songs by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 provides kids with a simpler story than Bluth's original film, as well as less unsettling violence. On the downside, director Paul Sabella, a Hanna-Barbera veteran who produced television's The Smurfs, either can't or won't stretch much as an artist here. --Tom Keogh

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 [Region 2]

While it pales in comparison to the outstanding animation of its predecessor, Don Bluth's imaginative if somewhat graceless All Dogs Go to Heaven, this 1995 sequel has some nice moments of its own. Charlie Sheen replaces Burt Reynolds as the voice of Charlie Barkin, the afterlife-stranded pooch who sought vengeance against his killer in the previous film but instead discovered the joys of earthly love and community. This time, a bored Charlie, looking for a little adventure, reteams with his old pal Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise) to retrieve Gabriel's Horn after it's stolen. Dropping down from Dog Heaven to take on his old nemesis (and killer), Carface (Ernest Borgnine), Charlie falls for a sexy Irish setter (Sheena Easton) and helps a boy caught in a jam. Featuring grand pop songs by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 provides kids with a simpler story than Bluth's original film, as well as less unsettling violence. On the downside, director Paul Sabella, a Hanna-Barbera veteran who produced television's The Smurfs, either can't or won't stretch much as an artist here. --Tom Keogh

Tom Sawyer

The classic Mark Twain book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is presented here as an animated video featuring the voices and music of country music stars Mark Wills, Lee Ann Womack, Rhett Akins, and Hank Williams Jr. Other famous voices include Betty White and Don Knotts. Twain's general plot is reproduced fairly faithfully: Tom falls in love with Becky, Tom and Huckleberry Finn witness a murder and later risk their lives to save the falsely accused Potter, and Tom and Huck eventually find Red Beard's buried treasure. Subtle elements have been changed for either political correctness or plot convenience: for instance, the name "Injun Joe" has been changed to "Injurin' Joe" and Becky has gained an antagonist father. A not so subtle change is the presentation of the characters as animals: Tom and Becky are cats, Huck is a fox, and Joe is a bear. The video is skillfully animated (much more so than the cover suggests) and the voice talent is excellent. Pop-country music lovers will love featured songs such as "You Can't Keep a Country Boy Down" and "There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel," although they seem more appropriate for adult audiences than the 5- to 12-year-olds this video is aimed at. All in all, this is an entertaining, accessible presentation of a classic story that kids will enjoy. --Tami Horiuchi

An All Dogs Christmas Carol [Region 2]

Another straight-to-video sequel of a so-so animated film. The original 1989 All Dogs Go to Heaven was hardly inspired but contained expert Don Bluth animation and the amusing voices of Burt Reynolds and his gang. Now Steven Weber voices the animated mutt Charlie who is still palling around with the same gang through three movies and an animated series. Here the arch villain, Carface (Ernest Borgnine), gets the traditional Dickens treatment of being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. The opening number, "When I Hear a Christmas Carol," is a good start, but soon TV-ish animation and the low humor wears one down. Kids who like the earlier Dog efforts won't be disappointed, but the entire series can never be defined as great entertainment. The saving grace is the foolproof Christmas Carol visitations. --Doug Thomas

Animated Classics Family DVD 3-Pack (The Care Bears Movie / An All Dogs Christmas Carol / Good Boy)

Disc 1: THE CARE BEARS MOVIE Disc 2: AN ALL DOGS CHRISTMAS CAROL Disc 3: GOOD BOY