Ed's Review Dot Com

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation

Ernest Borgnine, Dom DeLuise, Sheena Easton, Taylor Emerson, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles Nelson Reilly, Steven Weber

The “All Dogs” team returns with Belladonna (Bebe Neuwirth) an evil witch of a dog that has an whistle that will control all the dogs and force them to steal Christmas.  She’s teamed up with Carface (Ernest Borgnine) and Charlie and Itchy are out to convince Carface to fight Belladonna.  They determine the best way is to pretend to be ghosts and haunt Carface as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future and change his heart.  We find out that Carface was badly treated as a puppy and has hated Christmas ever since.  Can Belladonna be defeated before midnight on Christmas Eve and Christmas saved?

This is TV animation and is typical of the “All Dogs” films.  Still, kids are going to enjoy the cartoons and watching the dogs, and it’s not really scary anymore than most TV’s.  But if your dog suddenly has his eyes start turning green and spinning in spirals, watch out.  He’s under Belladonna’s control.  Not a great story for grown ups (unless you’re a big fan of Saturday Morning cartoons of your youth) but it’s a good movie to entertain the kids with, and a decent revision of A Christmas Carol even though it’s changed in many ways.  The heart of the story is still there.   Hint though:  If you’re thinking of trying to destroy Christmas and stop it once and for all,  give it up.  It seems only the Taliban can do that.  Nobody else has even come close to pulling it off.  Not the grinch, not the martians, and certainly not Belladonna!  🙂