Editing All Dogs Go to Heaven (section)

== Reception and legacy ==
=== Critical response ===
''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' received mostly mixed reviews,<ref name="cawley_dogs"/> maintaining a 46% approval rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 28 reviews,<ref name=RottenTomatoes1 /> and a 50 out of 100 score from [[Metacritic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/all-dogs-go-to-heaven |title=All Dogs Go to Heaven |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=October 25, 2015 |archive-date=July 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712211601/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/all-dogs-go-to-heaven |url-status=live }}</ref> Reviewers often drew unfavorable comparisons to ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'', criticizing the disjointed narrative, the quality of the animation, and the songs by Charlie Strouse and T.J. Kuenster.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rainer|first=Peter|title=All Dogs Go to Heaven (review)|work=L.A. Times|date=November 17, 1989}}</ref> The film received a "thumbs down" from [[Gene Siskel]] and a "thumbs up" from [[Roger Ebert]] on a 1989 episode of their television program ''[[At the Movies (US TV series)|At the Movies]]''. While Siskel found it to be "surprisingly weak" given director Don Bluth's previous works, largely due to its "confusing story" and "needlessly violent" scenes, Ebert was a huge fan of the film's "rubbery and kind of flexible" animation, stating that it was a good film despite not being an "animated classic".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siskelandebert.org/video/2HXX7H1NH7AA/Back-to-the-Future-Part-II--All-Dogs-Go-to-Heaven--Henry-V-1989 |publisher=Siskel & Ebert.org |access-date=October 30, 2015 |title=Back to the Future Part II / All Dogs Go to Heaven / Henry V (1989) |archive-date=October 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030003101/http://siskelandebert.org/video/2HXX7H1NH7AA/Back-to-the-Future-Part-II--All-Dogs-Go-to-Heaven--Henry-V-1989 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some also found the darker subject material objectionable in a family film,<ref>{{cite news|last=Kempley|first=Rita|title='All Dogs Go to Heaven' (G)|work=New York Times|date=November 17, 1989|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/alldogsgotoheaven.htm|access-date=October 20, 2015|archive-date=August 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817214208/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/alldogsgotoheaven.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Carr|first=Jay|title=All Dogs Go to Heaven Review|work=Boston Globe|date=November 17, 1989}}</ref> given the film's depictions of death, violence, theft, drinking, smoking, gambling, murder, demons, and images of Hell. Other reviews were mostly positive, with critics praising the film's emotional qualities, humor, and vibrant color palette.<ref name=Ebert>{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=All Dogs Go to Heaven Movie Review|publisher=RogerEbert.com|date=November 17, 1989|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/all-dogs-go-to-heaven-1989|access-date=October 20, 2015|archive-date=October 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026161742/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/all-dogs-go-to-heaven-1989|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kehr|first=Dave|title=All Dogs Go to Heaven Review |work=Chicago Tribune |date=November 17, 1989}}</ref> Roger Ebert, who was unimpressed with Bluth's previous film ''An American Tail'', gave it three out of four stars, remarking that the animation "permits such a voluptuous use of color that the movie is an invigorating bath for the eyes" and that although he preferred ''The Little Mermaid'', which opened on the same day, he still found ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' to be bright and inventive.<ref name=Ebert/> In contrast, film critic [[Leonard Maltin]] gave it one-and-a-half out of four stars, due to unappealing characters, confusing storytelling, and forgettable songs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themoviegeek.com/moviedetail.php?id=1039 |title=Movie Detail: All Dogs Go to Heaven |access-date=October 26, 2015 |publisher=The Movie Geek |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080934/http://www.themoviegeek.com/moviedetail.php?id=1039 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Common Sense Media]] was concerned about the depictions of illegal drug usage and excessive dark thematic elements in a family oriented movie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/all-dogs-go-to-heaven|title=All Dogs Go To Heaven|work=[[Common Sense Media]]|date=8 September 2009|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-date=24 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824054417/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/all-dogs-go-to-heaven|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Box office ===
Dissatisfied with the terms imposed by [[Universal Pictures]], which had distributed their previous two films, the studio found an alternative distributor in [[United Artists]]. Somewhat unusually, production investors Goldcrest Films covered the cost of the [[release print]]s and the promotional campaign, in return for a greatly reduced distribution fee from UA. This was similar to the arrangement with United Artists when they distributed Bluth's first feature film, ''The Secret of NIMH''. Goldcrest Films invested $15 million in print and promotion. Due to contractual issues, very little tie-in merchandise accompanied the film's theatrical release;<ref name="cawley_dogs"/> [[All Dogs Go to Heaven (video game)|a computer game adaptation]] for the [[Amiga|Commodore Amiga]] system (with a free software package) was released, and restaurant chain [[Wendy's]] offered toys with their Kids' Meals or regular fries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/186/ |title=Wendy's All Dogs Go to Heaven Toys |publisher=Retro Junk |access-date=October 20, 2015 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606172606/http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/186/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The film opened in North America on November 17, 1989, concurrent with Disney's 28th full-length animated motion picture ''The Little Mermaid''; once again, Sullivan Bluth would be vying for box-office receipts with Disney, just as their last two films (''An American Tail'' and ''The Land Before Time'') had. On its theatrical release, the film was only moderately successful as its  performance fell short of the studio's previous box-office successes, grossing $27 million in North America alone, just over half of what ''An American Tail'' and ''The Land Before Time'' each took.<ref name="boxoffice">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-numbers.com/people/directors/DBLU.php|title=Don Bluth - Box Office|publisher=The Numbers|access-date=October 20, 2015|archive-date=December 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105623/http://www.the-numbers.com/people/directors/DBLU.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

This would be Bluth's final box office hit until [[Anastasia (1997 film)|''Anastasia'']] was released eight years later in 1997, which ended up becoming his highest-grossing film.