Former Disney animator Don Bluth was on a roll with his animated movies during the 80s, rounding off the successes of An American Tail and The Land Before Time with All Dogs Go to Heaven. It would be the last box office hit for Bluth until Anastasia hit theaters in 1997.

The story revolves around Charlie B. Barkin, a German Shepherd mix living in Depression-era New Orleans. Charlie is a tough dog with loads of charm and makes his living in the doggie underworld, running a casino with fellow gangster dog Carface Carruthers, a vicious bulldog. Carface gets greedy and eliminates his partner by running him over with a car during Mardi Gras (oh, the irony).

Charlie finds himself in heaven, which is the default destination of dead dogs because they "are naturally good and loyal and kind." Kindness aside, Charlie wants to take revenge on his old partner and asks to be returned to Earth. He carries with him a "life watch" that will keep him alive unless it stops ticking; if the watch stops, Charlie dies again and this time he will go to hell.

The resurrected dog reunites with his old pal Itchy, a nervous Dachshund, and they establish a rival gambling establishment to Carface's casino. Charlie sees a better opportunity to ruin Carface when he discovers that the bulldog is keeping a little girl, Anne-Marie, prisoner in order to exploit her gift. The little orphan has the ability to speak to animals and that gives Carface an edge when gambling on races. Charlie cons Anne-Marie into coming with him by promising to find her a family, but he just uses her for criminal activities like pick-pocketing.

Anne-Marie wants Charlie to stop his wicked ways and despite himself, Charlie becomes attached to the girl. When Carface kidnaps Anne-Marie and holds her hostage, Charlie rushes to her aid but loses his life watch in the climactic fight aboard on old oil tanker. Faced with the dilemma of rescuing Anne-Marie or his watch, Charlie chooses to save the girl and as the watch fills with water, Charlie dies again.

Charlie's spirit sticks around to say goodbye to his little human friend before descending to hell, but an angelic emissary--the Heavenly Whippet--tells him that his self-sacrifice has earned him a place in heaven.

The movie dealt with several dark themes, like gambling, drinking and death, which didn't sit well with many parents. Still, the story was sweet and poignant, showing that redemption is not impossible even for the most rakish rogue, be he human or canine.