A film in the vein of numerous other adaptations of Charles Dickens’ classic novel, All Dogs Christmas Carol roots the holiday morality tale in the franchise’s world (the show in particular). The shortest of the films and direct to video (even All Dogs 2 debuting in theatres!), how well will this match up to its predecessors in tone and story?
Things start off in heaven with puppy angels (with a dark realization that they died at that age) going to story-time with Annabelle. She draws them in with the promise of an exciting story of how Charlie and Itchy saved Christmas from her evil cousin Belladonna (from the show).
In San Francisco, the dogs are preparing for Christmas (with the TV show continuity in that Charlie and Sasha aren’t dating), the puppies disappointed at the “tropical snow” in the form of popcorn, but placated by presents from Itchy. Charlie and Sasha discuss how poor injured pup Timmy needs money for his operation, but things get ugly when Carface and Killer (Charles Nelson Reilly returning!) arrive.
They aim to collect debts from the dogs, using an evil dog whistle to force them to give all their bones. To add insult to injury, they even take the toys, food and Timmy’s operation funds. Charlie and Itchy promise to get it back, Sasha taking Timmy to his owner Martha.
Meanwhile, in a terrible disguise from the first movie (more bumbling than before too), Charlie and Itchy try and fail to infiltrate Carface’s hideout from All Dogs 2. After they crash into the house (the antagonists surprisingly savvy at stopping our heroes) they learn that Belladonna is behind the plan, intending to ruin Christmas and giving Carface and Killer profit from the hypnotized canines.
Charlie points out it’s too small to affect everyone, Belladonna revealing that she has a bigger version hidden somewhere, even her flunkies unaware of its location. Fire imps summoned by the devil dog chase Charlie and Itchy into the sewers. They meet Annabelle aboveground, reflected in a Christmas ornament, who gives them a miracle dog tag to help them acquire the whistle (but not just find it, since they have a pattern to follow)
Charlie wonders what to do, Itchy commenting that Carface is too much of a Scrooge to change, inspiring Charlie to concoct a scam related to said character.
Carface, irritated at Christmas (and Hanukkah) specials, kicks Killer out of his room, wanting to sleep before their midnight heist. But before he goes to bed, Charlie’s scheme begins by mixing “It’s a Wonderful Life” with “A Christmas Carol,” communicating through the TV that 3 spirits will visit Carface
Itchy is the first, taking Carface to the past, where he’s reminded of his family life, particularly his mother, who loved him in spite of his bad behavior.
We shift over to his first human family, who eventually had to give up on Carface after his destructive tendencies (peeing on the Christmas tree in particular) became too much. The criminal dog sings about how he lost his trust in people after the boy, originally covering for him, didn’t do so that night. He left the house and became a criminal, also explaining his hatred for Christmas, kicking Itchy out of his dream
Charlie assures Itchy they can still do this, even with Carface madder than before, the pair looking on at Alcatraz, clearly where Belladonna is, surrounded by evil red clouds
Sasha is the 2nd ghost, showing Carface how Killer enjoys Christmas, even getting his boss a blowtorch as a present, as the minion croons about how much he likes the holidays (also suggesting he has a family?), Belladonna also chiming in, both still clearly evil
Back at Martha and Timmy’s place, the puppy breaks a plate when playing with a stocking. But Martha takes the blame when her mother asks about it, stunning Carface. Timmy admits his wrongdoing, the mother forgiving him, Carface bewildered at the kindness
Sasha explains that the family is poor and Timmy, without proper medical help, will die this Christmas, Carface thinking they should help, feeling some sympathy for the pup
But after waking up, Carface recants, saying he’s not scared of the ghosts. A mouse causes a die to fall in a bucket, giving us the last bell (because time constraints and getting around clichés) Carface sucked into a comic speaking about his evil deeds
He’s guided to the bar by the Ghost of Christmas Future, where everyone’s toasting to Carface as we learn he’s dead (surprisingly callous about his passing). Charlie then reveals himself with a dapper jazz outfit and has an upbeat song about how Carface can still redeem himself.
The scene then shifts to Timmy, Carface seeing him and other dogs manipulated by Belladonna’s whistle in the near future. As Carface realizes he was wrong, he and Killer are taken away by Belladonna as midnight grows closer
Charlie, Sasha and Itchy, realizing they can’t just expect Carface to do the right thing, head off to find Belladonna, but give up after a brief search off-screen (painfully lazy protagonists!)
Belladonna gloats at her plan, nobody suspecting that the whistle is on Alcatraz (because no one can see the red storm of evil?), her imps pushing Carface and Killer to help with setup. Carface reluctantly pulls the switch, lightning powering the engine and the dogs of the city manipulated by the evil green energy.
But Carface, finally feeling guilt and regret, turns the lever off again, Belladonna forcing him to turn it back by force and melting the controls. He then rushes up the stairs, grabbing the wire connected to the kite drawing the lightning and zapping himself and the machine, destroying it.
Belladonna is stopped by Annabelle (perfect timing), saying Carface has chosen good over evil. She uses a cloud to rain snow on the fire imps and as Belladonna tries to chase Carface and Killer, a mass falls on the devil dog as she disappears
Carface and Killer are sent back into the city by Annabelle, who congratulates them, the puppies happy to see real snow.
Charlie and the others are delighted at Carface saving Christmas, the former scrooge appearing to give presents with Killer (in reindeer gear pulling the sleigh). He even added more gifts to the bag and gave Timmy extra money for his operation, leaving to see his mom as the film concludes with Timmy saying that classic phrase he’s known for
Charlie, Itchy and Sasha, even as the heroes, are more supporting cast, Carface getting the development here, as an Ebeneezer Scrooge parallel, learning to appreciate Christmas more after the three ghosts show him the error of his ways.
Belladonna is the antagonist, reprising her role from the series as a replacement for Red. She’s not especially deep with her stereotypical devilish motivations and unlike Red, doesn’t even have the appeal of a Faustian contract, just actual evil to contrast with Carface
There are some oddly catchy, if a bit silly, songs, the first the worst in terms of being an obnoxious faux-Christmas song that gets mini-reprises throughout and the others intended to show character traits, working better for the film’s tone
It has that “Christmas spirit” as expected for an adaptation of A Christmas Carol and doesn’t fit with the previous 2 films, though if you wanted something like the show, this is right up your alley and works well in tone, like a 3 part special that they converted for direct-to-video.
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