Spoilers Off applies to all "Moments" pages, so all spoilers are unmarked.
The 1989 original
"Goodbye, Charlie. I love you."
- Charlie's last good-bye to Anne Marie. It's the saddest yet most heartwarming part of the whole film because of how real the love between them is.Anne-Marie: Good-bye, Charlie. I love you.Charlie: Yeah. I love you too.
- After spending the whole movie being a sarcastic, greedy, arrogant, unrepentant jerk, Charlie tells Anne Marie that he's sorry for what he put her through and means every word of it, as evidenced by the tears running down his face. Not only does he redeem himself by saving her life, the last thing he gets to do before ascending to heaven is the one thing he never got to do when he was alive: apologize.
- The very minor fact that the devil was at least nice enough to let Charlie return to Anne Marie and apologize, right before the Whippet Angel allows him back into heaven.
- It's subtle (it probably wasn't even intentional), but Anne Marie sounds like she knows what Charlie's talking about when he says he has to go away now and accepts it for what it is. Made even sadder knowing that Judith Barsi was already waiting for Charlie in heaven before the movie came out.
- Itchy, who spends the whole movie treating Anne Marie like The Load, willingly taking Charlie's mantle as her comforter and friend, tucking her doll into her arms and laying his head close to hers protectively. Anne-Marie promises Charlie to always take care of Itchy for him.
- This also means that Charlie redeems himself in another way by fulfilling his promises to his two best friends. He finds Anne-Marie parents and Itchy is now safe from Carface.
- Charlie also decides not to wake Itchy up, lest he traumatize him even more by seeing his best friend as a ghost. Whether he should have or not is another argument (as Itchy appears to have cried himself to sleep), but he's definitely safer than he's ever been, so Charlie decides to let this sleeping dog lie.
- The fact that all of this leads to Charlie regaining his place in heaven. He literally earns his happy ending. And since all dogs go to heaven, that says something.
- The Running Gag of Charlie getting disgusted when Anne Marie kisses him on the nose concluding with him happily accepting it here.
- Instead of telling Anne-Marie that he's saying goodbye for good, Charlie tells her that he's going on a little trip, reassuring her that he's going to see her again someday, because "you know goodbyes aren't forever."
- When Anne-Marie wakes up and sees Charlie, she's happy to see him again. Considering that their last major interaction before the climax was her finding out that he never intended to find her a mom and dad like he promised...it shows that she's forgiven him.
- After spending the whole movie being a sarcastic, greedy, arrogant, unrepentant jerk, Charlie tells Anne Marie that he's sorry for what he put her through and means every word of it, as evidenced by the tears running down his face. Not only does he redeem himself by saving her life, the last thing he gets to do before ascending to heaven is the one thing he never got to do when he was alive: apologize.
- Itchy's complete dedication to Charlie, begrudgingly following his lead even when he knows it'll get them in trouble or worse. Why? "Because... because you're my friend."
- Itchy telling Charlie that keeping Anne-Marie isn't business any more and that he's in love with her. Charlie denies it, only because Itchy is accusing him of letting his emotions get in the way, but as we see at the end, Itchy is completely right.
- Though "What's Mine Is Yours" is often criticized for being way too cutesy, it's still the first time we see Charlie's kinder side, bringing some hungry puppies food and then teaching them about sharing. While the sharing lesson is rather half-assed — it's mostly being done because Anne Marie is watching — his fondness for the puppies is sincere.
- Even the aptly named Big-Lipped Alligator Moment is kind of sweet. Despite his (and the audience's) initial confusion, Charlie eventually rolls with it and sings merrily with King Gator. Not to mention, the whole thing manages to save Anne Marie from being eaten. It also leads to King Gator returning at the climax to defeat Carface once and for all.
- A small one, but the whole reason The Grand Chawhee wins the first betted horse race, despite all odds against him, is because the other horses slow down and push him towards the finish line first. Why? Because it's his birthday.
- Charlie dancing with the Heavenly Whippet. The guy oozes charm the whole time.
- Charlie winking at the audience saying "He'll be back" in The Stinger as Carface is chased down by the heavenly whippet. While it's obviously a joke, it almost feels like he's reassuring us that this is the end of their mortality, but not their adventures. For better or worse, he was right.
- Plus, given that Charlie was able to return to heaven even after being told the same thing, the final line "He'll be back" could also mean that redemption for Carface is not only possible, but inevitable. After all, all dogs go to heaven.
- The implication that Anne Marie and Itchy wind up Happily Adopted by Kate and Harold. They could be forgiven for assuming that Anne Marie is a scam artist child, judging by both their first and second impressions (The first time they meet her, she and a dog are making a scene and steal Harold's wallet. The second time, she returns the wallet and then slips out the window after getting a free breakfast), but make no hesitation to follow her dog when he shows up at their front door, doll in mouth, to come to her aid, bringing them both home and putting them to bed.
- Just the three words from Annabelle that close the movie proper...(A heavenly glow emits from Anne Marie's window)
Annabelle: Charlie...come home. - The end title theme "Love Survives"
is dedicated in memory of Judith Barsi who was tragically murdered by her father after all her lines in the movie were recorded (18 months before the film's release).
All Dogs Go To Heaven 2
Wherever they go, they will always be best friends in life.
- Itchy may not be returning to earth with his best friend, but at least he's finally somewhere where his short legs aren't a burden to him. Also, unlike the first film, he and Charlie get to bid farewell to each other with the latter respecting his wishes to remain in heaven.
- The brief reprise of "It's So Heavenly Here" during Charlie and Sasha's Big Damn Kiss. It's so utterly corny and dumb, it's adorable.
- David calling his stepmother "Mom".
- "I Will Always Be With You" DEFINITELY qualifies, especially the end-credits version, which is a beautifully-performed country-style ballad by Helen Darling and Danny Frazier.
- This surprisingly sweet gag from the beginning: one of the dogs waiting on Heaven's newest arrivals is a chihuahua who appears to have been waiting a long, long time for his partner to show up. She's first in line, and although she's tripled in weight, they couldn't be happier to see one another.
- Charlie appears to be waiting for somebody as well. Who? His overjoyed cry is enough, "ITCHY!!!"
- "My Afghan Hairless", another gag with a little more heart in it. Underneath all that off-key caterwauling, it's just a little Yorkshire Terrier singing about how much he loves his wife and doesn't care what anyone says about their relationship.
- While Charlie continuously shirks his responsibilities, it is specifically to look out for David, showing he retains his love for kids since Anne Marie. He also sacrifices his miracle so Sasha can talk to David.
- Charlie earns a second chance at life and reunites with David and Sasha. Not only that, David manages to adopt the two dogs into his family. After Charlie and Sasha share a Reunion Kiss, they enter the house to start their new lives together.
The TV Series
- Charlie and Itchy's surprisingly cute origin story about how a bad-boy street dog and a mistreated house pet came to be lifelong buds in "When Hairy Met Silly".
- In an episode where Charlie and Itchy are helping a mouse family, Charlie stands up for the mice kids when their mother angrily scolds them for playing with Styrofoam (which she then explains is dangerous to risk being swallowed) and has a relieved smile when she gently hands them the safe alternative of paper, which they happily play with.
- Charlie's closing testimony in "He Barked, She Barked", where he acknowledges the people that supported him and made him a better person throughout the series, admitting he doesn't quite understand their loyalty to him.Charlie: You know, Belladonna is right about me, I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. I guess it's safe to say that I'm not the perfect angel. But before you clip my wings, let me just say that some folks have always believed in me. Like Annabelle, and Itchy, and Sasha. (Mirthless Laughter) Why?? I'd guess you'd call that a "miracle". And miracles feel good.
- Notably in the Rashomon Plot, Itchy's testimony conveys Charlie as exagerratedly heroic, and despite not having a full view of the incident he is adamant that Charlie did the right thing. In spite of all their arguments and constantly bearing witness to Charlie's shortcomings, Itchy still has an incredibly high opinion of Charlie.
- Annabelle spends much of the episode worrying whether Charlie has genuinely forsaken her. When it turns out Belladonna framed Charlie, and she continues dismissing him as no angel, Annabelle angrily shushes her. As expected from a normal episode, Charlie and the other dog angels conclude that it served him right after all his past behaviour, though Annabelle has none of it, apologising for not believing in Charlie and assuring him that she needs an angel like him, as much of a Loveable Rogue of one he may be.
- Even better, it transitions nicely into the Christmas Special, where Charlie doesn't act out and Annabelle lovingly introduces him and Itchy as her "two best guardian angels". It took two films and a whole TV series, but Character Development finally stuck between Charlie and Annabelle.
- Carface's long-coming Heel–Face Turn at the end of A Christmas Carol. He doesn't just become a nicer person, he saves the world!Carface: (handing out gifts to the pups) "Don't think that this is an every-day thing. I've still got a business to run, you know."
(Sasha gives him a kiss on the cheek)
Sasha: "At least you were sweet for one day."- In spite of all the abuse Carface gives him, Killer sets up a pretty sweet gift and decor for him. Carface, observing through the Ghost of Christmas Present, is rather dumbfounded he'd go to all that trouble.
- Carface does return it later. When he sabotages Belladonna's plan, she angrily demands to know who's responsible. A terrified Carface explains "It was....my fault", even hugging Killer. He becomes grouchy around Killer again quickly afterwards but still, in the moment, Carface does care about his right hand dog.
