I've watched this movie dozens of times throughout my life and have always enjoyed it. But my understanding of it has changed significantly over time. For instance, it wasn't until watching it last year that I finally realized the story was about mafioso dogs who murder one another for power whilst exploiting children for gambling profits. In a kid's movie? Just how is a kid supposed to understand all this?
Well the fact is they don't. They like the heroes because they are cute and funny, they sympathize with the girl because she is sad, they hate the villain because he is ugly and frightening. That is all a six year old needs to enjoy this kind of film. They won't notice all those explicit themes an adult can and would worry about, so there is no problem exposing kids to this sort of content. It just means that adults can enjoy a cross between The Cannonball Run and The Godfather whilst kids enjoy the colours and sounds. Whenever a critic whines about a kid's film containing themes too mature or complex for children, they are perfectly right. But that changes jack shit. All Dogs Go To Heaven is a great movie that can be enjoyed by all generations. Watch it again every few years and it'll have a different meaning each time. That is more that can be said for the likes of Madagascar, which will always be about prat falls and kooky expressions, whatever your age.
For kids, apparently
I've watched this movie dozens of times throughout my life and have always enjoyed it. But my understanding of it has changed significantly over time. For instance, it wasn't until watching it last year that I finally realized the story was about mafioso dogs who murder one another for power whilst exploiting children for gambling profits. In a kid's movie? Just how is a kid supposed to understand all this?
Well the fact is they don't. They like the heroes because they are cute and funny, they sympathize with the girl because she is sad, they hate the villain because he is ugly and frightening. That is all a six year old needs to enjoy this kind of film. They won't notice all those explicit themes an adult can and would worry about, so there is no problem exposing kids to this sort of content. It just means that adults can enjoy a cross between The Cannonball Run and The Godfather whilst kids enjoy the colours and sounds. Whenever a critic whines about a kid's film containing themes too mature or complex for children, they are perfectly right. But that changes jack shit. All Dogs Go To Heaven is a great movie that can be enjoyed by all generations. Watch it again every few years and it'll have a different meaning each time. That is more that can be said for the likes of Madagascar, which will always be about prat falls and kooky expressions, whatever your age.