Post by dpstq on May 26, 2011 20:56:54 GMT -5
In one way or another, you have come across this name somewhere, someplace and wanted to explore the context of this film because of it’s very name. Since this is a title you don’t see everyday and yet it’s intriguing enough to catch the attention of anybody from any walk of life.
The creation of something like All Dogs Go To Heaven is a interesting one, a combination of the art-form of animation and religion. Go up to any person and tell them what would come out of mixing of these two ideas and most likely there answer would be “a movie about one of the many religious stories made for kids”. But for All Dogs Go To Heaven, this is not the case.
I have been a fan of this series since I was little and was always excited to see another instalment in this interesting story. A story about dogs who act like humans, but who go through the ups and downs of life and are played out in the average good vs. evil tales that we all know to well. In the pass five years I have gain a interest in philosophy & famous thinkers and have explored a lot since, this also includes religion. With all of this knowledge in my head I’m always on the look out for any works of art that would have some type of subtext to them. One day after seeing All Dogs Go To Heaven as both films and television show, I ask myself “Does All Dogs recognize and embrace the major religions” ?
On one hand, anyone of any belief can watch All Dogs and see that there is a certain belief at work, working in the context of the story or a event that happens to a character’s development.
Look at what the main the character, Charlie B. Barkin goes through and see the belief ideas that crosses paths with him.
Incarnation is a belief hold in high regards in Buddhism and Hinduism, the idea that one’s soul will not be free from a world of evil, until they understand and live a life of sincere admiration, if not they doomed to live the same life over and over again. If you look at Charlie Barkin’s journey he comes back to life a number of times, while trying to be a good soul along the way. You can also see Islam at work, if you see the first movie you’ll see that drinking & gambling are present in the characters daily life's and Islam is strongly against that type of life style.
Those where a few specific ideas I could point out. But that doesn't mean that other faiths are not as well. Main ideas that can be found in every religion are in the story of All Dogs Go To Heaven, redemption, forgiving, love others, having faith, ect. With this said, All Dogs dose not take a side with one group, but more so accept the idea of faith as a whole and doesn't really skin deep into religious faith as most people might think, which leads into my other point.
All Dogs Go To Heaven dosen’t use religion as a way to get a message across and do it a religious obvious way, it uses religion more as a style. We my see images like heaven, angels, devils, and flying talking dogs, but this is use to give All Dogs it’s identity from other animated works. This iconography is being use as wallpaper and it never gets any deeper then that.
So what kind creation are we looking at ? Can All Dogs Go To Heaven be called a religious or non-religious piece of work ? With a question like that, I would look at the intention of the creator of All Dogs, Don Bluth. While Mr. Bluth calls himself a Christian and All Dogs Go To Heaven was his idea, never do we see sings of Christianity in All Dogs Go To Heaven. In fact, through the years as All Dogs was taken over by other film and television makers, they never put the images or text of a cross, Christ, Krishna, swami, Dalai Lama, Star of David, or Qur’an in All Dogs.
Some might say that All Dogs is Christian because it came from America and that it has a Christmas Carol tied to it. But don’t forget that anything animated gets a Christmas show by default.
I believe that what makes All Dogs Go To Heaven unique is that it is an example of religion being more open-minded. Religion is being recognize as a style of story telling, but not told from the point of view of one group and keeping in mind that there is a much bigger picture here when talking about this type of topic. Made in such a way that no matter who you are or where your from, you end with the same type of experience and understanding. Like Mahatma Gandhi said “The soul of religions is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms. Religions are different roads converging on the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads as long as we reach the same goal ? In reality, there are as many religions as there are individuals.”
It has been told that when All Dogs was released on video, it was and still is one of the most selling videos of all time. I can’t believe that one group was the cause of this, when having a title like All Dogs Go To Heaven, it would make anyone wonder, even if your a person of faith or not.
The creation of something like All Dogs Go To Heaven is a interesting one, a combination of the art-form of animation and religion. Go up to any person and tell them what would come out of mixing of these two ideas and most likely there answer would be “a movie about one of the many religious stories made for kids”. But for All Dogs Go To Heaven, this is not the case.
I have been a fan of this series since I was little and was always excited to see another instalment in this interesting story. A story about dogs who act like humans, but who go through the ups and downs of life and are played out in the average good vs. evil tales that we all know to well. In the pass five years I have gain a interest in philosophy & famous thinkers and have explored a lot since, this also includes religion. With all of this knowledge in my head I’m always on the look out for any works of art that would have some type of subtext to them. One day after seeing All Dogs Go To Heaven as both films and television show, I ask myself “Does All Dogs recognize and embrace the major religions” ?
On one hand, anyone of any belief can watch All Dogs and see that there is a certain belief at work, working in the context of the story or a event that happens to a character’s development.
Look at what the main the character, Charlie B. Barkin goes through and see the belief ideas that crosses paths with him.
Incarnation is a belief hold in high regards in Buddhism and Hinduism, the idea that one’s soul will not be free from a world of evil, until they understand and live a life of sincere admiration, if not they doomed to live the same life over and over again. If you look at Charlie Barkin’s journey he comes back to life a number of times, while trying to be a good soul along the way. You can also see Islam at work, if you see the first movie you’ll see that drinking & gambling are present in the characters daily life's and Islam is strongly against that type of life style.
Those where a few specific ideas I could point out. But that doesn't mean that other faiths are not as well. Main ideas that can be found in every religion are in the story of All Dogs Go To Heaven, redemption, forgiving, love others, having faith, ect. With this said, All Dogs dose not take a side with one group, but more so accept the idea of faith as a whole and doesn't really skin deep into religious faith as most people might think, which leads into my other point.
All Dogs Go To Heaven dosen’t use religion as a way to get a message across and do it a religious obvious way, it uses religion more as a style. We my see images like heaven, angels, devils, and flying talking dogs, but this is use to give All Dogs it’s identity from other animated works. This iconography is being use as wallpaper and it never gets any deeper then that.
So what kind creation are we looking at ? Can All Dogs Go To Heaven be called a religious or non-religious piece of work ? With a question like that, I would look at the intention of the creator of All Dogs, Don Bluth. While Mr. Bluth calls himself a Christian and All Dogs Go To Heaven was his idea, never do we see sings of Christianity in All Dogs Go To Heaven. In fact, through the years as All Dogs was taken over by other film and television makers, they never put the images or text of a cross, Christ, Krishna, swami, Dalai Lama, Star of David, or Qur’an in All Dogs.
Some might say that All Dogs is Christian because it came from America and that it has a Christmas Carol tied to it. But don’t forget that anything animated gets a Christmas show by default.
I believe that what makes All Dogs Go To Heaven unique is that it is an example of religion being more open-minded. Religion is being recognize as a style of story telling, but not told from the point of view of one group and keeping in mind that there is a much bigger picture here when talking about this type of topic. Made in such a way that no matter who you are or where your from, you end with the same type of experience and understanding. Like Mahatma Gandhi said “The soul of religions is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms. Religions are different roads converging on the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads as long as we reach the same goal ? In reality, there are as many religions as there are individuals.”
It has been told that when All Dogs was released on video, it was and still is one of the most selling videos of all time. I can’t believe that one group was the cause of this, when having a title like All Dogs Go To Heaven, it would make anyone wonder, even if your a person of faith or not.
