The film was produced at Sullivan Bluth Studios in Dublin, Ireland, funded by UK-based investors Goldcrest Films. On its cinema release it competed directly with an animated feature released at the same time, The Little Mermaid produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. While it did not repeat the box-office success of Sullivan Bluth’s previous feature films (The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail and The Land Before Time) it was very successful on home video, becoming one of the biggest-selling VHS releases ever. The film inspired a theatrical sequel, a television series and a Christmas direct-to-video film.

Plot

In 1939 New Orleans, Charlie B. Barkin, a rough-and-tumble German Shepherd mix (voiced by Burt Reynolds) with a con man’s charm, is working at a casino with his gangster Bulldog business partner Carface Carruthers. Carface, unwilling to share the earnings, has Charlie locked away at the pound and runs the casino with an iron fist, but with the help of his best friend Itchy (voiced by Dom DeLuise), a nervous Dachshund, he breaks out. Unaware of Carface’s malicious intent, Charlie returns full of ideas about changing their business, but Carface wants to sever ties with him. To get Charlie out of the picture for good, Carface arranges his death. He takes Charlie out to Mardi Gras, gets him drunk and runs him down with a car, knocking him into the river.

Having died, Charlie goes to Heaven by default, despite not having done a single nice thing in his life; as the angelic Heavenly Whippet explains, “unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind”. Dissatisfied at having died before his time, Charlie takes back his “life watch” (a glowing pocket watch) and winds it up again, forsaking his place in Heaven and returning himself to Earth. While he has been returned to life, and cannot die while his life watch still ticks, when it does stop he will be condemned to Hell for eternity (as the Heavenly Whippet says through the watch, “You can never come back”).

Back on Earth Charlie reunites with Itchy and plots his revenge against Carface by setting up a rival business, “Charlie’s Place”. Itchy is reluctant to cooperate, fearing retribution not only from Carface but also a “monster” he has heard Carface possesses. Upon investigation, Charlie discovers the “monster” is in fact an orphan named Anne-Marie who Carface has been harboring because of her ability to communicate with animals, giving Carface the advantage when gambling on races. Seeing the potential to use Anne-Marie’s gift for his own gain, Charlie decides to take her, promising he will only use her abilities to do good and that he will find her a family. Ever the con-artist though, Charlie has no intention of doing so, and continues with his criminal ways, pickpocketing a married couple while Anne-Marie unwittingly helps divert their attention. When Anne-Marie finds out, she is furious. His conscience pricked, Charlie begins to worry about his fate, and that night suffers a nightmare where he is banished to Hell and is encountered by a monstrous, doglike version of the Devil and its minions. The nightmare ends with the Devil saying to Charlie, “You can never go back!”

The next morning, Charlie wakes to find Anne-Marie has left to return the wallet he stole, and goes after her. He finds her eating breakfast with the couple in their home, and the couple planning to take Anne-Marie in. Realising he is about to lose his trump card in his revenge against Carface, Charlie tricks Anne-Marie into leaving by pretending to be sick. As they leave, they are ambushed by Carface and his sidekick Killer. Hiding in a dilapidated warehouse, they fall through the crumbling floor and into a flooded underground cavern. There they are captured by a tribe of mice who plan to sacrifice them to King Gator. Moments from being devoured, Charlie lets out a melodic howl of anguish. King Gator, a camp character with a penchant for musical theatre-style songs, instantly develops a liking for Charlie’s voice and sets him and Anne-Marie free. Unfortunately, their adventure in the flooded underground caverns has left Anne-Marie sick with pneumonia.

Meanwhile Carface, still out to get Charlie, storms into Charlie’s Place with his thugs, assaults Itchy and sets fire to the establishment. When Charlie returns, Itchy is angry at him for paying more attention to Anne-Marie instead of being there to help his oldest friend. Charlie, in frustration, replies that he is only using her (despite having obviously grown to care deeply about her). Unfortunately, Anne-Marie overhears and, despite her illness, rushes heartbroken out into the night. Before long, Carface spots her and recaptures her, taking her to his hideout in an old oil tanker. When Charlie and Itchy realize what has happened, Itchy rounds up all the dogs in the neighborhood and heads to the married couple’s house to alert them to Anne-Marie’s plight, while Charlie heads for Carface’s hideout to confront him and rescue the girl.

At Carface’s hideout, Charlie fights his way through a horde of henchmen, but soon gets captured and tied to an anchor, ready to be thrown into the water. As he struggles, Charlie gets bitten and lets out a piercing howl; King Gator hears the voice and rushes to his aid. Just as Charlie is about to drown, King Gator frees him and begins tearing the oil tanker apart. Charlie confronts Carface in a deadly battle while the ship breaks apart around them. With the shaking and shuddering, the cage holding Anne-Marie falls into the river, and some oil barrels get knocked over, which causes the oil to spill onto the electric generator and starts a fire. Charlie goes to save Anne-Marie, but Carface leaps on him and knocks his precious life watch, the only thing keeping him alive, onto the debris floating on the water. Just as Carface is about to deliver a killing bite to Charlie, King Gator rams the ship again. Carface tumbles into the water where he is chased away (and possibly eaten) by King Gator. Charlie leaps to save both his life watch and Anne-Marie, but is unable to get to both in time; faced with the choice, he saves the girl. His watch sinks to the bottom of the river, its workings fill with water and it stops. At this point Charlie drowns trying to save his watch. On the riverbank, Itchy and the other dogs have led the married couple to the scene. Carface’s former sidekick, Killer, has carried Anne-Marie away from the burning ship to safety.

Some time later, Anne-Marie sleeps at the married couple’s house. Charlie’s spirit returns, escorted by the Devil from his nightmare, to bid her farewell before he is banished to Hell. As the Devil beckons Charlie, a bright blue light enters and drives it away, and the voice of the Heavenly Whippet tells Charlie that his act of self-sacrifice has earned him his place in Heaven again. Charlie says his heartfelt goodbyes to Anne-Marie, and returns to Heaven.

In Heaven, Carface is furious at his untimely death (he had been killed and eaten by King Gator) and, just as Charlie did, he winds up his life clock to return to life, swearing revenge on King Gator. With a wink at the camera, Charlie remarks, “He’ll be back”.