15 dog movies ranked by how much you’ll cry

7. All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

All Dogs Go to Heaven is about a German Shepherd named Charlie whose former business partner in a casino has him killed. He goes to Heaven, steals the watch that stopped with his life, rewinds it, and returns to Earth. He does this with the understanding that if he dies again, he won’t go back to Heaven. On Earth, he reconnects with his best friend Itchy and finds an orphan girl named Anne-Marie who can talk to animals. What follows is one of the saddest animated films ever. Charlie grapples with the consequences of his lifestyle and how his actions affect others — especially Itchy and Anne-Marie.

As the title implies, All Dogs Go to Heaven is ultimately about the fact that all dogs are very good boys and girls, although some of the dogs in this film are hard to love. Charlie’s redemption arc, at the very least, is worthwhile, but several points in this movie are absolute tearjerkers. Anne-Marie’s treatment is awful, especially because Charlie and Itchy are her only friends, and the greed that Charlie and Carface have puts her in serious danger.

If you’ve ever watched All Dogs Go to Heaven and not cried, I’m impressed. The final scene where Charlie says goodbye to Anne-Marie and apologizes for what he did still makes me weepy, and seeing him in ghost form is especially heartbreaking even after everything. Plus, dog movies where the dogs die are inherently sad. Always.

Likelihood of making you cry: 6/10