Oliver & Company (1988)
This animated take on Oliver Twist re-imagines Oliver as an adorable orphaned kitten who struggles to survive in New York City and falls in with a band of canine criminals led by an evil human. First, Oliver meets Dodger, a carefree mutt with street savoir faire. But when Oliver meets wealthy Jenny on one of the gang's thieving missions, his life changes forever.
- George Scribner
- Bill Perkins
- Jim Cox
- Tim Disney
- James Mangold
- Charles Dickens
- Roger Allers
- Vance Gerry
- Mike Gabriel
- Joe Ranft
- Jim Mitchell
- Chris Bailey
- Kirk Wise
- David Michener
- Gary Trousdale
- Kevin Lima
- Michael Cedeno
- Peter Young
- Leon Joosen
Rating: 6.714/10 by 1564 users
Alternative Title:
Oliver e seus Companheiros - PT
Oliver and Company - US
Oliver och gänget - SE
Disneys 27 Oliver & Company - GB
Óliver og félagar - IS
Oliver und Co - DE
Oliver et Compagnie - FR
Oliver & Gjengen - NO
Oliver i kompanija - HR
Oliver & Compagnie - FR
Oliver Company - US
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 14 minutes
Budget: $31,000,000
Revenue: $121,000,000
Plot Keyword: new york city, based on novel or book, butler, villain, musical, poodle, dog, kitten, doberman, great dane, absent parent, chihuahua dog
I suppose it was only a matter of time before this classic Charles Dickens story got the Disney treatment - but given that it's completely devoid of any darkness or eeriness, this rather too cheerful and vibrant pet-fest doesn't really work for me. The eponymous kitten is adopted by a gang of dogs that, much like "Fagin's Boys" in the book, engage in a bit of petty crime for their boss "Fagin" who, himself, lives in terror of the malevolent "Sykes". When the latter cottons on that "Oliver" has been adopted into a wealthy home, he insists that "Fagin" enact a trap to lure "Jenny" from her luxury mansion so he can ransom her back to her dad. It falls to "Oliver" and his canine companions to thwart this dastardly plan. You can't really fault the quality of the animation and an array of musicians including Barry Manilow and Dan Hartman are behind the songs that won't exactly stick in your mind afterwards, but that do help to keep this amiable production rolling along. Sadly, though, it's all just way too predictably light and fluffy and takes just a little too much of a factory approach to one of the more substantial stories of English literature. Younger kids may like it though - it's pretty joyous and extols the virtues of loyalty, team playing and friendship and it's not without the odd laugh to two.
