- Experience a magical adventure, filled with friendship, fun and “paws-itively” cool music in the new 20th Anniversary Edition DVD of Walt Disney’s OLIVER AND COMPANY — featuring tail-wagging bonus and new digital mastering! Oliver, a feisty young cat, explores New York in this thrilling animatedic cleverly based on Charles Dickens’ timeless story, OLIVER TWIST — featuring unforge
A timeless classic inspired by Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, Oliver & Company is a fun-filled, action-packed musical adventure voiced and sung by one of the most talented casts in Disney history!
The film artfully blends lovable characters, cool songs, and action-packed adventure into a contemporary classic. Disney’s hip, high-energy tale begins in the concrete canyons of New York City, where Oliver, an adorable orphaned kitten, is befriended by Dodger, a carefree mutt with a certain street savoir faire. The mischievous little cat is welcomed by Dodger’s pack of pickpocket pooches, including dim-witted Einstein, ravishing Rita, and live-wire Tito. This ragtag family of misfits runs into trouble when the evil mastermind Sykes — aided by his two daunting Dobermans — schemes to kidnap the lonely little rich girl who just adopted Oliver! It’s up to the brave kitten and his newfound friends to race to the rescue in an electrifying chase through the city’s subway system. Boasting five outstanding original songs and the musical talents of Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Huey Lewis — and overflowing with brilliant animation, Oliver & Company is a modern masterpiece.Based on Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist,” Disney’s Oliver and Company was one of the first animated features to incorporate computer images with traditional hand-drawn animation and features the music and voice talents of pop-music giants like Billy Joel, Huey Lewis, and Bette Midler. A traditional story set in the modern world, Oliver and Company is the story of a stray kitten who wanders the streets of New York in search of a loving family. When Oliver encounters a street-wise dog named Dodger, the dog begins to teach him about life in the big city and takes him home to his family of street dogs and their master Fagan. Fagan and his dogs Dodger, Tito, Einstein, Francis, and Rita must often resort to thievery just to survive and during a particularly daring caper, Oliver gets separated from the other dogs and winds up meeting Jenny, a young rich girl with a big heart. As Oliver revels in Jenny’s affection and begins to feel like part of her family, the dogs set out to rescue Oliver thinking he’s been kidnapped. Eventually both Oliver and Jenny end up in grave danger and the only way Fagan and his dogs can save them is by doing what’s right. As fresh on its 20th anniversary as it was when it premiered in 1988, this time-tested film appeals to children and adults of all ages. Bonus features include the Mickey Mouse and Pluto shorts “Lend a Paw” and “Puss Café” as well as a 5-1/2-minute making of featurette in which director George Scribner and animator Glen Kean describe the then brand new technique of blending computer and hand-drawn animation. Also included are sing-along versions of “Why Should I Worry? and “Streets of Gold,” an interactive game, fun film facts, and an Oliver and Company scrapbook featuring concept art, storyboards, and publicity materials. –Tami Horiuchi
Buy “Oliver and Company “ For Only $7.42
March 5, 2010
#1
this disney non-classic(it was part of disney’s dark age) is widely consideered to be the worst disney toon. Leonard maltin called it ” the grittiest of all the disney movies” he was far from wrong. This film isnt a poor film, its only fair. I guess all good things do happen after bad things. This film was so bad, that it made sense that ” The little mermaid” came after it. That was a four star movie. Oliver and company is 2 stars.
March 5, 2010
#2
Back in the late eighties I recall seeing the trailer for Oliver and Company and I got caught up in the hype. Unfortunatly, I didn’t have the money to see the film and it was never released to video after it’s debut. So when the film had it’s re-issue you bet I was quick to see it. I expected an exciting story, great eighties music, and stunning animation. Instead I got cartoon music, overly cute acting, and a poor story. Disney had stapled this film as appealing to the teenage crowd. How? This is most defintely a kid movie. The music was not contempory to its time and the human characters lacked a lot to be desired. Here is what I expected (and in detail!). Great eighties music, a strong gangster villian (preferably Italian), and a guy down on his luck who you could relate to instead of a bumbling bum. But sigh…they had to throw in a cute girl and singing birds. Sigh…
March 5, 2010
#3
I happen to be a huge Disney fan but no one can deny the studio was at its all-time low (their only low, actually) during the 70′s and most of the 80′s. Of all the animated Disney features of that era, The Fox and the Hound is the only one worth mentioning. However, the worst one must be “Oliver & Company” (equaled with The Aristocats). Poor quality animation, substandard songs and a weak plot make this among the worst Disney movies ever made. One cannot believe this is the same studio that only a year later brought the masterful The Little Mermaid with its stunningly detailed animation, lush colors and appealing music.
March 5, 2010
#4
Disney’s retelling of _Oliver Twist_ contains equal parts street smarts and kiddie schmaltz. Although the film starts out with energy and attitude to spare, it slowly runs out of steam.
The film is worth a rental for the terrific voice talent: Billy Joel as a scruffy “Artful Dodger,” Bette Midler as a diva doggie, and Cheech Marin as a bug-eyed chihuahua. Too bad the film’s other characters — including, sadly, the nominal protagonist — are so bland and colorless in comparison.
_Oliver & Company_ marks several “firsts” for the Disney studio. It was the first cartoon feature to make extensive use of computer animation. It was also the first Disney film to feature a song with lyrics by Howard Ashman (and for all you trivia buffs, that song is the unmemorable “Once Upon a Time in New York City,” sung by Huey Lewis).
I’ll end this review with a warning: Cheech Marin’s performance takes every negative Hispanoamerican stereotype known to humankind and works it to the wall. Most of the shtick is clearly improvised, a lone-gun variation on Cheech and Chong’s infamous “stoner” comedy of the ’70s and early ’80s. Is it funny? Yes, but it’s still deeply offensive. Buyer beware.
March 5, 2010
#5
I used to like this movie and have the soundtrack, but i forgot what happened. i own this film and its about this cat that gets adopted by these dogs and they try to do something, but i dunt rememeber what. there are these bad guys and these good guys and other plots. one of my favourtes. i havent watched this film in like 5 years….