By Todd Garbarini  

If the plot of Walt Disney’s animated film Oliver and Company (1988) feels or sounds familiar, it should.  It is loosely based upon Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist but this titular character is not a beggar sent to London.  This time around, he’s a cute little kitten set about the busy streets of New York City and tries his best to fit in and survive.  He is “befriended” by Dodger, an older dog who is streetwise and gets Oliver to aid him in scoring food while keeping the goods for himself.  Oliver is understandably miffed by this, but these are the mean streets of New York, after all.  He learns a valuable lesson about trusting others who appear to want to help him.  Dodger is owned by Fagin and is part of a gang comprised of Tito (a Chihuahua), Francis (a Bulldog), Einstein (a Great Dane), and Rita (a Saluki).  Fagin owes money to Sykes, a loan shark who intimidates him with two Doberman Pinschers to keep him in line, and is given three days to pay back the money he borrowed (which he certainly didn’t spend on accoutrements).  In an effort to score some quick cash to help Fagin, Oliver and Tito attempt to burglarize a limousine, only to be caught by a very young girl, Jenny Foxworth, and Winston her Butler.  Jenny epitomizes the Disney “lonely child” (think of Penny from “The Rescuers”) and takes Oliver home.  Jenny is the victim of rich parents who simply don’t have time for, as they are too busy gallivanting the world. She also has a poodle, Georgette, who truly is a stuck-up bitch and becomes extremely jealous of Oliver.  She wants him out of the house, and is only too happy to oblige when Dodger and his friends come to “rescue” Oliver who confesses that he was actually happy living with Penny and the comforts her home afforded him. Shocked and disappointed at this revelation, Dodger shrugs off Oliver and tells him to leave.  This, of course, leaves us with Fagin who gets wind of the fact that Oliver was with a rich family. His wheels begin to turn and he schemes to put out a ransom for Oliver in an effort to reimburse Sykes.  This sets up a series of misadventures and misunderstandings that culminate in the usual Disney happy ending.

Opening on Friday, November 18, 1988, Oliver and Company was met with a lukewarm response. I must admit to being taken aback by some of the lackluster critical notices towards this film. A lot have carped of the predictable nature of the story and that the songs don't measure up to previous Disney outings. While I will admit that the style of animation is much different than the Disney masterpieces (the reputable Nine Old Men who were responsible for the most well-known Disney cartoons of all-time were by this time retired), this is the first Disney cartoon to utilize computers for the background animation designs. If the movie seems predictable, it is due to the fact that it's based upon a well-known piece of literature that has been read and studied for decades. Besides, the film is geared towards children who are probably are at an age where they are completely unfamiliar with the story’s literary origins. It cannot help but feel familiar to adults and it should not be cast aside due to this fact. Most of the animals are appealing, and there is a humorous shot early on in the film where familiar dogs from past Disney cartoons, specifically Lady and the Tramp (1955), are seen on the streets of New York. Disney enthusiasts will pick this up right away.

All of the characters are nicely drawn. Children will love the interaction between animals. Georgia is an interesting creation, and her disposition mirrors that of the female dog in Friz Freleng’s 1942 cartoon Ding Dog Daddy who sarcastically shrugs off a goofy dog who asks her out, turning her nose up at him and walking off.

The film also sports a handful of musical numbers by Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Huey Lewis.

Oliver and Company is now available in a DVD and Blu-ray combo. Needless to say, it looks splendid in high definition. The discs include trailers for the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray combo of The Little Mermaid which will be released in October 2013 in addition to an admonition against the smoking effects of secondhand smoke.

The discs are very light on the bonus features and they include:

The Making of Oliver and Company, a vintage featurette that runs 5:31 and is presented in standard definition. It spends much of its time discussing not only the cast involved in the creation of the characters and songs (such as Cheech Marin, Billy Joel and Bette Midler), but also takes a very interesting look at what was then state-of-the-art computerized animation. This is not animation in the original sense of the word, but rather using a computer to make changes in perspective within the confines of animation cells in the film frame. The hardware was very big and bulky at the time and the software looks extremely archaic to our eyes 25 years hence, but it got the job done.

Disney's Animated Animals runs 89 seconds in length and is a quick overview of the anthropomorphized animals that are featured in the film.

Lend a Paw is an animated short produced by Disney released theatrically by RKO Radio Pictures on October 3, 1941. It runs 8:08 and is included due to the fact that it is thematically similar to Oliver and Company.

Puss Café is a Disney cartoon that was released theatrically on June 9, 1950 and runs 7:11. It concerns similar themes in that Pluto is up against a group of cats who are attempting to steal food.

The discs also include both the television and theatrical trailers. 

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