Oliver & Company (1988)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

George Scribner

Writers:

Jim Cox (screenplay) &
Tim Disney (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Musical

Tagline:

The first Disney movie with attitude.

Plot:

A lost and alone kitten joins a gang of dogs engaged in petty larceny in New York.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Cat | New York | Young Girl | Chihuahua

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Joseph Lawrence	...	Oliver (voice) (as Joey Lawrence)
Billy Joel	...	Dodger (voice)
Cheech Marin	...	Tito (voice)
Richard Mulligan	...	Einstein (voice)
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Francis (voice)
Sheryl Lee Ralph	...	Rita (voice)
Dom DeLuise	...	Fagin (voice)
Taurean Blacque	...	Roscoe (voice)
Carl Weintraub	...	Desoto (voice)
Robert Loggia	...	Sykes (voice)
Natalie Gregory	...	Jenny (voice)
William Glover	...	Winston (voice)
Bette Midler	...	Georgette (voice)
Frank Welker	...	Louie the Hot Dog Man / Additional Voice (voice)
Deborah Gates	...	Additional Voice (voice) (as Debbie Gates)

Also Known As:

Oliver and the Dodger (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:5 | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | New Zealand:G | Netherlands:AL | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:6 | Singapore:G

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Trivia:

Sykes's car is an early 1970s Lincoln Continental.

Goofs:

Continuity: One of the two dobermans that are chasing Fagin's motorcycle disappears.

Quotes:

Einstein: Look what I found!
[a broken tennis racket]
Francis: Good show. Now all we need is a net and a tennis court.
Einstein: Do you think this place is big enough?

Movie Connections:

References One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Soundtrack:

Perfect Isn't Easy

A fun "twist" on the classic Oliver story

I know it sounds weird because this movie was made when I was a child, you'd think I would've seen it at an earlier age. But I never did and my friend had the movie, I was curious and wondering why I never had the chance to see it. But I'm glad that I just got to see this movie, it was so much fun and I just missed the old time animation. It had great music by the awesome Billy Joel and the animals were just so adorable.

Basically, Oliver is an orphan kitten the big city of New York and meets a smooth street smart dog, Dodger. When Oliver follows Dodger to his layer of other dogs who are led by a homeless man, Fagin, they decide to keep Oliver. But when Oliver is learning the street smarts, a little girl sees him and takes him home where he gets a nice loving place to stay, not to mention extremely wealthy. But the guys want him back and kidnap him to pay back the mean Mr. Sykes.

I thought this was a great introduction of Charles Dicken's immortal classic for the kids. Not to mention that it was clever and witty, the music is memorable and there are some very funny moments that both kids and adults could get a kick out of. Believe me, this movie is good fun, but I'm still trying to find out why I didn't see it sooner.

8/10