Psycho's Movie Reviews #378: Oliver & Company (1988)

Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on November 18, 1988, by Walt Disney Pictures. The 27th Disney animated feature film, it is loosely based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. In the film, Oliver is a homeless kitten who joins a gang of dogs to survive in the streets. Among other changes, the setting of the film was relocated from 19th century London to 1980s New York City, Fagin's gang is made up of dogs (one of which is Dodger), and Sykes is a loan shark.

Following the release of The Black Cauldron (1985), Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg held a pitch meeting with the animation staff, in which story artist Pete Young pitched the idea to adapt Oliver Twist with dogs. The pitch was quickly approved, and the film quickly went into production under the working title Oliver and the Dodger. Released on the same day as The Land Before Time (1988), Oliver & Company was a box office success, but it received mixed reviews from film critics. The film was re-released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on March 29, 1996. It was then released on home video later that same year, and again in 2002 and 2009 on DVD. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in 2013, commemorating its 25th anniversary.

Plot

On Fifth Avenue, several kittens are left in a box outside a shop. All but one, an orange tabby, are adopted. Wandering the streets by himself in search of someone to adopt him, the kitten meets a laid-back mongrel named Dodger, who agrees to help him steal food from a hot dog vendor. Dodger then reneges on the deal and flees with the hot dogs.

The kitten pursues Dodger all over New York City. Dodger eventually arrives at a barge, where the kitten watches him share the hot dogs with a gang of poverty-stricken dogs (Tito the chihuahua, Einstein the Great Dane, Rita the Saluki, and Francis the bulldog). The kitten accidentally falls into the barge, startling the dogs; however, while they are annoyed, none of them harm him. Fagin, the bargeman and petty thief who owns the dogs, is indebted to Sykes, a nefarious loan shark and criminal. Sykes arrives and gives Fagin an ultimatum; repay the money in three days, or suffer violence, possibly even death. Sykes' two Dobermans, Roscoe and DeSoto, harass Fagin's dogs and threaten to eat the kitten, until he scratches DeSoto's nose, earning Fagin and the dogs' respect. Roscoe warns that they will try to exact revenge.

The next morning, Fagin goes to pawn some of his stolen goods, while the dogs and the kitten try to steal more money for him. Through a theatrical ruse, the animals stop a limousine belonging to the wealthy Foxworth family, but the attempt to rob the limo fails, and the kitten is taken by the child Jenny Foxworth, who is missing her vacationing parents and desires a companion. She names him Oliver, and becomes very attached to him.

Oliver makes himself at home in Jenny's house, much to the disgust of Georgette, the Foxworth family's spoiled, prize-winning poodle. With her help, Dodger and the dogs manage to steal Oliver back from the Foxworth household, returning him to the barge. Fagin recognizes from Oliver's new collar and gold name tag that he had been adopted by a wealthy family, and desperately decides to hold Oliver for ransom. His anonymously written ransom note reaches Jenny, who sets out to get Oliver back at the pier.

Jenny and Georgette meet with Fagin, who is shocked to be dealing with a little girl whose "ransom money" is a piggy bank. Bothered by his conscience and Jenny's tears, Fagin gives Oliver back freely. Sykes, whom Fagin had informed of the deal beforehand, is watching from the shadows and kidnaps Jenny, intending to ransom her while declaring Fagin's debt paid. Dodger rallies Oliver and the other dogs to free Jenny from Sykes, but Sykes and his Dobermans confront them as they attempt to leave. Fagin saves the group with his motor scooter, and a chase ensues throughout the streets and into the subway tunnels. Jenny falls from the scooter onto Syke's car; Oliver and Dodger go after her and battle Roscoe and DeSoto, who fall off the car and are electrocuted on the third rail of the subway. Fagin leaves Tito to drive and saves Jenny, while Dodger and Oliver are thrown from Sykes' car onto the pavement of the Brooklyn Bridge just before an oncoming train strikes and kills Sykes. Tito drives the scooter to safety, and Jenny and Oliver are reunited.

Later, Jenny celebrates her birthday with the animals, Fagin, and the family butler Winston, who receives a phone call from Jenny's parents saying that they will be returning from Rome the next day. Oliver opts to stay with Jenny, but he promises to remain in contact with Dodger and the gang.

Production

Oliver & Company was the twenty-seventh animated film developed by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and the first one to begin production under the supervision of then-CEO Michael Eisner and studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg; the duo, who had previously worked at Paramount Pictures as chairman and head of production, respectively, joined the company in 1984. After the release of The Black Cauldron (1985), Eisner and Katzenberg invited the animators to pitch potential ideas for upcoming animated features, infamously called the "Gong Show." After Ron Clements had pitched The Little Mermaid and Treasure Island in Space, story artist Pete Young suggested, "Oliver Twist with dogs." Katzenberg, who had previously planned on producing a live-action adaptation of the musical Oliver! at Paramount, approved the pitch. Under the working title of Oliver and the Dodger, the film was originally much darker and grittier with the film opening with Sykes's two Dobermans murdering Oliver's parents, setting the story to focus on Oliver exacting his revenge as detailed in a draft dated on March 30, 1987.

George Scribner and Richard Rich were announced as the directors of the project, while Pete Young was appointed as story supervisor. However, Rich was fired from Disney about six months into production, leaving Scribner as the sole director. In this adaptation, Scribner turned Oliver into a naïve kitten, Dodger and the gang into dogs, and Fagin into a human, and encouraged the film to be more street smart. Furthermore, Scribner borrowed a technique from Lady and the Tramp (1955) by blocking out the scenes on real streets, and then photographing them with cameras mounted eighteen inches off the ground. In this way, the animators would use the photos as templates to provide a real dog's-eye view of the action. As work continued on Oliver, Roy E. Disney came up with an idea that Fagin would attempt to steal a rare panda from the city zoo. However, the writers would have problems with the idea, and the panda sub-plot was eventually dropped when Scribner suggested to have Fagin hold Oliver for ransom because he was a valuable, rare Asian cat.

Eleven minutes of the film used "computer-assisted imagery" such as the skyscrapers, the taxi cabs, trains, Fagin's scooter-cart, and the climactic subway chase. The traditional animation was handled by the next generation of Disney animators, including supervising animators Glen Keane, Ruben A. Aquino, Mike Gabriel, Hendel Butoy, and Mark Henn, as the "Nine Old Men" had retired in the early 1980s. Throughout two and a half years of production, six supervising animators and a team of over 300 artists and technicians worked on the film. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was the database for the New York City skyline, which was recreated for the film.

Casting

Because personalities are considered the greatest strength of Disney animated films, the filmmakers sought believable voices to match the movement of the animation. For this film, the filmmakers cast fellow New York natives including Bette Midler for Georgette, Sheryl Lee Ralph for Rita, and Roscoe Lee Browne for Francis. Comedian Cheech Marin was cast as the chihuahua Tito. Because energy proved to be the key to Tito's personality, Marin claimed "I was encouraged to ad-lib, but I'd say I just gave about 75% of the lines as they were written. The natural energy of a Chihuahua played right into that feeling. George Scribner was very encouraging as a director: He kept the energy level high at the recording sessions."

Pop singer Billy Joel was recommended for the voice of Dodger by Scribner because of his "New York street-smart, savoir-faire attitude". Joel then auditioned for the role by telephone after being given dialogue. When Joel was hired for the part, he confirmed he did it because it was a Disney movie, saying: "I had just had a little girl. It's a great way to do something that my little girl could see that she could relate to right away," referring to daughter Alexa, born in 1985.

Music

The soundtrack of Oliver & Company contains an instrumental score by J. A. C. Redford under the supervision of Carole Childs. Redford was hired to compose the score because of his previous collaboration with Disney music executive Chris Montan on the television series St. Elsewhere. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg had the idea to bring in popular singer/songwriters, each of whom would contribute a song into the film which included Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, and Huey Lewis. At his suggestion of his friend David Geffen, Katzenberg brought in lyricist Howard Ashman, who composed the song "Once Upon a Time in New York City." Ashman, who, with Alan Menken, would write the songs for the next three Disney films. Billy Joel, in addition to voicing Dodger, performed the character's song ("Why Should I Worry?") in the film.

The song "Why Should I Worry?" received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

The track list below represents the 1996 re-release of the Oliver & Company soundtrack. The original 1988 release featured the same songs, but with the instrumental cues placed in between the songs in the order in which they appeared in the film. Using the numbering system in the list below, the order the tracks on the 1988 release would be: 1, 2, 6, 7, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11. The reprise of "Why Should I Worry?", performed by the entire cast, remains unreleased on CD.

{The best songs in this film are as followed}

{3- Perfect Isn't Easy}

https://youtu.be/YjY8C2ypzTA?list=TLPQMzAwMzIwMjIpUchh8KA8hg

{2- Why Should I Worry?}

{1- Streets Of Gold}

https://youtu.be/kdmSqbzwcAw?list=TLPQMzAwMzIwMjIpUchh8KA8hg

Release/Reception/Box Office

Oliver & Company premiered theatrically in North America on November 18, 1988―the same day on which Disney celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Mickey Mouse short, Steamboat Willie (1928). It was also the first to be released as a part of a brand new schedule requested by Katzenberg, which called for a new animated Disney film to be released every single year, similar to Walt Disney's intentions for his animated features during the 1940s.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 50% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. Its consensus states, "Predictable and stodgy, Oliver & Company isn't one of Disney's best, though its colourful cast of characters may be enough to entertain young viewers looking for a little adventure."

On the television program Siskel & Ebert, Gene Siskel gave the film a thumbs down. Siskel stated, "When you measure this film to the company's legacy of classics, it doesn't match up" as he complained "the story is too fragmented…because Oliver’s story gets too side-tracked from the story in the film that gets convoluted, too calculated for the Bette Midler, Billy Joel crowd as well as little kids." Roger Ebert gave the film a "marginal thumbs up" as he described the film as "harmless, inoffensive." Animation historian Charles Solomon wrote a favourable review, stating the film "offers virtually ideal family holiday fare. The cartoon action will delight young children, while older ones, who usually reject animation as 'kid stuff,' will enjoy the rock songs and hip characters, especially the brash Tito." Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote the film "looks cheesy and second-rate. The animation is somewhat better than the usual stuff seen on Saturday morning television, but not much. It is totally without distinctive visual style, suggesting only the sort of bland cartoon drawings one finds in a manual of first-aid instructions."

Writing for People magazine, Peter Travers opined in his review, "Too slight to rank with such Disney ground-breakers as Pinocchio and Fantasia, the film is more on the good-fun level of The Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians. But why kick? With its captivating characters, sprightly songs and zap-happy animation, Oliver & Company adds up to a tip-top frolic." Desson Howe of The Washington Post felt that the film "retrieves some of the old Disney charm with tail-wagging energy and five catchy songs." Likewise, fellow Washington Post film critic Rita Kempley praised the songs and animation, and called it a "happy adaptation of the Victorian classic." Writing for Common Sense Media, Nell Minow gave the film 3 stars out of 5, concluding that the film "can't compete with Disney classics, but is still fun."

Barry Walters, reviewing for The San Francisco Examiner, panned the film as "a rather shabby transitional work, one that lacks the sophistication of today's 'toons and doesn't hold up to the Disney classics of yesteryear." Halliwell's Film Guide called Oliver & Company an "episodic film, short on charm, that only now and then provides glimpses of stylish animation." The Ren & Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi suggested that the film was derivative of Ralph Bakshi's works, and jokingly suggested its use as a form of punishment. In 1991, film historian Bob Thomas wrote that some of the Disney animators he interviewed unfavourably viewed the film as "another talking dog-and-cat movie."

Oliver & Company and Don Bluth's The Land Before Time opened on the same weekend in the United States and Canada; the latter film debuted at number one grossing $7.5 million while the former opened in fourth place, grossing $4 million. Nevertheless, Oliver & Company out-grossed The Land Before Time with a total gross in the United States and Canada of $53 million compared to the latter's $46 million, making it the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run. It was also the first animated film to gross $100 million worldwide in its initial release. Its success prompted then-Disney animation executive Peter Schneider, to announce the company's plans to release animated features annually.

On March 29, 1996, Disney re-released the film in direct competition with All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, grossing $4.5 million in its opening weekend. It went on to earn $21 million in total taking its lifetime domestic gross to $74 million and its worldwide total to over $121 million.

Budget $31 million

Box office $121 million

My Review

Here is a nice little Disney film that is perhaps a little bit underrated and perhaps a little bit quick. It's a short movie that is suitable for all members of a family, containing enough peril and frightening images to keep it from being a film for just the little kiddies. And yet it isn't too terrifying or unsuitable for the aforementioned children. "Oliver & Company" does rush through pretty quickly. The plot already becomes clear and right to the main point pretty early on in the film. However, it is not without substance or creativity and has some very delightful or in the case of the three villains, dislikeable characters. The characters are loosely based off the characters from a Charles Dickens novel called "Oliver Twist". I'm not that familiar with it, but I do recognize Dodger as a representation of the Artful Dodger, Sykes from his novel counterpart, and so on and so forth. But based on the one film version of "Oliver Twist" I've seen, this film is quite different once you get past a few characters and their similar traits.

The characters are all well-realized in terms of both animation and the voice talents put behind them. Oliver, the kitten, was voiced by a child about eight years of age, and is therefore the animated cat is very convincing at being both cute and youthful at the same time. Dodger is the artful, cool guy who knows the way things go and never loses his temper. And there's the rest of his gang who follow his commands and advice. They are all under ownership of a poor man named Fagin who lives in a rickety old boat. Fagin is one the most likable of the characters because of his comic relief and how things never seem to go his way. There was one animation flaw I noticed with this character. Sometimes his nose would be pink, and other times flesh-coloured without any indication of it changing colours. There are three villains, a mobster-like guy called Sykes and his two Dobermans, Roscoe and Desoto. The actor who voiced Sykes provided a chilling, cold, and almost purring kind of voice that made Sykes seem really sadistic. He's not the most frightening Disney villain, probably because of his limited screen time and somewhat underdevelopment. I did like the Dobermans and thought they were very well-done as villainous characters because they had little dialogue. It made them less sympathetic since they mostly just growled, barked, and snarled rather than talking. And yet, they had enough lines to make them more like the rest of the characters.

I think the biggest problem with Oliver and Company is also one of the main issues with many animated films like this one, it's too short. That's rarely a complaint I make about films, but that is the case here. Even a good montage would have helped, but they needed to make the audience feel like Oliver was part of the gang for more than a single night. It simply doesn't work when they act like they must chase him down and rescue him when they barely even know his name. As for the music in the film, I think it's a fun mix of artists from that era with songs that fit the film well. Sure, it doesn't reach the heights of the films that Menken and Ashman would work on after this one, but it's still got some memorable tunes. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, but I still feel Oliver and Company is a solid film even if it's not one of Disney's best.

OK, first things first. I am not sure what Charles Dickens would say if he found his best book "Oliver Twist" has inspired an animation. I hate to say this, but surprisingly the project worked quite nicely, if a little predictable and uneven at times. The animation isn't bad at all, actually very clean and smooth mostly, and neither is the story, both of which are the redeeming merits of an enjoyable movie like this one. The characters were also well done in general. My favourite was Georgette, what a genius the casting director was to cast Bette Midler. Jenny and Oliver- who was adorable- were appealing also, but Sikes at times was a bit frightening, and Fagin's part was quite poorly written. Now the script was the let down, very uneven at times, and unintentionally funny, and this marred the well-told narrative. Some of the characters were uninspired written, and Tito was a little hard to understand. On a positive note, I loved the songs, especially "Why Should I worry?" which is delightfully catchy. May I also say that Billy Joel did a great job with Dodger, who was one of the better characters. And it has a wonderful contemporary atmosphere. All in all, an enjoyable and well-told film, that was let down by the script. 8/10