Oliver and Company (1988) (Movie Review)

    Usually when I review a Disney animated movie, it’s to tie-in with the release of their live action remakes. However, November is a special time of year, squeezed between my two favorite holidays, when I feel the most like a kid again, and I have a simple desire to talk about something nostalgic from my childhood. When it comes to Disney’s “cute pets on adventure” sub-genera, my personal favorite … excluding “The Fox and the Hound” … has always been 1988’s “Oliver and Company”. It may not be a classic in the same vein of other Disney offerings, but I’ve always held a special fondness for this one, and I just felt the time has come to look back and review it. 

This was the studios 27^th animated picture, and the first under the management of then CEO Michael Eisner, as well as chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. When the pair joined the company, they held a special pitch meeting, colorfully referred to as “The Gong Show”, in which a number of Disney animators through-out a number of ideas for their pictures. One of which was an adaption of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island”, but set in space … which would take over a decade to see the light of day. The more appealing pitch came from story artist Pete Young, who proposed an adaption of Charles Dickens classic novel “Oliver Twist”, but set in a contemporary New York setting, and with talking animals in the respected roles. Thus, the studio had a new animal themed picture. Upon it's release, it wasn’t a critical darling, and was largely upstaged by "The Land Before Time", which came out the same weekend. The movie wasn't even released on home video until 1996, but when it finally came out, it was one of those home video's that my sister, friends, and I frequently returned to, and it still has a special place in my nostalgic heart all these years later.

    Right from the start, few other Disney animated pictures get to me as quickly in the nostalgic feels as this opening shot of Time Square, paired with Huey Lewis’s song “Once Upon a Time in New York City”. We begin with a new born litter of kittens, and one unfortunate runt of the litter named Oliver, who sadly gets tossed out onto the streets of New York to fend for himself. It’s a great opening that gets me to sympathize with our lead. While I feel it could have been a pinch stronger if it was set to an instrumental score, I can’t help but love Huey Lewis’s song all the same. I feel it complements the mood, and it fits with the overall look and tone of the picture. After roaming downtown, Oliver meets a street dog named Dodger, who teaches him how to survive in a rough city. Along with his team of back-alley dogs, they pick pockets for a street-bum named Fagin, who’s generally a good guy, but currently under the thumb of a ruthless Gangster named Sykes. While on a mission to loot some coin, Oliver finds himself in the care of a little girl named Jenny, who gives our kitten the home he’s always wanted. Before too long, Oliver finds himself caught between the love of his new owner, and the loyalty to his friends who are still scraping around on the street.    

    Now, even though I adore this movie, I will still be objective in pointing out some of the film’s shortcomings … namely with our lead hero Oliver. While the opening did a good job getting me to sympathize with him, I feel he gets lost in a sea of show-stealing characters. 

Billy Joel’s Dodger especially steals a lot of the spot-light, although I admit, he was always the more fun character to have on screen. Honestly, a part of me wishes that Dodger was the main character of the story. As for Oliver, there’s a promising set-up with him feeling conflicted between two places he calls home, but the movie never really takes the time to highlight any of this intriguing character drama, and instead focuses on exiting adventure set-pieces. With that said, the big appeal that made this my childhood favorite “pet-themed” Disney offering was the focus on relations between owners and their pets. The other classics like “Lady and the Tramp” and “101 Dalmatians” mainly focused on the animals alone, whereas “Oliver and Company” mostly puts its attention on the bonding between both the owners and the pets, especially with the kid and her cat. Being an animal person myself, I’m always going to feel a little more drawn to this kind of set-up. Even the scenes with Fagin and his family of ally dogs are great, and leave me smiling from ear to ear. I especially love this one scene with Fagin reading bedtime stores, as I can relate to reading stories to the kids in my family, so it just leaves me feeling all warm inside. Of course, the late comedian Dom DeLuise is an infectiously lovable voice talent, and just makes the character of Fagin come to life.      

   Also, if you grew-up with the live-action 1985 movie version of “Alice in Wonderland”, you might just recognize the same child-actress Natalie Gregory as the voice of the little girl Jenny. 

Thankfully, this girl isn’t obnoxious like other child characters I’ve seen, and has just enough likable qualities. I’ve always loved this one moment when she and Oliver are playing in the park, and she gives this sweat little curtsy to a passing couple. Tiny details like that are all I need to make me care. Of course, I have to mention my favorite character in the film, a hyperactive little Chiwawa named Tito. Yeah, before Cheech Marin voiced a Hyena in Disney’s “The Lion King”, he was the voice of this lively, energized, and all-around fun supporting character. I suppose Bette Midler of “Beaches” and “Hocus Pocus” fame, is also a welcome presence as a pampered rich poodle named Georgette, although scenes with her character do come off feeling like a diversion at times. One last talent I want to mention is the late Roscoe Lee Browne, who voices the dog named Francis, and is a great talent I’ve grown-up with in a number of movies and TV shows. I mainly grew-up with him as the voice of the Kingpin from the classic 90’s “Spider-Man” series, and I can’t help but feel we missed an opportunity for him to be utilized as the voice of an animated Disney villain.  

   Looking back on the original “Oliver Twist” story, the nefarious Bill Sykes has a secure placement in the villain literature hall of fame. He’s also had some solid portrayals on film, namely Oliver Reed’s performance in the Best Picture Winning 1968 musical “Oliver”. 

The animated Disney take on Sykes depicts him as a Loan Shark, who gets away with crimes within the shadows and back allies of New York. He was voiced by the late Robert Loggia, who previously played a gangster in the classic 1983 Crime Drama “Scarface”, so he was a fine choice for the role, and manages to balance some wit with a grounded sense of intimidation. While Sykes isn’t nearly as fun as the more theatrical villains of Disney animation, he’s always stuck with me as a memorable antagonist for one specific reason. Back when I was a little kid, I had a serious phobia of kidnapers, and at the time, I mentally used Sykes as a figurehead for bad men out in the world. Also, in my opinion, Sykes has the absolute best henchman of any Disney villain. Whereas most evil lackeys are depicted as goofy or comedic, Sykes two pet Dobermans named Roscoe and DeSoto are genuinely intimidating, and are honestly more exiting to have on screen then the main villain himself. 

   Another detail I love about this movie is its portrayal of Ney York City, as the setting really becomes a character in of itself. It’s big and tremendous, but it’s also tight-spaced, can get crowded fast, and very easy to get lost in. Just like with “Lady and the Tramp”, the animators took exceptional detail on keeping the environment at eye level with our lead dogs and cat, which made the location feel all the more absorbing. The sketchy backgrounds, and overall look of the film also feel right at home in this picture, and add to its appeal. It may seem dated to modern viewers looking for flashy imagery, but for me it feels more timeless, as well as generally more appealing. Despite the colorful cast of characters, most of the environments still look imposing and dingy, which is an effective contrast. Also, unlike later day Disney movies that really showed-off their CGI elements, I felt the CGI in this film, while used sparingly, also blended in quiet well with the hand drawn animation.      

   Of course, this movie features one of my all-time favorite Disney song numbers, which is Dodgers “Why Should I Worry”. Billy Joel simply hits it out of the park with this catchy musical number, and it was even nominated at the Golden Glob’s for best original song that year. 

I swear, if you listen to this once, you’ll be humming it all day, it’s just that catchy. The sequence also makes great use of cameo appearances from other Disney dogs, as characters from “Lady and the Tramp” and “101 Dalmatians” can be seen in a number of shots. It’s both my favorite song, and all around my favorite scene of the film. Actually, there are a number of decent songs in this film that I feel get overlooked. Jenny’s solo "Good Company" song is perfectly wholesome, although the main appeal of it comes from its accompanying instrumental music. Musical artist Ruth Pointer gets an upbeat song called “Streets of Gold”, although the sequence feels slightly repetitive, as it’s the third song number set in Time Square. Bette Midler gets an okay song number called “Perfect Isn’t Easy”, which is more enjoyable for its presentation. I like how it pokes fun at Disney princess tropes, especially how the singer can “charm-speak” a group of blue birds into being back-up dancers.

   Once we segue into the films third act, the movie becomes less of an “Oliver Twist” adaption, and more like an extension of Disney’s “The Rescuers”, with a little girl getting kidnapped, and cute animals going on a mission to save her. I commented earlier that Oliver’s personal conflicts get dropped in favor of an action-packed climax, which is objectively to the film’s detriment … but I’m also not going to pretend I don’t enjoy this finale. It’s always exiting to begin a climax with the characters covertly sneaking into the bad guy’s layer, and when their cover is blown, it’s just fast-moving excitement from there on. The climactic car chase in the subway makes for a thrilling set-piece, and I still remember watching this as a kid, and being on the edge of my seat the whole time. Something about this chase felt genuinely intense, as I got scared for the safety of our characters, and there’s some effectively brutal villain deaths on display.

   After all the excitement, we get a relaxed little epilogue with our characters celebrating at a birthday party. Once again, I have to comment that the movie sidelines any kind of emotional finality for Oliver, and where he chooses to call home. 

Instead of a heartfelt sendoff, it’s more of a basic “let’s hang out again sometime”. Honestly, the most touching detail of this ending is the girl Jenny thanking Fagin for helping with her rescue. Still, the film plays us out with that catchy song, and it leaves me feeling great every time. Again, I can’t make any argument that “Oliver and Company” is one of the great animated Disney offerings, but it’s always been special to me, and it is still my personal favorite of the studio’s “pet-themed” ventures. I love seeing the different relations between the owners and the pets on display, most of the songs bounce in my head after the feature, the basic animation is very appealing, and sometimes, a simple nostalgic offering is all I need.        

Thanks for reading my review of Disney’s animated 1988 picture “Oliver and Company” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love.