Oliver & Company

Oliver & Company is a 1988 animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on November 18, 1988. The 27th animated feature released in the Disney Animated Canon, it was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, and inspired by the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, which has been adapted many other times for the screen. It is about a homeless kitten named Oliver who joins a gang of dogs to survive in 1988 New York City streets. In this version, he is a cat and Fagin's gang is made up of dogs, one of which is Dodger. It was re-released in the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom on March 29, 1996. The film was a box office success, beating out its main competitor, The Land Before Time, but received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline being cluttered and were mixed on the animation. However, the acting and songs, (practically "Why Should I Worry") received praise. Audience reception, however, was more positive, and the film has become a cult classic and a Disney fan favorite over the years.
==Plot==
Oliver, an orange tabby kitten, is lost in the streets of New York City. He was the only kitten of his fellow kittens not to get adopted, despite their seller reducing the price for Oliver until offering him for free. Left alone in the rain in a cardboard box, he escapes and lives in the streets. He tries to steal some hot dogs from a grumpy hot dog vendor, but only succeeds with the help of a mutt named Dodger. Together they are successful, but Dodger runs off, attempting to leave Oliver behind, having only used him to get the hot dogs for himself.
Dodger eventually arrives at the barge of his owner, a petty criminal named Fagin, along with his hot dogs, to share with his friends: Tito the Chihuahua, Einstein the Great Dane, Rita the Saluki, and Francis the Bulldog. Oliver accidentally falls into the barge from the roof, startling the dogs and they sternly ask him how he finds the barge. At first, they, except Dodger, think that he is a spy, but when he explains his involvement in Dodger's hot dog theft from earlier that day, they begin to develop respect for him. Later, Fagin comes in and explains that he is running out of time to repay the money he borrowed from Bill Sykes, a shipyard agent and ruthless loan shark. He and his Dobermans, Roscoe and DeSoto, arrive. Fagin tries to appease Sykes with leftover items located from the streets, but it does not work, as Sykes considers the stuff "garbage".
While DeSoto is sniffing around the barge, Roscoe flirts with Rita. When Tito tries to attack him, after Roscoe threatens Francis after he insulted him, he is held back by Einstein, who tells Roscoe to pick on somebody his own size, but Roscoe is not intimidated by him. He is then asked by Dodger about whether he lost his sense of humor or not, and in reply, Roscoe smashes their television. It is then that DeSoto finds Oliver. He scratches his nose after DeSoto attempts to eat him and Roscoe and DeSoto both intend to tear him apart when the dog gang gets between them. Before further violence can ensue, Sykes calls his dogs back to his car, and they leave while making threats towards the gang and Oliver, swearing revenge on all of them.
After this, a soaking wet Fagin returns to the barge, lamenting that he has only three days to find the money he owes Sykes to pay him off, or else. He discovers Oliver and, considering that they need all the help they can get, accepts him into the gang.
Next day, Fagin sets out into the city with his canine menagerie and Oliver. While he tries to sell his wares at a pawn shop to earn the money to pay back Sykes, the animals come face-to-face with a limousine driven by a man named Winston. He is the butler of the exceedingly wealthy Foxworth family and is taking care of their daughter, Jenny, while they're out of the country on business in Europe. The dogs stage an elaborate ruse in order to get Winston out of the car. Einstein hits it to make it look like Winston had hit someone and Francis (being the only member of the gang with a passion and love for the art of acting and the theater) comes in his place to play the role of the hit dog. While Winston tends to Francis and is scolded by some passersby regarding what happened, Tito and Oliver slip in and attempt to steal its radio so as to give it to Fagin in order to sell it and earn some money in return for partial payment to Sykes. In doing so, Tito gets shocked by the electrical system, due to Oliver's mishap with the car keys and the ignition, and Jenny finds Oliver tangled up in the wires near it. Oliver finds a good home and a caring owner in Jenny, to the chagrin of Winston and the Foxworths' spoiled poodle, Georgette.
The next day, Fagin's dogs go to Jenny's house to "rescue" Oliver, thinking he is in danger and being tortured. After some initial disputes, Georgette is very happy that they are here to collect him and helps them take him back, convincing them that he's been traumatized by the whole experience and wants to go back to them. When he is taken back, he is sad because he was happy living with Jenny. Dodger is upset as he thinks Oliver is being ungrateful; nevertheless, he allows him to leave. The gang is sad to see him leave and he, full of sadness and sorrow, is sad to leave them. Before having the chance, Fagin comes in, takes him back in, and sits in his chair, full of sadness, because of his lack of hope and luck of earning some money to pay off Sykes after the last couple of days, leaving him only one more day before his deadline with Sykes. Later, he sees Oliver's new golden tag and the wealthy district he got it from and sends Jenny a map and a letter requesting "lots and lots of money" as a ransom. He then goes on to convince Sykes that his plan will work. While he intends only to ransom Oliver, Sykes believes that he is "thinking big" in an attempt to kidnap and ransom the cat owner and gives him 12 more hours.
Jenny receives the letter and takes Georgette with her to go and retrieve Oliver, but Fagin's poorly drawn map leaves them both totally lost, although they unknowingly arrive at their destination. Being distraught that his "wealthy cat owner" is only a little girl with her piggy bank, Fagin decides that he might as well return Oliver to her and pretends to find him in a dumpster. However, Sykes, who was unknowingly watching the whole thing, kidnaps Jenny, intending to hold her for ransom to her wealthy parents, and tells Fagin to keep his mouth shut and to consider their account closed, as Sykes plans to use Jenny to get the money to cover Fagin's debt via ransoming her to her parents.
Fagin, who was not expecting Sykes to use him to perform a for-real kidnapping, takes his dogs and Georgette to Sykes' warehouse to rescue Jenny, which the dogs, with Oliver's help, manage to do. However, an enraged Sykes and his Dobermans pursue them down the city streets and into the subway in his car intending to snatch Jenny back. Roscoe and DeSoto both fall onto the tracks in their fight with Dodger and Oliver and get electrocuted. Jenny is thrown onto the hood of Sykes' car and Fagin tries to snatch her back while the dogs (mostly Tito) drive. Fagin manages to save Jenny while Oliver and Dodger fight off Sykes. They emerge onto the Brooklyn Bridge, where Sykes' car collides with a train and he is killed. Tito manages to steer Fagin's scooter onto one of the bridge's cables and they emerge unscathed. After the incident, Dodger, who along with Oliver was thrown away by Sykes before his untimely death, hands Jenny a "thought to be dead" Oliver. Everyone else thinks he's dead until Jenny hears a soft meow, meaning that he is alive. Everyone is rejoiced and accepted as Jenny's new best friends, except Georgette who is still in great shock from the chase.
The next morning, Fagin and the entire group celebrate Jenny's birthday at her home. That same day, Winston receives a phone call from her parents in Rome saying that they will be back in Manhattan tomorrow while making a bet with Fagin on wrestlers on TV, apparently earlier than expected; probably as an unexpected beautiful surprise for Jenny. Fagin and his dogs finally drive into the streets to make a new start while leaving Oliver at his new home with Jenny, but they promise to visit from time to time. The movie ends with the camera scrolling out of New York City
==Cast==
*Joey Lawrence as Oliver
*Billy Joel as Dodger
*Natalie Gregory as Jenny Foxworth
**singing voice by Myhanh Tran
*Dom DeLuise as Fagin
*Robert Loggia as Bill Sykes
*Cheech Marin as Tito
*Bette Midler as Georgette
*Richard Mulligan as Einstein
*Roscoe Lee Browne as Francis
*Sheryl Lee Ralph as Rita
*Taurean Blacque as Roscoe
*Carl Weintraub as DeSoto
*William Glover as Winston
*Frank Welker as Louie
===Additional Voices===
*Frank Welker - animal sounds
*Debbie Gates
*Charles Bartlett
*Jonathan Brandis
*Kal David
*Marcia Delmar
*Victor Dimattia
*Judi Durand
*Greg Finley
*Javier Grajeda
*Robert S. Halligan, Jr.
*J.D. Hall
*Jo Ann Harris
*Rosanna Huffman
*Barbara Iley
*Harvey Jason
*Karen Kamōn
*Kaleena Kiff
*Carol King
*Marylee Kortes
*Rocky Krakoff
*David Lasley
*Christina MacGregor
*David McCharen
*John McCurry
*Arlin L. Miller
*Nancy Parent
*Whitney Rydbeck
*Gary Schwartz
*Vernon Scott
*Penina Segall
*Rom Righter Snow
*Eugene F. Van Buren
==Production==
After the release of The Black Cauldron in 1985, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg invited the animators to pitch potential ideas for upcoming animated features. After John Musker and Ron Clements suggested The Little Mermaid and Treasure Island in Space, animator Pete Young suggested, "Oliver Twist with dogs". Originally wanting to produce a live-action adaptation of the musical at Paramount Pictures, Katzenberg approved of the pitch. The working title of the film during production was Oliver and the Dodger. It pre-dated the Disney Renaissance. The original central brain trust of Disney animators, the "Nine Old Men", had retired in the early 1980s, which signaled the entrance for the next generation of Disney animators, including the film's supervising animators Glen Keane, Ruben A. Aquino, Mike Gabriel, Hendel Butoy, and Mark Henn. At a certain point, it was to be a sequel to The Rescuers. If this had happened, it would have given the character of Penny more development, showing her living her new life in New York City with Georgette, as well as her new adoptive parents. This idea was eventually scrapped because the producers had then felt that the story would not have been convincing.
Young was originally assigned to co-direct the film with George Scribner, a Disney newcomer who had recently joined from the Hanna-Barbera studio, but suddenly died in mid-October 1985. Richard Rich (who previously co-directed The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron) was then brought on-board to replace Young, but due to acting belligerent towards the president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Peter Schneider, as what Schneider claimed, he was fired in 1986. Rich was not replaced after his firing, leaving Scribner as the sole director.
The film was the first Disney film to extensively feature computer animation; the two immediately preceding Disney films, The Black Cauldron (1985) and The Great Mouse Detective (1986), only featured it during special sequences. The CGI effects were used for making the skyscrapers, the cars, trains, Fagin's scooter and the climactic subway chase. (Sykes' car is the most noticeable as it is made up of several polygons.) It was also the first Disney film to have a department created specifically for computer animation.Disney Archives, "computer animation department created" This is currently a dead link. See the capture from web.archive.org in the next reference.."Oliver Twist", Disney Archives. The link http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/oliver/oliver.html is currently a dead link that redirects to an unrelated page. This is a capture of the page from web.archive.org.
The film was a test run one before The Walt Disney Company would fully commit to returning to a musical format for their animated films;Beck (2005), pp. 182-3. It was the first such film to be a musical since The Fox and the Hound (1981). For the next decade, all of Walt Disney Feature Animation's films, starting with The Little Mermaid (1989), were also musicals, except for The Rescuers Down Under (1990).
The film was one of the first animated Disney films to introduce new sound effects for regular use, as replacements for many of the classic sounds originally in the Disney library, which would be used occasionally in later Disney films. However, The Little Mermaid became the basis for the introduction of even more new sound effects. The new sound effects were first introduced with The Black Cauldron, while The Great Mouse Detective, released a year after the previous film, featured the classic Disney sound effects, including the then fifty-year-old Castle Thunder and the classic Goofy holler. However, the Disney television animation studio continued extensively using the classic Disney sound effects for several years, while the feature animation studio retired the original sound effects.
The film was the first animated Disney film to include advertised products from The real world. Many placements of real product names, such as those of Coca-Cola, USA Today, Sony, and Ryder Truck Rental, were some of the most used examples. It was said on ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney that this was for realism, not paid product placement, and that it would not be New York City without advertising.The Wonderful World of Disney: ABC television network, "the making of Oliver and Company. Comments of the animators from the production deny product placement."
Certain animal characters from previous Disney films make cameo characters in the film. Four of the dogs shown are Peg, Jock, and Trusty from Lady and the Tramp (1955), and Pongo from One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).
==Release==
The film was released on November 18, 1988, the same day as , a production of Disney expatriate Don Bluth.
As of 2008, the film made a total domestic gross of $74 million at the U.S. box office, $53.2 million of which came from its original run and a worldwide gross of $121 million dollars. Since 1988, Disney Feature Animation has released at least one film a year, except for 1993, 2006, 2015, and 2017.
During the film's release, McDonald's sold Christmas musical ornaments containing its two main characters, Oliver and Dodger, the start of a multi-year agreement of joint promotions with licensed products.
In the United Kingdom, the film was not distributed by Buena Vista International, but by ; Buena Vista International did, however, release it on home video.
Despite its financial success at the box office, the film was not released on home video until after its theatrical re-release in 1996, as was the case for most movies released during its so called "Dark Age"; this first home video release of it eventually became part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection series. It was later released for the first time ever on DVD, just one year after the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection series was discontinued. A 20th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD on February 3, 2009, and a 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray was released in 2013.
==Reception==
Despite its success at the box office, reviews for the film were generally mixed from a lot of movie critics at the time. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 50% of critics gave it positive reviews based on 48 reviews with an average rating of 5.33/10. Its consensus states that it is a decidedly lesser effort in the Disney canon, with lackluster songs, stiff animation, and a thoroughly predictable plot.
On the television program, Siskel & Ebert, 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". Roger Ebert gave it a "marginal Thumbs Up" as he described the film as "harmless, inoffensive."
The staff of called the film "episodic" and "short on charm". "Only now and then," they added, "it provides glimpses of stylish animation."
 creator suggested that the film was derivative of 's works, and jokingly suggested its use as a form of punishment.
===Accolades===
* for "Why Should I Worry?" (Nominated)
* for Best Family Feature Film - Animation (Nominated)
*Golden Reel Awards for Best Sound Editing (Won)
==Musical numbers==
#"Once Upon a Time in New York City" - Huey Lewis and the News
#"Why Should I Worry" - Dodger and the Chorus Dogs
#"Streets of Gold" - Rita, Dodger, and the Gang
#"Perfect Isn't Easy" - Georgette
#"Good Company" - Jenny
#"Why Should I Worry" (Reprise) - Dodger, the Gang and the Chorus Dogs
==Videos==
Oliver & Company - Sneak Peek -1 (October 4, 1988)|1988 Original Theatrical Trailer
Oliver & Company - 1996 Reissue Theatrical Trailer (35mm 4K)|1996 Reissue Trailer
Oliver and Company - 1996 Masterpiece Collection VHS Trailer|1996 Home Video Trailer
Oliver & Company - 2002 DVD-VHS Trailer|2002 Trailer
Oliver & Company - 2009 20th Anniversary Edition DVD Trailer|2009 Trailer
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*
*This film was released exactly on the same day as Mickey Mouse's 60th birthday.
*The working title of this film during production was Oliver and the Dodger.
*There is currently a debate whether or not this is the final pre-Disney Renaissance film to be released. However, it should be noted that it did play an important role in influencing the Disney Renaissance. This has lead fans and animation historians to sometimes consider it a part of the Disney Renaissance, along with its preceding film, The Great Mouse Detective which was first released two years earlier.
*It was the first musical film since The Jungle Book and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
*The discussion of promoting the film in Europe at time gave the crew of Disney inspiration for the 1994 film The Lion King, which went on to be the highest grossing traditionally animated film of all time.
*Despite being referred to as a mediocre film by some movie critics, the movie still has a heavily devoted fanbase and the film is mostly enjoyed by the Disney fanbase.
*This was the first animated Disney film to be dubbed in Canadian French for its release in Quebec theatres.
*This was the last Disney film soundtrack to be released on vinyl until 2013's Frozen.
*This was the first Disney animated film to feature a modern handgun (more antiquated firearms had been featured in films such as Pinocchio and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad).
*At a certain point, this film was to be set after The Rescuers. If this had happened, it would have given the character of Penny more development. This idea was eventually scrapped because the producers felt that the story would not have been convincing. This is why Penny and Jenny are so alike. Even the name Jenny rhymes with the name Penny.
*This is the fourth Disney animated film set in the time of its first release; the first three were Dumbo, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and The Rescuers.
*At one point, the gang was going to include a Golden Retriever called Sally who would stereotype their nature as agile family pets, but she was pulled because it was felt there would be too many dogs.
*This was the first Disney movie to make heavy use of computer animation. CGI effects were used for making the skyscrapers, the cars, trains, Fagin's scooter-cart and the climactic Subway chase. It was also the first Disney film to have a department created specifically for computer animation.
*This was the first animated Disney film to include real world advertised products. Many placements of real product names such as McDonald's, Kodak, Yamaha, Tab, Dr. Scholls, Coca-Cola, USA Today, Sony, and Ryder Truck Rental were used. It was said on ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney that this was for realism, was not paid product placement, and that it would not be New York City without advertising.
*Fagin wears several watches, one of which is a Mickey Mouse watch.
*Tito briefly sings "Heigh-Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
*Several animals from past Disney films make cameos:
**When Dodger sings "Why Should I Worry", Peg, Jock and Trusty from Lady and the Tramp and Pongo from One Hundred and One Dalmatians can be seen on the street.
**Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective can be seen in Georgette's photo collection in "Perfect Isn't Easy".
***Though not owned by Disney, competition of Warner Bros; Scooby-Doo also appears in the photo collection.
*This was the first time one of the Lawrence brothers were in a Disney project, with Joey Lawrence playing Oliver. The three brothers would star in various movies from the Disney Channel, Matthew Lawrence became the voice of Tombo in the Disney dub of Kiki's Delivery Service, and Andrew Lawrence would become the second voice of T.J. Detweiler in Recess.
*Like The Black Cauldron, the film made heavy use of sound effects made exclusively for the movie (though considerably becoming the first Disney animated film not to use any cartoon sound effects at all). Though some did pop up in later Disney films (like the seagull squawk sound effect).
*This was the only time Dom DeLuise voiced a character in an animated Disney film, although he also voiced Dionysus in the animated television series Hercules.
*The song on the 2002 Disney DVD commercial is "Spinning Around" by Jump5.
*The film Francis is watching during the film uses lines from the Shakespeare play Macbeth.
*After Georgette slaps Tito (off-screen), he can be heard singing "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady.
*The original 1988 theatrical release used the original 1985 Walt Disney Pictures logo while further releases from the 1996 theatrical releases use the 1990 variant of the logo. In addition, both theatrical releases and the 1996 home media releases contained the last 11 seconds of the film's end credits music playing over the Walt Disney Pictures logo after the end credits, but further releases from the 2002 VHS, DVD, and 2013 Blu-ray releases onwards contain the Walt Disney Pictures logo without any music after the end credits. However, a French language VHS tape and widescreen Laserdisc of Oliver & Company released from France in mid-1997 is the only home media release worldwide to include the original 1988 theatrical print of the movie with the original, blue-tinted castle 1985 Walt Disney Pictures logo present. Additionally, the French VHS version of the film's end credit music over the logo has ended about fourteen seconds sooner than the original American version. Oliver Et Compagnie 1997 [Walt Disney Home Video France]
https://youtu.be/3biqiGbjbyg?si=vUgbiK0lmnefcv6wWalt Disney Pictures [1988] (Official)
https://youtu.be/3XMwyVDFlBQOliver and Company Theatrical Version
https://youtu.be/UngbHtVe1_c?si=G_Vk79atg6RwJfG0
*During the opening, when we first see the sign that says "Kitties need home; 5.00," the word "kitties" has the "S" written the correct way, and all the "E"s are uppercase, but after, the "S" in "kitties" is written backwards, and the "E"s are all lowercase.
*Right after Tito gets the scooter on the cable lines safe from the coming train, the next scene shows the scooter WITHOUT the passengers as Sykes removed Dodger and Oliver from it.
*While the film was a modest success, the film was very popular in France when it was released in 1989. To promote the film's French release, French singer Anne Meson made a song called "Oliver" which became a hit in France. The song is entirely dedicated to Oliver and his adventures. Oliver, Dodger, Tito, and Francis were also featured in a series of music videos starring Anne Meson that was released between 1989 and 1990. During the inaugural year of Disneyland Paris ("Euro Disney" at the time), Anne performed the song at the park alongside Oliver and Dodger.
*This is the final Disney feature film to completely use hand-painted cel animation, since The Little Mermaid would be one of the first films to use of Pixar's CAPS system.
*This is one of the few Disney animated films that has not been edited in any way as a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, as the buildings still remain in the film during the opening song "Once Upon a Time in New York City" and in the closing shot of Manhattan at the end of the reprise of "Why Should I Worry".
*This film is the first in the Disney animated canon to feature the voice talents of Frank Welker.
*Oliver's collar disappears and reappears throughout the ending.
*Throughout the "Why Should I Worry" sequence, Dodger's bandana disappears whenever he has the sausages around his neck, but reappears when he knocks down the sunglasses vendor's table.
*There are multiple moments in the film where characters mouths don't move while they speak.
*A VHS tape of Oliver & Company makes a cameo in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Slumber Party.
==References==
==External links==
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ar:أوليفر وشركاه
da:Oliver & Co.
es:Oliver y su Pandilla
fr:Oliver et Compagnie
it:Oliver & Company
ja:オリバー ニューヨーク子猫ものがたり
nl:Oliver & Co.
pl:Oliver i spółka
pt-br:Oliver e sua Turma
ro:Oliver și prietenii
ru:Оливер и компания
sv:Oliver och gänget
vi:Oliver và những người bạn
Category:1988 films
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