Oliver & Company

Late 1988, Disney decided to release another film about talking animals. The result was the very loose adaptation of Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist. Starring Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, and Dom DeLuise, Cheech Marin, and Bette Midler, Oliver & Company saw moderate success.

Oliver (Lawrence) is an unwanted ginger kitten wandering the streets of New York City when he comes across a dog named Dodger (Joel). Oliver follows Dodger back to Fagin’s (DeLuise) gang of other dogs. Fagin, a human, is just some poor schmuck trying to pay off the loan he got from Mr. Sykes (Robert Loggia), a sinister loan shark gangster.

However, on a job gone wrong, Oliver is taken in by Jenny (Natalie Gregory), much to the chagrin of her dog, Georgette (Midler). The resulting “rescue” operation eventually results in Sykes kidnapping Jenny.

Oliver & Company, is pretty decent. Oliver is our main character, but he’s more of a Living McGuffin. He’s just sort of there and doesn’t do very much. Granted, he doesn’t just look cute, considering he slashes Roscoe’s nose. Dodger is pretty interesting, he acts like the tough guy, but does have a soft spot for Oliver and isn’t invincible, as the fight with Roscoe and DeSoto show. The other dogs don’t have much going for them. Francis is the cultured one, Einstein is the stupid one, Tito is the wiry loudmouth and Rita is the token girl.
The only one who is actually pretty funny is Tito, but that may be because I like Cheech’s acting style.

I’ll admit though, Georgette is hilarious as the self-centered showdog who thinks everything is about her. Midler did very well in the role.

For a film about an orphan cat, it seems to center more on what the humans do. Fagin is a petty thief at the end of his rope and will do anything he can to not get on Sykes’ bad side. At least that’s what it seems like at first, when he ransoms Oliver. But when he realizes he belongs to a little girl, that’s when his true character shows. He’s not bad. He’s just desperate.

Sykes on the other hand, while nowhere near a classic Disney villain, is a pretty decent villain. He’s sadistically evil, even casually explaining how to apply cement shoes on the phone at one point. His death, however, is one of the best villain deaths in the Disney canon. The only way it could have been better would have been if he got shot with his own gun. Because who doesn’t like ironic deaths.

On the other hand, Jenny is just fodder for being kidnapped. I think she was originally supposed to be Penny from The Rescuers and… it shows. Winston has his funny moments. I do like how he’s a fan of professional wrestling.

As for the music, most of the songs are pretty good. The only one I really thought was unnecessary and annoying was “Streets of Gold.” “Perfect isn’t Easy” is really fun and “Good Company” is a good pause.

I mentioned before that this film was a moderate hit. It wasn’t that big. But that’s ok. It was thanks to this the reception that this film got that Disney went to producing an animated film per year. The successes of The Great Mouse Detective and this film, plus the renewed interest in the Golden Age from Who Framed Roger Rabbit would take Disney back to its roots of the grand fairy tale musical.

Thanks to those three films, we had the Renaissance.

Final Call: It’s pretty good, with a few good characters, nice songs and a huge impact. #11