Film Snail

Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company

6.7

Oliver & Company

G·1988·74m

Summary

This animated take on Oliver Twist re-imagines Oliver as an adorable orphaned kitten who struggles to survive in New York City and falls in with a band of canine criminals led by an evil human. First, Oliver meets Dodger, a carefree mutt with street savoir faire. But when Oliver meets wealthy Jenny on one of the gang's thieving missions, his life changes forever.

Crew

Director

George Scribner

Novel

Charles Dickens

Screenplay

James Mangold

Screenplay

Tim Disney

Screenplay

Jim Cox

Story

Joe Ranft

Story

Kevin Lima

Story

Roger Allers

Story

Vance Gerry

Story

David Michener

Story

Peter Young

Story

Gary Trousdale

Story

Kirk Wise

Story

Mike Gabriel

Story

Chris Bailey

Story

Leon Joosen

Story

Michael Cedeno

Story

Jim Mitchell

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Geronimo1967

December 24, 2023

6

I suppose it was only a matter of time before this classic Charles Dickens story got the Disney treatment - but given that it's completely devoid of any darkness or eeriness, this rather too cheerful and vibrant pet-fest doesn't really work for me. The eponymous kitten is adopted by a gang of dogs that, much like "Fagin's Boys" in the book, engage in a bit of petty crime for their boss "Fagin" who, himself, lives in terror of the malevolent "Sykes". When the latter cottons on that "Oliver" has been adopted into a wealthy home, he insists that "Fagin" enact a trap to lure "Jenny" from her luxury mansion so he can ransom her back to her dad. It falls to "Oliver" and his canine companions to thwart this dastardly plan. You can't really fault the quality of the animation and an array of musicians including Barry Manilow and Dan Hartman are behind the songs that won't exactly stick in your mind afterwards, but that do help to keep this amiable production rolling along. Sadly, though, it's all just way too predictably light and fluffy and takes just a little too much of a factory approach to one of the more substantial stories of English literature. Younger kids may like it though - it's pretty joyous and extols the virtues of loyalty, team playing and friendship and it's not without the odd laugh to two.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$31,000,000.00

Revenue:

$121,000,000.00

Keywords

new york city
based on novel or book
butler
villain
musical
poodle
dog
kitten
doberman
great dane
absent parent
chihuahua dog