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DVD Features
- DVD Release Date: February 3, 2009
- Original Theatrical Release: November 18, 1988
- 1.66:1 Enhanced for 16×9 televisions
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- French and Spanish Language Tracks
- Subtitles: Closed Captioned
- Suggested Retail Price: $29.99
The Movie
To me and my 10year-old daughter, Oliver & Company is a forgotten little gem of a film. When she heard that I was reviewing Disney’s 27th full-length animated feature, she passed quite a knowing comment. “Disney seems to have forgotten about that movie, haven’t they? You never see it on Disney Channel or Toon Disney, and you don’t see it represented at The Disney Store or in the parks, do you?” That’s pretty observant for a 10-year-old, but then again, she’s the daughter of a Disney nut like me, so I assume it rubs off. She’s right though. In all of my writing about Disney collectibles, I’ve rarely, if ever, come across any Oliver & Company paraphernalia. Indeed, we don’t have it any in any of our collections. That’s a shame because Oliver & Company really is a charming little film, with some memorable characters and some decent music.
Inspired, of course, by Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, the film is the story of a little orphaned kitten named Oliver (voiced by a young Joey Lawrence on the cusp of fame) who falls in with a motley assortment of pooches working for a bumbling thief named Fagin (Dom Deluise). The ragtag crew of pickpocketing pooches include the street smart Dodger (first time actor Billy Joel), wise-cracking Chihuahua Tito (Cheech Marin), prim and proper Bulldog Francis (Roscoe Lee Brown), Rita the slinky Saluki (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and the ironically named dim witted Great Dane, Einstein (Richard Mulligan). Fagin, it turns out is in hock to the movie’s villain, the dark and nasty loan-shark Sykes. When he sees that his crew has returned with worthless junk from their day’s exploits, he realizes he is in serious trouble with the unforgiving Sykes (voiced by the great Robert Loggia). Oliver proves his worth by scratching the nose of one of Sykes’ evil Dobermans. This scene ends in quite a heartwarming way as the family of oddballs try to put their master at ease by fetching his slippers and blanket and having him reluctantly read them a bedtime story.
The following day, the crew decides to initiate Oliver into their life of crime on the streets of New York City. Proud thespian Francis lies down in front of a limousine faking injury while Tito, with Oliver in tow, attempt to steal the limo’s stereo system. It is here where Oliver meets Jenny the “poor little rich girl” in the back of the limo. Jenny’s parents are away on a business trip, she’s feeling very alone and the little kitten is just what she needs to brighten her day. Oliver, meanwhile, has found the home and caring owner he has been longing for, much to the dismay of Jenny’s pampered poodle Georgette (the Divine Miss M herself, Bette Midler).
The crew decides to break Oliver out of his new found home and once they do, a dejected Dodger finds out that Oliver likes his new home and wishes to return. Fagin, however, has another plan. Once he spots Oliver’s gold ID tags, sporting a 5th Avenue address, thoughts of a large ransom come into his head. The plan backfires, of course, when Jenny and Georgette arrive to retrieve Oliver with only Jenny’s piggy bank for a ransom. Softhearted Fagin can’t stand to see Jenny so upset and turns over her beloved kitten. Unbeknownst to Fagin, the evil Sykes is watching and snatches Jenny for his own ransom demands. Oliver and company track Sykes to his lair and make an attempt to rescue Jenny. An elaborate chase ensues through the streets of Manhattan, into the subway system and culminates on The Manhattan Bridge as Sykes is struck and killed by a train, sending him and his ominous black car into the East River below.
Oliver and his new found friends celebrate Jenny’s birthday the following day. As Dodger and Oliver part ways, he promises to drop by and visit and names him the honorary vice-president of the gang, as they go off singing their way through the streets of The Big Apple.
The Goodies
There are several goodies included in this release. Some are hits and some are misses.
Oliver’s Big City Challenge Game
The only new bonus feature on this release, Oliver’s Big City Challenge Game proved entertaining for my 10-year-old, if not fairly easy. I didn’t run it by my 6 year-old boys. I have a feeling it would have been more geared to their age than the 10 year-old. Some of the tasks were extremely simple; counting links of hot dogs, punching in a series of 5 numbers into a keypad to gain access to Sykes’ hideout, viewing an image, and then viewing it a second time to see what’s different. Again, mildly entertaining, but relatively simple.
The Making of Oliver & Company
I might put this in the miss column, were it not for some minor discussion of the early use of computers in Disney animated films. This is basically a five and a half minute promo for the film, and pales in comparison to other behind the scenes features you may have seen on other DVD releases. This was produced at the time of the film’s release as opposed to some other Making Of pieces where they actually return to the studios and re-interview people associated with the film. I think, given the 20th anniversary moniker given to this release, a more in depth and current feature could have been produced. The discussions with animator Glen Keane regarding computers and their new use in animated films was intriguing though. I found it interesting that at one point the narrator says something like, and I’m paraphrasing, “Although computers will be an important piece of Disney films, something the company will never leave behind is it’s long history of artists animating their films by hand.” (Insert ironic foreshadowing comment of your own here.)
The History of Animals in Disney Films.
Basically, a short 90 second feature touching on the company’s history of animals in their animated classics. Also produced at the time of the original release, it’s not very in depth and quite honestly is over before you know it. Considering the subject matter, it could’ve been much more.
Return of a Classic
Another very short look at the film’s rerelease into theaters in 1996. Nothing too substantial here. It really made me miss the fact that Disney no longer re-releases films on the big screen.
Sing-Alongs
Two Sing-Alongs are included, “Why Should I Worry?” the Billy Joel sung theme song for Dodger, and “Streets of Gold” sung by Rita the Saluki. It should be noted that Ruth Pointer of Pointer Sisters fame handles Rita’s singing duties and not her voice-over talent Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Oliver & Company Scrapbook
My daughter and I both enjoyed these 14 pages of production stills, concept art and character sketches. I love seeing this stuff, and always appreciate it’s inclusion on a DVD. You can view three or four at once on a page or click on each one for a full screen view. Definitely a hit.
Publicity Materials
Several of the film’s original trailers are included here. Nice. Not thrilling, but nice.
Fun Film Facts
Nine screens of text featuring many different tidbits of trivia from the film. A nice, interesting feature.
Bonus Shorts
Two classic Pluto shorts are included, which are a pure pleasure. Lend a Paw is a 1941 Academy Award winner featuring Mickey, Pluto and an adorable little kitten that turns Pluto’s world upside down. Puss Cafe is a 1949 short featuring 2 rather bizarre cats tormenting Pluto. Anytime that a Disney classic short is included in a DVD release, it’s a hit with me.
Most notable among the many Sneak Peeks are: The Pinocchio 75th Anniversary Platinum Edition, Disney/Pixar’s next release, Up, a look at the next Tinker Bell movie, Tinker Bell and The Lost Treasure, and the Monster’s Inc. Blu-ray edition.
Hidden Mickeys and Doggies
If you watch closely during the scene where Fagin is waiting for someone to arrive with his ransom, he lifts his sleeve to check his many, presumably stolen, watches. One of them is, what else, a Mickey Mouse watch.
During Dodger’s big song, “Why Should I Worry?”, he makes his way down the street with a string of hot dogs in his mouth, attracting all the other dogs on the street. if you watch closely, Peg, Jock and Trusty from Lady and The Tramp can be seen, as well as Pongo from One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Audio, Video and Interface
The audio mix leaves nothing to complain about. The movie sounds great and has a clear, crisp presentation. I’m pleased, as always, when a movie is released in it’s original widescreen format. At times, the transfer to me seems a little grainy. The scenes on the New York City streets are a little dark to begin with, especially the scenes on Fagin’s barge. This was presumably intentional, showing the grittier side of Manhattan that these characters inhabit, but I’m left wondering if the transfer could have been cleaner. The scenes in Jenny’s luxurious town home are much brighter and pop off of the screen much more. The DVD is simple and pleasant to use and has some nice looking backgrounds.
The Final Evaluation
If you purchased the film’s last DVD release in 2002, there’s no real reason to purchase this edition. The only new feature is the game, and it’s mildly entertaining, but unless you’re a true completist, you can stick with the older copy. If, however, you are like many people out there who unfairly lump Oliver & Company in with the so called “dark period” of Disney animated films, and don’t own it, I would say put that misconception aside and purchase this movie. Oliver & Company played an important part in the company’s history. It was the first Disney film to extensively use computer animation. As a matter of fact Oliver & Company marked the very first time that Disney created a specific computer animation department for a film. Most of the film’s vehicles and building scenes were computer generated and the effect is pretty seamless. It’s widely reported that this film’s success determined the future of Disney Feature Animation. If Oliver failed, we might not have seen the fully realized “2nd Golden Age”, (kicking off with The Little Mermaid), that immediately followed Oliver & Company’s release. It was good to re-watch this film with my daughter. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and both feel that it doesn’t get it’s fair share of Disney glory. The more we as Disney fans realize that not everything is The Lion King, and not everything has to be, nor should be, the more we can continue to discover and re-discover the Disney magic that exists in each of the films, not just the mega-hits.
