Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absotively, Posolutely Wonderful!, July 5, 2001
Poor, abandoned kitten Oliver is homeless on the streets of 1980s New York City, until he meets a streetwise dog named Dodger. The cool canine takes Oliver under his wing and, with the help of the rest of his all-dog pickpocket gang, begins to teach him how to survive on the wrong side of the law. But when one of their con jobs goes awry, Oliver ends up in the hands of a sweet, lonely, little rich girl named Jenny. Suddenly, Oliver is living the high-life in a Fifth Avenue penthouse, much to the chagrin of Jenny's prize-winning, pampered poodle, Georgette. When the old gang shows up to rescue Oliver from his ritzy new life, they're disappointed to find that he wants to stay with Jenny. Their human ringleader, Fagin, however, is more than happy to send Oliver home, if he can get a healthy ransom in the process. Fagin isn't really a bad guy, he's just one step above homeless and has a really nasty loan-shark breathing down his neck. Jenny shows up on the dark and dangerous docks to pay Oliver's ransom and rescue her little kitty, and her sadness is too much for Fagin to take, but loan-shark Sykes has no troubles from a conscience and sees a chance to make even more dirty money. He snatches up Jenny and plans to hold HER for ransom! Suddenly, Oliver, Dodger, Fagin and the gang find themselves on a desperate rescue mission to save Jenny from the ruthless Sykes and his bloodthirsty Doberman Pinschers, Roscoe and Desoto, and even Georgette is getting in on the heroic action!
There's no doubt about it, Disney's wonderfully charming classic "Oliver and Company" is one of the most dated animated films you'll ever see. Of course, that's a big part of its charm. What could be more "`80s" than 1980s New York City? How about the music of Billy Joel and Huey Lewis? I know they were two favorites of mine in the `80s! Okay, to be honest, Billy Joel and Huey Lewis aside, the `80s is something you look back on and mock rather than view fondly, especially the clothes, and Oliver and Company captures that aspect, along with many others, perfectly. So, it's dated. Everything is, really. Call it nostalgia. Anywho, as strongly `80s as "Oliver and Company" is, it rises above it! It is simply a great film! That's something that's easy to forget if you haven't seen it in a while. "Oliver and Company" is Disney's twist on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," and it is an EXCELLENT modernization! All the best characters are there, and the cast is star-studded! The piano man himself, Billy Joel, voices the artful Dodger, a canine so cool he puts Snoopy to shame (we still love ya, Snoopy)! The hilarious Cheech Marin is Tito the Chihuahua, animation alumnus Dom Deluise is Fagin, the divine Bette Midler is one of Disney's funniest characters as Georgette, Robert Loggia is the excellently slimy villain, Sykes, and a very young Joey Lawrence plays Oliver, just to name a few! With seamlessly incorporated computer animation and painstakingly acquired "dog's eye view" shots of New York City, "Oliver and Company" was the film that kicked off Disney's big comeback as an animation heavyweight, though this cute little film was easily forgotten in the wake of Disney's mega-hit, "The Little Mermaid," the following year. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the magic of "Oliver and Company" yourself! Even the soundtrack is terrific, despite that it is powerfully "80s." And, it's amazing how well Disney has translated "Oliver Twist" into a tale about cats and dogs on the streets of New York without losing the heart of the tale and its underlying messages. The DVD is fantastic as well, especially for a single-disc Disney release! This is the way DVDs should be! In addition to the widescreen presentation of the film, you get a behind the scenes featurette from the original theatrical release, 2 shorter featurettes, a TV spot, theatrical trailers, a scrapbook gallery of art and other materials, 2 sing-along-songs, and the best part: You get two classic Disney shorts! Included as extras are "Puss Cafe," a hilarious Pluto cartoon where the pup goes up against two troublesome felines invading his backyard, and "Lend a Paw," the Oscar winning Mickey Mouse short in which Pluto saves a kitten from drowning and quickly regrets it. Outstanding stuff, and an amazing selection of extras for a single-disc Disney DVD! Rediscover this Disney Classic on DVD today! You won't regret it!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated Disney classic gets the DVD treatment, October 12, 2005
During the 80's, the studio hit an artistic, creative, and commercial slump. However, I still find that I quite enjoy Disney's 80's films, many of which experimented with computer animation, non-musical storylines, and different source materials. One of my favorite pre-Little Mermaid 80's Disney films is Oliver and Company. Boasting a soundtrack filled with great songs and a wonderful cast of characters, Oliver and Company finally gets the DVD treatment, albeit a less-than-stellar one.
For one, the transfer is good, but it could be much better and it has a fair amount of grain.
The bonus features could have been much better as well. A few fluff EPK-type featurettes, which are nice, but still fluffy, are sadly enough the meat of the bonuses. Also included, fortunately, are the original trailer, original TV spot, and the 1995 re-release trailer. Two sing-alongs are included as well as two classic Disney short cartoons.
Overall, it's nice to see Oliver and Company on DVD at last. This is probably the best DVD edition Disney will give it for at least a while, so if you're considering picking it up, go for it.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oliver & Company Special Edition DVD, June 29, 2002
Disney's 27th animated classic does suffer from the fact that it was the last feature from the studio to hit before "The Little Mermaid." Of course this caused inevitable comparisons, and of course there is no competition between the two an any way."The Little Mermaid" is in fact a superior film, but the comparisons are unjust because each film is supposed to be very different. The characters are all likable, with the exception of Tito the chiwaua who just goes over the top sometimes to the point of annoyance. The story is very contemporary, simple, and it works very well. The songs, although every 80's, are still catchy. The animation in "Oliver & Company" consists of stylized backdrops of New York City and characters that seem flat and hard edged. The best older classic that you could compare it to was 1961s 101 Dalmatians. The film makers made a commendable effort in making this film feel true to it's setting, and moreover give us NYC through a dog's perspective. The film's artists actually endured strange glances from New Yorkers, as they squatted or laid down on the sidewalks to draw the city from a dog's eye level. It's also a great kick to see all the animated human characters on the streets in 80's fashions. ( O/T Seriously, what were designers thinking back then? ) The Twin Towers also make a bittersweet appearance. "Oliver & Company" also was the first Disney film to extensively use computers. Whereas "The Great Mouse Detective" used computers for the impressive Big Ben sequence, in "Oliver" the computer is used more. The cars, the subway and many other elements are impressive uses of the new technology, which led the way for everything from The Flying Carpet in "Aladdin" to the ballroom sequence in "Beauty and the Beast." "Oliver & Company" is a fun way to kill 80 min of your time. It has many things to appreciate, it does what it was meant to do. I do not think it was meant to be a classic of Bambi-proportions. And because of it's humble roots, I find this movie to be well worth the purchase.
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