I’ll come right out and say it: I think Disney’s Oliver & Company is one of the lesser offerings the studio has put out. This adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist falls flat in my opinion. The songs are pedestrian and this feels as if nearly everybody involved was sort of sleepwalking through the process.
That being said, it is still charming and enjoyable enough to watch with your kids and own in this new Blu-ray version.
London becomes New York City for the purposes of this story. Joey Lawrence (remember him?) is Oliver, an orphaned kitten. He falls in with a dog, Dodger (Billy Joel) and his gang which includes the likes of Richard Mulligan and Cheech Marin. This gang of dogs work under Fagin, voiced by Dom DeLuise. Other famous voices include Robert Loggia, Bette Midler and Roscoe Lee Brown.
Many of the scenes lack flow. It’s almost as if this were intended to be the pilot episode for a television series, only the production values are much higher. Well, sort of. At times the animation really does look as if the original intent was for this to be a television series as Disney was beginning at the time to offer up animated series (“DuckTales” and “Gummi Bears” were hits and “Rescue Rangers” was in pre-production).
What many people don’t remember was that the success of Oliver & Company (for it was a major success) directly led to what is known as the “Disney Renaissance” – a period that began with the following year’s The Little Mermaid. By having an animated feature be a box office success, as well as being a musical, Walt Disney Studios committed to releasing an animated film a year as well as committing to more musicals, hiring such talents as Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Elton John and more.
It’s not that Oliver & Company is a bad film, but when compared to the rest of the Disney animated offerings, it just doesn’t stack up. Taken on its own, it’s enjoyable enough. Parents will wish for more, but the kids will giggle.
Special features are carry-overs from the previous DVD edition. Nothing new, and the stuff we do get is in standard definition. There’s a couple of shorts and a brief “making of” (less than 10 minutes) featurette.
Worth an upgrade? That’s up to you. If you only have the VHS or don’t own the film at all, and are considering it, I’d go ahead and pick it up.