When I was a little boy this animation replaced my entire Cable TV regimen and Toy Story all together (until the VHS broke and I chose to do something else) . This movie was a fun film to watch. I loved the characters and the drama. But is it well balanced? We'll find out.-PLOT/STORY- Oliver and company is losely based on the Charles Dicken's novel "Oliver Twist". I saw the musical when I was 9 and let me tell you. It is nothing like that. Honestly I could say that knowing Disney they could have easily gone with the watered down version of a British novel. But as lose as it is it still gets the general outline of the novel down. A Kitten named Oliver is out in the large brooding New York City (the most cliche place in film) who gets discovered by a cool talking dog named Dodger. Dodger leads Oliver to a stray pack of dogs who are actually owned by a homeless man on a dock named Fagan. Fagan, is apparently owes money to a scaryass loneshark named Sykes. So the only way to get back money is not by raising it or getting anyone to help but to steal... Now I must stop right there but what is this teaching anyone? Nothing. I cannot tell if this is being ironic or not but teaching kids to steal is not the way okay? What a bare bones lesson. Anyway, Oliver gets adopted by a wealthy little girl who's daddy is gone and he is loved. Sykes discovers this and kidnaps the little girl. Now Fagan and his gang must save her. This leads to a violent chase scene. This leads to one of the most traumatic Disney death's of my childhood right next Mufasa dying (which I didn't care for) but it wasn't Syke's death but rather his two Doberman and I love Doberman. This is graphic for the kids. I mean Gaston's death was just and like no one cared but holy crap dude. 1980's Disney has edge! So it ends up in happiness as the gang forget the climactic chase and eat birthday cake ending up in song and dance and plenty of fourth wall breaks. If that part in the climax wasn't with the 2 dogs death this movie would be a perfect 10. -CHARACTERS- The characters in Oliver and company are cute and lovable but they are mostly archetypes and stereotypes. Oliver- a shy little kitten who must grow to be confident. Dodger- The coolest Jack Russle you'll ever see in this side of NYC. Fagan- Based off Fagan from the original movie. Fagan is a dirty frantic yet caring homeless man. Rita- A Saluki personified as a foxy black chick who wants to help Oliver grow. Penny- A young rich girl who has talent and loves animals. She is the American in this 3 cheese slice of a schmaltzy film. Has daddy issues Tito- A wise cracking Chihuahua voiced by Cheech Marin. He is the funniest and is better than any actual Chihuahua you'll ever see. Georgette- The most stereotypical poodle character you'd probably seen 100 times in any Looney Toons short. Many uppity girls will relate to her. There are forgettable ones likeFrancis- A snobby Bulldog. Einstein- A dopey Great Dane And the worst one of all Sykes-A bruding protagonist that you'll love to hate. Has the balls to threaten a little girl and a homeless man. A lone shark mafioso who smokes a cigar and has two Dobermans. There are some Cameos you'll see. The characters are stereotypes but still good and likable. -ART/ANIMATION- This was before Disney's grand renaissance of the 1990's and it shows. The characters aren't realistic, they feel more like out of a Loony Tunes cartoon lacking anatomy in someways and feel too tooned up on some of them but still very cute. But that isn't the problem really, no. The character alone are good. What the problem is that the line work feels very sketchy and Xeroxed. But the physics and overall animation make up for this as they are quite detailed. But what's even more unbalanced is that this was the first animated film to ever use cel shaded CGI on automobiles and environments. Now I can forgive this if it was the 1960's and this was rotoscoped like in 101 Dalmatians. But this simply looks out of place. The cars have way too much perspective, physics and fluidity than the 2D characters themselves. It feels video gamey. As if they took 2D sprites and layed them over a 3D backdrop in a Nintendo Gamecube game. Just flickey neon cardboard in an otherwise realistic fluid world.The backgrounds don't try too hard. They are nice pleasent yet sketchy images of New York City set in watercolor. They are filled with product placement which to a negative think makes them think this is just a cashgrab but to me (a positive thinker) it makes it look more grounded in reality. Some locations look more realistic than others but your stupid kid brain can't tell the difference.Overall though, it is a pleasent to look at movie. -MUSIC/VOICE ACTING- Since this is a musical. It's going to have to have good music and boy does it deliver. In my opinion, Oliver and company has the best music of all time in a Disney film. Hand in hand it has good voice actors. First off you have Billy Joel singing Why Should I Worry. Which is a fun soundtrack filled. Streets of Gold- Sung by Ruth Pointer as Rita Huey Luis doing his Once upon a time in New York City which sets the sad mood of Oliver's orphan experience. Penny's Good Company sung by someone who no one knows With this kind of Talent singing pop songs (better than Zootopia trash By Shakira) Overall I love it. Lots of other soundtracks to set the mood. The music for some will trigger nostalgia to kids and tweens of that time. But to adults it may not. Because some of them who where in their 20's probably didn't even like those artists of that genre.Oliver and Company's fun can only last son long. But do to it's inconsistent mood, strange take on a classic tale, bad climax, somewhat outdated . It will turn off some viewers and scare little kids. But over all, pretty charming. And that's all I need to say.

Most certainly one of the lesser known entries in Disney's canon and unfortunately one of the most forgettable. A modernisation of Dickens' Oliver Twist, a homeless kitten joins a gang of dogs learning to survive on the rough urban streets of the Big Apple. Doesn't sound like Oliver Twist right? Well, Oliver is a ginger kitten, Fagin looks after the dogs, Dodger is the cool canine and Sykes is a loan shark wanting money back from Fagin. The backbone of the source material is embedded within this animation, which is most of its appeal. It's interesting to see how Disney altered the classic novel to develop a more cutesy interpretation. I do believe it worked. The characters were twisted and processed in order to adapt to the gritty environment surrounding them. New York City has never looked so intimidating, the hand drawn animation style enhances that aesthetic appeal which ultimately makes the city its own character. The first ten minutes illustrates this well as we witness Oliver precariously wandering the overcrowded streets. No dialogue, just the hustle and bustle of daily lives. It pulls you in. The story is well paced, moves extremely briskly and does contain some memorable characters. The voice acting, particularly Billy Joel, were believable and matched the movement of the animation. High energy levels and street-smart dialects. So why is it forgettable? 73 minute runtime. Far too short to create a compelling story involving musical numbers. It's so brisk that it never lets you breathe and take in the story. The occasional emotional scenes just can't deliver the impact it's desiring because we have yet to connect we these characters. Oliver is supposedly the main character, yet I'm fairly certain Georgette has the most screen time (including her own song). 'Georgette and Company' would've been more fitting. Overall, it's a perfectly watchable animation that makes full usage of its environment, but one that can't quite achieve the magic of Disney's precious work.

I still find Oliver & Co. enjoyable and cute even though it withers when compared to what followed. To be honest, the setting of a Charles Dickens story, which showcases some literature's's most gruesome characters, in the most groovy 80's environment imaginable is a little silly. Aside from that, it has made the gang of stray dogs and their owner, Fagin, a fun and enjoyable part of the New York setting. The interplay between the poodle Georgette and Tito the Chihuahua was hilarious. That aspect of the movie is also well rounded off in the end of the movie. The songs are actually pretty good. I often catch myself humming them after watching the movie. "Why Should I Worry" is ridiculously catchy! If you don't hum it for hours after hearing it, something is wrong with you. The songs "You And Me Together" and "Once Upon A Time In New York City" are sweet and sincere and deserve more attention.The villain is among the weaker villains and did disappoint. Bill Sykes is known for being one of Dickens' most evil personas in his novels, and he is surprisingly forgettable in this depiction. His canine sidekicks are more memorable. But he gets an awesome chase scene at the climax of the movie. All in all, I think Oliver & Co. is a great movie mostly for kids, but deserves more attention. I think it is often overlooked like many of the 80's Disney movies.

This is a dogs and cat's retelling of a classic Charles Dicken's. It's a fun children s' movie that I thought was really heartwarming and fun when I watched it as a kid. Although I didn't get the entirety of the plot. The music isn't anything classic that will last and will be repeated over and over again by Disney fans. But it does get the job done and does fit the environment and story. The plot is about a stray orphaned Kitten that is looking for a home to belong in and fits in with other stray dogs and learns about the streets of New York and how to survive from them. I think they could have done a better job of developing in this area, which could have lead to more of the bonding elements. The animation reminded me of a more fluid animated Saturday morning cartoon show. Overall this is a good children's movie that will somewhat stand out in memories.7.4/10