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Business Stationary Mart - Oliver & Company
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List Price: $22.99
Our Price: $1.98
Your Save: $ 21.01 ( 91% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Pictures
Starring: Joseph Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Roscoe Lee Browne
Directed By: George Scribner
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304100509
Format: Animated
ISBN: 6304100507
Label: Buena Vista Pictures
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: 1996-09-25
Running Time: 73
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1988-11-18
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: This is the only movie i've ever seen in the theatre a second time immediatly after it was finished
Comment: Just to put this all in context...i was 5 years old, living on Long Island NY (where Billy Joel is from) and this movie was absolute magic to me. Maybe it was because it was set in New York City, maybe it was because Billy Joel (a hometown hero) was the voice of one of the main characters and sang a great song. Who knows. All i know is that me and my sister begged my father to see it again as soon as it was finished and he gave in (which was unusual for him). So pretty much this movie is like chistmas morning as a child to me.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good additon to movie collection
Comment: This movie is a good addtion to our movie collection, it is one that has been on my daughter list of movie to buy for years now and it is a great buy through Amazon. Good wholesome entertainment.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Oliver and Company
Comment: Excellent service. I recieved the item quickly. I watched the movie as soon as I got it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of my all time favs
Comment: This is only the second best animated film of all time in my opinion the first being "The Lion King".I love everything about it the music,the characters,the story, it's the best!!!!!!!
Oh the memories!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: In one hundred years, it may become a cherished Disney classic...
Comment: Oliver & Company was the last film of Disney's so-called "dark age" during the '80s, an era that started back in 1979, when the great financial failure of "The Black Hole" led the company into great monetary problems which somewhat affected the quality of the projects that followed. This 1988 film produced by Walt Disney Pictures wore the tag-line of "The first Disney movie with attitude", something that may have made it popular back in the late '80s but that somehow fell as the years passed. Frankly, the"attitude" may just be the reason the film doesn't pass being mediocre and why it'll probably take a very long time for it to become any sort of a real classic. The film lacks in many aspects, especially artistically.
Very loosely adapted from Charles Dickens' timeless novel, "Oliver Twist", "Oliver & Company" follows the adventures of a small kitten named Oliver in his search for a home and a family to which he can belong. Oliver first meets Dodger, a street-wise, "cool" dog (voiced by Billy Joel) who introduces him to Fagin's band of canine thieves. Fagin is a homeless man who is in debt with the evil ganster, Sykes. His group of dogs, the attractive Rita, the elderly Einstein, the art-loving Francis and the wanna-be-cool (or insufferable) chihuahua, Tito, try to help him out by stealing throughout the dangerous streets of New York City. In one of their adventures, Oliver is accidentally taken away by a rich girl named Jenny (who bares a more than obvious resemblance to Penny from the previous 1977 hit film, "The Rescuers"), and the little kitten can't help but to finally feel at home in his new 5th Avenue mansion; even if he must deal with the six-time national champion dog, Georgette. When Oliver is "rescued" and brought back once again to his previous home with Fagin and his gang, all of them become part of Sykes's wicked scheme to recover his lost money; at the same time, all of their lives might be in great danger.
Definitely one of Walt Disney Pictures's weakest efforts since Walt Disney's Nine Old Men left the company in the late '70s. Though the animation is mostly good, Disney did try for a realistic New York City, adding touches such as dirt, trash, advertising, vandalized walls... all together creating a very unappealing setting indeed. Perhaps, and I'm not sure if many would agree, a more idealistic view of New York City, even if less accurate, would have worked better and given the film a better outlook. The scenes taking place in 5th Avenue or Central Park are definitely among the best in terms of visual appeal. The next, and perhaps even worst, flaw is the insufferable voice acting. Though often praised as grand, I personally think that the choices were very poor. Yes, Billy Joel, Bette Midler and others are wonderful singers and actors, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee good voice acting. The wanna-sound-cool Cheech Marin takes the cake as the most insufferable, unbearable, annoying, repulsive Disney voice actor ever and his role here as Tito is definitely the very worst (He went by rather unnoticed in "The Lion King" as Banzai, one of the hyenas); I couldn't help but cringe whenever Tito opened his mouth. The songs are mostly good but a bit on the overrated side; only "Once Upon a Time in New York City" and "Good Company" come off to me as great, the rest are only so-so. So in the end and overall, the film is enjoyable to watch from time to time, even with its lack in the artistic and sound department, it does have a number of endearing characters, good animation and an interesting and rather unusual plot. Very different from what the term "Disney classic" has meant in the company's good years, but still tolerable. Recommended.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Disney does Dickens in this animated version of Oliver Twist, in which a homeless New York City cat falls in with a bunch of mischievous dogs under the leadership of the appealing scoundrel Fagin. The roots of Disney's success with animation in the '90s begins with this clever, energetic, atmospheric movie, which succeeds in capturing the grim world Dickens conjured. Lyricist Howard Ashman (The Little Mermaid) worked on the songs, the best of which is sung by Billy Joel, who provides the voice of (the Artful) Dodger. --Tom Keogh
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