Day 27: Oliver & Company

Oliver & Company (1988)

Starring: Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dom DeLuise, Taurean Blacque, Carl Weintraub, Robert Loggia, Natalie Gregory, William Glover, Bette Midler, Frank Welker

Songs: "Once Upon a Time in New York City," "Why Should I Worry?," "Streets of Gold," "Perfect Isn't Easy," "Good Company"

Oliver & Company is the twenty-seventh Disney animated film, based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.  In this version of the story, Oliver is a kitten looking for a home and he falls in with Fagin's gang -- a group of dogs.

This movie was originally going to be called Oliver and the Dodger, and there was talk of making it as a live action adaptation of the musical Oliver!.  When that idea was abandoned, and they decided animation was the way to go with this project, there was discussion of making this a sequel to The Rescuers, and that the lonely child that eventually became Jenny Foxworth would be Penny in her new life.  This movie also made even more extensive use of CGI than previous films.  It's one of few Disney films that is definitely and decidedly modern in its setting, and it even has product placement from Coca-Cola, Sony, USA Today, and many others -- so that the film's New York City would look authentic.

Though critical reviews were mixed, the movie was a success at the box office and Disney decided to make an animated feature a year from that point on (which, most years since, they have).  

Again, I feel like there isn't much to say here.  I liked this movie a lot as a kid, and I still like it now.  In terms of this blog and your faithful blogger, this movie is significant for two reasons -- one is that this is the halfway point in the Disney animated canon, number twenty-seven of fifty-four.  And also because this film came out the year I was born.  Many of the coming movies I saw in theaters, which is something I couldn't say of the earlier films.

What I Liked: Billy Joel.  I mean, that answer had to be expected.  Also, how cute is Oliver?

What I Disliked: I'm not sure if it's just me being a biased Billy Joel fan, but nothing in the movie really brings the excitement like "Why Should I Worry?."  I wouldn't say it's downhill after that because there's a lot of fun and cute moments, but the best scene probably shouldn't be so close to the beginning of the film.

Should You Watch This Movie:  Yeah, go for it.  It's totally watchable.