Oliver & Company

[theradicalchild]

This Disney film celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary this year (among other Disney milestones in 2023, including the studio’s centennial), and I gave it another watch. Interestingly, in 1988, it was released around the same time as another Charles Dickens literature-inspired film, Scrooged. Disney’s loose adaptation follows the eponymous New York City street cat Oliver, who is recruited by the dog Dodger (voiced by singer Billy Joel) into a canine gang headed by human bargeman Fagin (played by Dom DeLuise), at the mercy of the film’s main antagonist, the loan shark Sykes (portrayed by Robert Loggia).

After a failed attempt by Fagin’s dogs to rob a limousine, Oliver is adopted by young rich girl Jenny Foxworth, to the dismay of her family’s poodle Georgette, brought to life by Bette Midler. Other performances include Cheech Marin as the chihuahua Tito. The attempt by Fagin’s dogs to recapture Oliver leads to Jenny being held hostage by Fagin and Sykes for ransom. The film has some good music, including “Why Should I Worry?” performed by Joel and “Perfect Isn’t Easy” by Midler. While it deviates from Oliver Twist, I enjoyed it; furthermore, though it occurs in the “real world” of 1988, it luckily avoids topical references that would tend to date films of its type.