Toon Talk: Oliver & Company Special Edition DVD
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(c) Disney

Oliver and Company retains only the barest of plot points from the Dickens original, obviously leaving such themes as child abuse and cold-blooded murder behind. But in sanitizing the story for young audiences, the story losses a lot of its grit, and nowhere is this more obvious then in the character of Fagin. Originally a conniving rapscallion who could literally charm the pants off you, here he is reduced to a bumbling buffoon, and not a very funny one at that.

Still, the film does proceed at a brisk pace and coasts a lot on its own charms. The songs (by a variety of songwriters including Howard Ashman, Jack Feldman and Barry Manilow), such as the first real Disney animated show-stopper, “Why Should I Worry?” and the sweet “Good Company”, add a lot of zip and heart to the production. The scruffy, ‘down and dirty’ style of the animation, using the Xerox process for the last time in a Disney feature, adequately conveys life on the big city streets, although it is briefly and jarringly abandoned for Georgette’s diva number, “Perfect Isn’t Easy”. In its technical infancy, computer animation is used sparingly yet effectively here, mostly on backgrounds and vehicles, such as Sykes’ limousine and Fagin’s trike.

Released on November 18, 1988, Oliver and Company became a modest success that nevertheless helped pave the way for such future blockbusters as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. While it doesn’t hold a candle to these pinnacles of modern animation in regards to depth, emotion, musicality and technical artistry, it still hints at the mastery that was yet to come. Squint a little while watching it and you may see the doors opening up onto a whole new world.

BONUS FEATURES:

This ‘special edition’ DVD at first glance appears to have a load of goodies for Oliver fans, but in actuality it has merely collected mostly filler. But considering its standing in the Disney pantheon (that would be, ‘in the shadow of its successor The Little Mermaid’), this is probably the best one could expect.

While there is no audio commentary provided, while watching the film I did notice some points of interest:

• At the opening and closing of the film, there prominently in the New York City skyline proudly stands the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. In the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001 that horrified the globe, my heart, and those of many others no doubt, will always skip a beat when I see these American icons in films made prior to that fateful day.
• During the “Why Should I Worry?” sequence, Lady and the Tramp stars Jock, Trusty and Peg make a cameo appearance.
• Continuity errors: Dodger’s red neckerchief comes and goes before and after “Why Should I Worry?”. Same for the marks on Doberman Desoto’s nose after Oliver scratches him.
• Jenny bears more then a passing resemblance to another young Disney ‘orphan’, Penny in The Rescuers.
• ‘Hidden Mickey’ Alert: One of Fagin’s many timepieces is a Mickey Mouse wristwatch.

The Making of “Oliver and Company” Featurette:
Produced for the original theatrical release of Oliver and Company, this featurette discusses Disney’s tradition of recreating literary classics in animated form and includes footage of voice actors Billy Joel and Cheech Marin at work and supervising animator Glen Keane discussing the then novel technique of combining traditional and computer animation. But at a scant five and a half minutes, practically no insight into the making of the film is provided whatsoever.

Disney’s Animated Animals Featurette:
Apparently produced sometime after Pocahontas, this featurette is listed in the packaging as ‘a look at the history of animals in Disney films’. Sounds like an in-depth exploration of every critter from Dumbo and Bambi to Sebastian and Simba, right? Think again. At only ninety seconds … you read that right, ninety seconds, the inclusion of this trifle is simply insulting.