Product Description

A timeless classic inspired by Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, Oliver & Company is a fun-filled, action-packed musical adventure voiced and sung by one of the most talented casts in Disney history!
The film artfully blends lovable characters, cool songs, and action-packed adventure into a contemporary classic. Disney's hip, high-energy tale begins in the concrete canyons of New York City, where Oliver, an adorable orphaned kitten, is befriended by Dodger, a carefree mutt with a certain street savoir faire. The mischievous little cat is welcomed by Dodger's pack of pickpocket pooches, including dim-witted Einstein, ravishing Rita, and live-wire Tito. This ragtag family of misfits runs into trouble when the evil mastermind Sykes -- aided by his two daunting Dobermans -- schemes to kidnap the lonely little rich girl who just adopted Oliver! It's up to the brave kitten and his newfound friends to race to the rescue in an electrifying chase through the city's subway system. Boasting five outstanding original songs and the musical talents of Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Huey Lewis -- and overflowing with brilliant animation, Oliver & Company is a modern masterpiece.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3511 in DVD
• Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
• Released on: 2009-02-03
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 74 minutes

Features

• Experience a magical adventure, filled with friendship, fun and "paws-itively" cool music in the new 20th Anniversary Edition DVD of Walt Disney's OLIVER AND COMPANY -- featuring tail-wagging bonus and new digital mastering! Oliver, a feisty young cat, explores New York in this thrilling animatedic cleverly based on Charles Dickens' timeless story, OLIVER TWIST -- featuring unforge

Amazon.com
Based on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," Disney's Oliver and Company was one of the first animated features to incorporate computer images with traditional hand-drawn animation and features the music and voice talents of pop-music giants like Billy Joel, Huey Lewis, and Bette Midler. A traditional story set in the modern world, Oliver and Company is the story of a stray kitten who wanders the streets of New York in search of a loving family. When Oliver encounters a street-wise dog named Dodger, the dog begins to teach him about life in the big city and takes him home to his family of street dogs and their master Fagan. Fagan and his dogs Dodger, Tito, Einstein, Francis, and Rita must often resort to thievery just to survive and during a particularly daring caper, Oliver gets separated from the other dogs and winds up meeting Jenny, a young rich girl with a big heart. As Oliver revels in Jenny's affection and begins to feel like part of her family, the dogs set out to rescue Oliver thinking he's been kidnapped. Eventually both Oliver and Jenny end up in grave danger and the only way Fagan and his dogs can save them is by doing what's right. As fresh on its 20th anniversary as it was when it premiered in 1988, this time-tested film appeals to children and adults of all ages. Bonus features include the Mickey Mouse and Pluto shorts "Lend a Paw" and "Puss Café" as well as a 5-1/2-minute making of featurette in which director George Scribner and animator Glen Kean describe the then brand new technique of blending computer and hand-drawn animation. Also included are sing-along versions of "Why Should I Worry? and "Streets of Gold," an interactive game, fun film facts, and an Oliver and Company scrapbook featuring concept art, storyboards, and publicity materials. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Underrated Disney classic gets the DVD treatment
During the 80's, the studio hit an artistic, creative, and commercial slump. However, I still find that I quite enjoy Disney's 80's films, many of which experimented with computer animation, non-musical storylines, and different source materials. One of my favorite pre-Little Mermaid 80's Disney films is Oliver and Company. Boasting a soundtrack filled with great songs and a wonderful cast of characters, Oliver and Company finally gets the DVD treatment, albeit a less-than-stellar one.

For one, the transfer is good, but it could be much better and it has a fair amount of grain.

The bonus features could have been much better as well. A few fluff EPK-type featurettes, which are nice, but still fluffy, are sadly enough the meat of the bonuses. Also included, fortunately, are the original trailer, original TV spot, and the 1995 re-release trailer. Two sing-alongs are included as well as two classic Disney short cartoons.

Overall, it's nice to see Oliver and Company on DVD at last. This is probably the best DVD edition Disney will give it for at least a while, so if you're considering picking it up, go for it.

Absotively, Posolutely Wonderful!
Poor, abandoned kitten Oliver is homeless on the streets of 1980s New York City, until he meets a streetwise dog named Dodger. The cool canine takes Oliver under his wing and, with the help of the rest of his all-dog pickpocket gang, begins to teach him how to survive on the wrong side of the law. But when one of their con jobs goes awry, Oliver ends up in the hands of a sweet, lonely, little rich girl named Jenny. Suddenly, Oliver is living the high-life in a Fifth Avenue penthouse, much to the chagrin of Jenny's prize-winning, pampered poodle, Georgette. When the old gang shows up to rescue Oliver from his ritzy new life, they're disappointed to find that he wants to stay with Jenny. Their human ringleader, Fagin, however, is more than happy to send Oliver home, if he can get a healthy ransom in the process. Fagin isn't really a bad guy, he's just one step above homeless and has a really nasty loan-shark breathing down his neck. Jenny shows up on the dark and dangerous docks to pay Oliver's ransom and rescue her little kitty, and her sadness is too much for Fagin to take, but loan-shark Sykes has no troubles from a conscience and sees a chance to make even more dirty money. He snatches up Jenny and plans to hold HER for ransom! Suddenly, Oliver, Dodger, Fagin and the gang find themselves on a desperate rescue mission to save Jenny from the ruthless Sykes and his bloodthirsty Doberman Pinschers, Roscoe and Desoto, and even Georgette is getting in on the heroic action!

There's no doubt about it, Disney's wonderfully charming classic "Oliver and Company" is one of the most dated animated films you'll ever see. Of course, that's a big part of its charm. What could be more "`80s" than 1980s New York City? How about the music of Billy Joel and Huey Lewis? I know they were two favorites of mine in the `80s! Okay, to be honest, Billy Joel and Huey Lewis aside, the `80s is something you look back on and mock rather than view fondly, especially the clothes, and Oliver and Company captures that aspect, along with many others, perfectly. So, it's dated. Everything is, really. Call it nostalgia. Anywho, as strongly `80s as "Oliver and Company" is, it rises above it! It is simply a great film! That's something that's easy to forget if you haven't seen it in a while. "Oliver and Company" is Disney's twist on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," and it is an EXCELLENT modernization! All the best characters are there, and the cast is star-studded! The piano man himself, Billy Joel, voices the artful Dodger, a canine so cool he puts Snoopy to shame (we still love ya, Snoopy)! The hilarious Cheech Marin is Tito the Chihuahua, animation alumnus Dom Deluise is Fagin, the divine Bette Midler is one of Disney's funniest characters as Georgette, Robert Loggia is the excellently slimy villain, Sykes, and a very young Joey Lawrence plays Oliver, just to name a few! With seamlessly incorporated computer animation and painstakingly acquired "dog's eye view" shots of New York City, "Oliver and Company" was the film that kicked off Disney's big comeback as an animation heavyweight, though this cute little film was easily forgotten in the wake of Disney's mega-hit, "The Little Mermaid," the following year. But don't let that stop you from enjoying the magic of "Oliver and Company" yourself! Even the soundtrack is terrific, despite that it is powerfully "80s." And, it's amazing how well Disney has translated "Oliver Twist" into a tale about cats and dogs on the streets of New York without losing the heart of the tale and its underlying messages. The DVD is fantastic as well, especially for a single-disc Disney release! This is the way DVDs should be! In addition to the widescreen presentation of the film, you get a behind the scenes featurette from the original theatrical release, 2 shorter featurettes, a TV spot, theatrical trailers, a scrapbook gallery of art and other materials, 2 sing-along-songs, and the best part: You get two classic Disney shorts! Included as extras are "Puss Cafe," a hilarious Pluto cartoon where the pup goes up against two troublesome felines invading his backyard, and "Lend a Paw," the Oscar winning Mickey Mouse short in which Pluto saves a kitten from drowning and quickly regrets it. Outstanding stuff, and an amazing selection of extras for a single-disc Disney DVD! Rediscover this Disney Classic on DVD today! You won't regret it!

Oliver & Company Special Edition DVD
Disney's 27th animated classic does suffer from the fact that it was the last feature from the studio to hit before "The Little Mermaid." Of course this caused inevitable comparisons, and of course there is no competition between the two an any way.

"The Little Mermaid" is in fact a superior film, but the comparisons are unjust because each film is supposed to be very different.

The characters are all likable, with the exception of Tito the chiwaua who just goes over the top sometimes to the point of annoyance. The story is very contemporary, simple, and it works very well. The songs, although every 80's, are still catchy.

The animation in "Oliver & Company" consists of stylized backdrops of New York City and characters that seem flat and hard edged. The best older classic that you could compare it to was 1961s 101 Dalmatians. The film makers made a commendable effort in making this film feel true to it's setting, and moreover give us NYC through a dog's perspective. The film's artists actually endured strange glances from New Yorkers, as they squatted or laid down on the sidewalks to draw the city from a dog's eye level. It's also a great kick to see all the animated human characters on the streets in 80's fashions. ( O/T Seriously, what were designers thinking back then? ) The Twin Towers also make a bittersweet appearance.

"Oliver & Company" also was the first Disney film to extensively use computers. Whereas "The Great Mouse Detective" used computers for the impressive Big Ben sequence, in "Oliver" the computer is used more. The cars, the subway and many other elements are impressive uses of the new technology, which led the way for everything from The Flying Carpet in "Aladdin" to the ballroom sequence in "Beauty and the Beast."

"Oliver & Company" is a fun way to kill 80 min of your time. It has many things to appreciate, it does what it was meant to do. I do not think it was meant to be a classic of Bambi-proportions. And because of it's humble roots, I find this movie to be well worth the purchase.