Oliver & Company is a 1988 American animated musical comedy drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and inspired by the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist and the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables. It was directed by George Scribner and written by Jim Cox, Tim Disney, and James Mangold. In the film, Oliver is a homeless kitten who joins a gang of dogs centered around Fagin and Dodger to survive in the streets. Among other changes, the setting of the film was relocated from 19th-century London to late 1980s and early 1990s New York City, and Sykes is a loan shark.
In late 1984 or 1985, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg held a pitch meeting with the animation staff. After story artist Pete Young pitched the idea to adapt Oliver Twist with dogs, the pitch was quickly approved, and the film quickly went into production under the working title Oliver and the Dodger. Pre-production started with the crew reading Oliver Twist and watching the musical Oliver!, developing the film for six to nine months. After production began in 1986, 300 artists and technicians worked on the film within two and a half years of production.
Along with The Land Before Time, Oliver & Company was released theatrically on November 18, 1988. Oliver & Company received mixed reviews from critics. The music and vocal performances of celebrities were praised, while the animation, designs, its use of computer-generated imagery, and plot received divided reviews. The film however performed very well at the box office, grossing $121 million worldwide against the budget of $31 million.
The film was re-released in theaters in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on March 29, 1996. It was released on home video in North America on September 24, 1996, on VHS and LaserDisc. A DVD edition followed on May 14, 2002, as a special edition. Oliver & Company was later released on Blu-ray Disc on August 6, 2013, to commemorate its 25th anniversary.
Plot
Outside a shop in New York City, several orphaned kittens are put up for adoption; all of them manage to find homes except for an orange tabby, who begins wandering the streets hoping that someone will take him in. One day, the kitten meets a Jack Russell Terrier named Dodger, who helps him steal food from a hot dog vendor before fleeing with the hot dogs, prompting the kitten to pursue him.
The kitten chases Dodger to a barge, where he watches Dodger sharing the stolen hot dogs with his friends—Tito the Chihuahua, Einstein the Great Dane, Francis the Bulldog, and Rita the Saluki. Their owner, Fagin, is a petty thief indebted to Sykes, a nefarious loan shark, who gives him an ultimatum to repay the money in three days. After the other dogs encounter the kitten, they are confronted by Sykes' two Dobermanns, Roscoe and DeSoto, who threaten to eat the kitten until he claws DeSoto's nose, a deed that earns the kitten respect from Fagin and the dogs.
The next day, Fagin goes to pawn some of his stolen goods, while the dogs and the kitten try to steal more money for him. Through a theatrical ruse, the animals stop a limousine belonging to the wealthy Foxworth family, but their attempt to rob the limo fails, and the kitten is discovered by the family's child Jenny, who is worried that her parents, who are on a business trip, won't be able to return home in time for her eighth birthday. Jenny adopts the kitten, whom she names Oliver, and bonds with him, much to the jealousy of Georgette, the Foxworths' spoiled prize-winning poodle.
Meanwhile, Dodger and the other dogs believe that Oliver has been kidnapped, and they go to the Foxworths' house to "rescue" him. With the help of Georgette, the group take Oliver back to their barge, but Oliver tells them that he wants to stay with Jenny, making Dodger feel betrayed. As Oliver attempts to return to Jenny's house, Fagin stops him from leaving and recognizes from Oliver's new collar and gold name tag that he has been adopted by a wealthy family; seeing this as an opportunity to repay his debt, Fagin decides to hold Oliver for ransom, and he informs Sykes of his plan.
Having found Fagin's ransom note, Jenny and a reluctant Georgette set out to get Oliver back. She meets with Fagin, who is shocked to be dealing with a child; bothered by his conscience, Fagin gives Oliver back to Jenny freely by pretending to have just found him. However, Sykes, who was watching the events take place, abducts Jenny with the intention of blackmailing her family, while ending his deal with Fagin. Oliver, Georgette, and the other dogs sneak into Sykes' warehouse to rescue Jenny with Fagin helping them escape via his trike. Sykes, Roscoe, and DeSoto chase the group into the subway tunnels where Roscoe and DeSoto are fatally electrocuted on the third rail of the subway following a battle between Oliver and Dodger, while Sykes is killed after his car collides with a train on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Following the incident, Jenny and Oliver are reunited. They later celebrate Jenny's birthday with the dogs, Fagin, and the Foxworths' butler, Winston, who learns that Jenny's parents are returning home tomorrow. Oliver opts to stay with Jenny but promises to remain in contact with Dodger and the gang.
Voice cast
Joey Lawrence as Oliver, an orphaned tabby kitten who is looking for a home. Natalie Gregory as Jennifer "Jenny" Foxworth, a friendly, young rich girl who adopts Oliver. Myhanh Tran provided the singing voice for Jenny. Billy Joel as Dodger, the charismatic, laid-back Jack Russell Terrier leader of his gang of dogs. Dom DeLuise as Fagin, a lowly but well-meaning thief who lives on a barge with his dogs. Robert Loggia as Sykes, a loan shark and shipyard agent who lent a considerable sum of money to Fagin. Cheech Marin as Tito, a Mexican-accented Chihuahua in Fagin's gang. Sheryl Lee Ralph as Rita, a Saluki in Fagin's gang. Ruth Pointer provided the singing voice for Rita. Roscoe Lee Browne as Francis, a Shakespeare Bulldog in Fagin's gang. Richard Mulligan as Einstein, a gray Great Dane in Fagin's gang. Bette Midler as Georgette, the Foxworth family's poodle. Taurean Blacque and Carl Weintraub as Roscoe and DeSoto, respectively: Sykes' violent Doberman Pinschers. William Glover as Winston, the Foxworth family's butler. Frank Welker as Louie the Sausage Vendor.
Production
Development
Oliver & Company was the first animated film developed by The Walt Disney Company to begin production under the supervision of Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg; the duo, who had previously worked at Paramount Pictures as chairman and head of production, joined the company in 1984.
In late 1984 or 1985, Eisner and Katzenberg invited twenty film executives to pitch potential ideas for upcoming animated features, a meeting called the "Gong Show". After Ron Clements had pitched The Little Mermaid (1989) and Treasure Planet (2002) to Eisner and Katzenberg, story artist Pete Young suggested, "Oliver Twist with dogs." The next day, Katzenberg, who had previously developed a live-action adaptation of the musical Oliver! at Paramount, approved the pitch for possible development, along with The Little Mermaid. George Scribner and Richard Rich were announced as the directors of the project, while Pete Young was appointed as story supervisor. However, Young died unexpectedly in late 1985, and Rich was fired from Disney about six months into production, leaving Scribner as the sole director.
Pre-production started with a table reading of the novel Oliver Twist and watching the musical Oliver!. Developed for six to nine months, the first year was difficult for the crew. Some producers, directors, and storyboard artists felt unhappy with the direction of the film, who thought that "it had lost some of its contemporary edge." Because of negative feedback, Scribner tried to revise the film to be "less obvious with the material" and include "a more hip, contemporary sensibility" of the period. Production officially began in 1986, and the film was named under the working title of Oliver and the Dodger, but it was later changed to Oliver & Company for unknown reasons. Within two and a half years of production, 300 artists and technicians worked on the film.The Making of Oliver & Company: 2:43–2:47
Initially, Oliver and Dodger were two kittens, then two dogs, changing back and forth before it was decided that Oliver would be isolated if he was a "different type of character," turning Oliver into a naïve kitten and Dodger and the gang into dogs in the final adaptation of the film. Considering Tina Turner to voice Rita, Rita's first name was Tina. Her name was changed twice―Nancy and Rita―the latter name was changed in August 1986. Georgette was created by Scribner and the film's animators. Sykes was the final character to be created for the film. Initially creating Sykes as a Dobermann, early story drafts included Sykes developing a relationship between Oliver and Rita to establish the Dobermann's attack.
Some characters that were intended to appear in the film were also discarded. As work continued on Oliver, Roy E. Disney conceived that Fagin would attempt to steal a rare panda from the Central Park Zoo, along with the gang, and that Oliver would have helped a panda return to the zoo. These concepts were seen in a draft written as late as August 1986. The writers worked with the idea for approximately nine months before problems arose with the story. The panda subplot was dropped when producers suggested Fagin hold Oliver for ransom, treating the boy as a valuable, rare Asian cat. The panda was also replaced by Jenny. Jenny was intended to live with her mother, but the story crew changed her mother into a maid, and later, a butler. A policeman's horse, Kaminski, who would always ask Dodger if he is staying out of trouble, was also intended to appear in the film.
Writing and story revisions With story artists and writers working together for the film, twenty people contributed story ideas to the film under supervision of Scribner. By the end of their labors, the story was set in two forms―a set of several boards and a compact screenplay, with a million of story sketches created for the film.The Making of Oliver & Company: 2:47–2:49 Going through several rewrites during production, some revision goals include giving Oliver "more attitude" and developing Oliver and his two relationships with Dodger and Rita according to a draft dating September 24, 1985.
In early story drafts, Dodger was given a smaller role. Planning Einstein to be a vital character, the writers intended for Fagin to visit Sykes' office with Einstein, who was attacked by the Dobermanns and "carried out, bloodied and lifeless." During the film's climax, Einstein was also intended to shake off Sykes' bandages, leap at the dogs, and fling them back into the car. In the final film, Dodger took over Einstein's "two big scenes." Tito, Francis, and Georgette were secondary characters before they were expanded during production, including Tito, whose character's animation footage increased after realizing that Tito "shined the way he did." After Cheech Marin was cast as Tito, Tito was given more development, including his relationship with Francis. During recording sessions, Tito's romance with Georgette was also given development.