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Oliver & Company facts for kids
| Oliver & Company | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George Scribner |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | J. A. C. Redford |
| Studio |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
| Release date(s) | November 18, 1988 |
| Running time | 74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $31 million |
| Money made | $74.2 million |
Oliver & Company is an American animated musical movie from 1988. It was made by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. This movie is the 27th animated film from Disney.
The story is loosely based on the famous book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. However, the movie changes a few things. Instead of 19th-century London, the story takes place in modern-day New York City. Oliver is a homeless kitten who joins a gang of dogs to survive on the streets. The gang is led by a man named Fagin, and one of the dogs is Dodger.
Oliver & Company was first released on November 18, 1988. It did well at the box office, making $74.2 million. The movie was released again in theaters in 1996. Later, it became available on home video and DVD. A special 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray was released in 2013.
Contents
Plot Summary
The movie begins with Oliver, a small orange orphan kitten, who is lost and alone in New York City. He meets a street-smart dog named Dodger. Dodger tricks Oliver into helping him get some sausages from a hot dog seller. Dodger then leaves Oliver behind and runs off to the barge where he lives.
Dodger's home is with Fagin, a kind but poor man who owes money to a dangerous person named Sykes. Inside the barge, Oliver meets four other dogs: Tito the chihuahua, Einstein the Great Dane, Rita the Afghan Hound, and Francis the Bulldog. Oliver explains that he followed Dodger because he wanted his fair share of the sausages.
Fagin is in big trouble because he owes Sykes a lot of money and has only three days to pay it back. To try and get the money, Fagin and his animal friends go out into the city. They try to sell things, but they are not very lucky.
The animals then spot a fancy limousine driven by a butler named Winston. They put on a show to get his attention. Oliver ends up getting tangled in wires inside the car. A kind little girl named Jenny, who Winston is looking after, sees Oliver. She decides to adopt him and takes him home to her big house on Fifth Avenue. Jenny promises Oliver they will be "good company" forever.
The next morning, Fagin's dogs break into Jenny's house to get Oliver back. This makes Jenny's fancy pet poodle, Georgette, very upset. But the dogs manage to take Oliver back to the barge.
When they return, Oliver explains that he misses Jenny. Dodger is a bit upset because he thinks Oliver doesn't care about their gang anymore. However, Fagin notices the gold tag on Oliver's collar. He realizes Oliver could be their best hope to get the money.
Fagin writes a note to Jenny's family, pretending it's a ransom note, hoping to get money from the "very rich cat owner person." Jenny reads the note when she gets home from school. She and Georgette go to the docks to get Oliver back.
Jenny gets Oliver back, thanks to Fagin. But then, Sykes suddenly appears and kidnaps Jenny! He wants the ransom money for himself. Fagin and his dogs quickly work together to save both Jenny and Oliver from Sykes and his scary Doberman dogs, Roscoe and DeSoto.
The next day, Jenny celebrates her birthday with Oliver, Fagin, the dogs, and Winston. Oliver decides to stay with Jenny. Dodger tells Oliver he'll always have a special place in the gang as "vice president." Dodger and the rest of the gang then return home with Fagin.
Main Characters
Here are the main actors who lent their voices to the characters in Oliver & Company:
- Joey Lawrence as Oliver, the brave kitten
- Billy Joel as Dodger, the street-smart dog
- Natalie Gregory as Jennifer "Jenny" Foxworth, the kind girl who adopts Oliver
- Dom DeLuise as Fagin, the poor but good-hearted man
- Cheech Marin as Ignacio Alanzo Julio Fredrico De Tito, the tiny but feisty chihuahua
- Bette Midler as Georgette, the pampered poodle
- Robert Loggia as Sykes, the dangerous loan shark
- Richard Mulligan as Einstein, the big but gentle Great Dane
- Roscoe Lee Browne as Francis, the bulldog who loves theater
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Rita, the stylish Afghan Hound
- William Glover as Winston, Jenny's butler
- Taurean Blacque as Roscoe, one of Sykes's Dobermans
- Carl Weintraub as DeSoto, Sykes's other Doberman
- Frank Welker as Louie, the hot dog seller
How the Movie Was Made
For Oliver & Company, Disney invested a lot of money into a new computer system. This system was called Computer Animation Production System, or CAPS for short. It helped animators create parts of the movie using computers.
While other Disney movies like The Black Cauldron used computers for only a few special scenes, Oliver & Company used computer animation for about 11 minutes of the film. This included things like the tall skyscrapers, taxi cabs, trains, Fagin's scooter-cart, and the exciting subway chase scene.
The Soundtrack
The music for Oliver & Company was created by J. A. C. Redford. The movie also features several songs. The first song you hear in the movie is "Once Upon a Time in New York City," written by Howard Ashman. Billy Joel, who voiced Dodger, also sang Dodger's song in the movie.
The soundtrack album was re-released in 1996. The original 1988 release had the same songs, but the instrumental music was placed in a different order between the songs.
1996 Soundtrack Listing
- Once Upon a Time in New York City - Huey Lewis
- Why Should I Worry? - Billy Joel
- Streets of Gold - Ruth Pointer
- Perfect Isn't Easy - Bette Midler
- Good Company - Myhanh Tran
- Sykes (instrumental music)
- Bedtime Story (instrumental music)
- The Rescue (instrumental music)
- Pursuit Through The Subway (instrumental music)
- Buscando Guayaba - Rubén Blades
- End Title (instrumental music)
Awards and Recognition
Oliver & Company received some nominations and awards:
- It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for the song "Why Should I Worry?".
- It was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film - Animation.
- It won a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing.
See also
In Spanish: Oliver y su pandilla para niños