DVD Corner

Oliver and Company Blu-ray Review

Despite some memorable moments, “Oliver and Company” is by no means a Disney classic.

In this Disney animated-musical re-telling of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist,” the story centers around an orphan cat in New York City named Oliver. Oliver, who starts out the film on his own, soon finds himself getting mixed up with a dog named Dodger who is part of a gang of dogs that are owned (and work for) a poor, kind hearted thief named Fagin. As the film progresses, we learn that the desperate Fagin is at wit’s end as he has to pay back a considerable debt to the cruel loan shark Mr. Sykes (who has 2 menacing Doberman Pinchers). While Oliver, Dodger and the dog gang are out on the streets trying to get some cash (by any means necessary), Oliver becomes taken in by a lonely young human girl named Jenny who is part of an extremely wealthy family. For the first time in his life, Oliver feels at home, but the dog gang mistakenly thinks he was abducted against his will and set out to rescue him. With Oliver being “rescued,” the dog gang learns that Oliver wanted to stay with Jenny. When Fagin learns where Oliver was, he sees a way out of his debt ordeal and “kidnaps” Oliver with the hopes of being paid ransom money. What fate will befall the characters? I’m sure you can figure it out.

When you think of animated Disney classics, you think of films like “Pinocchio” or “The Jungle Book” that are timeless classics that never feel dated. When you think of a film like “Oliver and Company,” however, the entire film feels dated. This is an 80’s animated film through and through and it shows in the characters, music, animation style, and the material itself. It’s incredibly dated, but more than that, it’s just a bland spin on a tale that has been told time and time again. Sure, the movie has a few moments ala Cheech Marin’s hyper Tito character and Billy Joel’s “Why Should I Worry?” song (which never seems to leave your inner jukebox once you hear it), but aside from that, there’s just not much to sink your teeth into here. What you see is what you get and there’s not much going on under the surface of this tale of friendship, love, and family.

Video/Audio:

The film, which is presented in 1.85:1 1080p, is not one of the best looking  Disney animated films and the hi-def transfer certainly heightens the animation flaws. Still, the colors do look sharper than they ever have been and the details of the settings are much more apparent on Blu-ray.

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio track is as lively as can be in the music, dialogue, and sound f/x departments.

Extras:
* Disney trailers.
* “Why Should I Worry?” and “Streets Of Gold” sing-along songs.
* A game titled “Oliver’s Big City Challenge.”
* Text fun film facts.
* 4 “Oliver and Company” trailers.
* Concept art scrapbook/still gallery.
* “Disney’s Animated Animals”- A very short featurette on the re-release of “Oliver and Company.”
* “The Making Of Oliver and Company”- A featurette that sells the film.
* 2 animated Disney shorts titled “Lend A Paw” and “Puss Café.” ‘Paw’ is a classic Pluto, Mickey, and kitten centric short while the silly ‘Café’ features Pluto and a gang of thieving cats.
* Sing-along option for the film.

Summary: Children or nostalgic adults may enjoy “Oliver and Company,” but if I had to pick a recent Disney Blu-ray release to go with, I’d choose “Robin Hood” any day of the week.

August 13, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | 80's Disney, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Disney Animated Film, Oliver and Company Blu-ray Review, Why Should I Worry? song