“Oliver & Co.” (1988)

Oliver & Co. 

Brief Description:

A lost kitten joins a gang of dogs engaged in petty larceny in New York City.

(from IMDb)

Date: 1988

Genre: American animated musical adventure comedy-drama film

Running time: 1 hour 14 minutes

Cast: 

Joey Lawrence: Oliver

Natalie Gregory & Myhanh Tran: Jenny

Billy Joel: Dodger

Cheech Marin: Tito

Richard Mulligan: Einstein

Roscoe Lee Browne: Francis

Sheryl Lee Ralph & Ruth Pointer: Rita

Dom DeLuise: Fagin

Taurean Blacque: Roscoe

Carl Weintraub: DeSoto

Robert Loggia: Sykes

William Glover: Winston

Bette Midler: Georgette

Frank Welker: Louie the sausage vendor

Director: George Scribner

Production company: 

Inspired by: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Wikipedia page

Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 3.5/5

I've wanted to watch this for a long time but I disliked the opening so much that it took a while for me to force myself to watch it. I like the NYC setting, from Jenny's posh neighbourhood to the busy main streets to the dingy docks, though. 

Characters: 3.5/5

Winston, Jenny, & Oliver are my favourites. They're all so sweet. Fagin I felt sorry for and he ended up really decent; while Sykes and his dobermans were terrifying. Tito drove me crazy, he was so over-the-top and hyper and braggy; and Dodger was just too brash. Georgette ended up rather funny though. 

Plot: 3.5/5

Once I got past the beginning (the songs in this film drove me BATTY, but especially the first two) I enjoyed it somewhat. It's rather dark and sad, but that is to be expected, being based on OT. The ending was very high-stakes (I actually stopped cross-stitching to watch, lol) and rather more wild than I expected, but overall I enjoyed it. 

Romance: 2/5

There's just a tiny thread of romance between Georgette and Tito but I hated every second of it (and 90% of that was because of Tito offering kisses and yelling "WOMAN"). 

Theme/Message/Topics: 3/5

I feel like Jenny's kidnapping is a very good talking point for families. 

Content: 4/5 (low)

Probably some mild euphemisms? I forget. 

Violence: 3/5 (medium)

Aggressive dogs threatening to attack/bite/kill; lots of pushing around and threatening by Sykes; kidnapping; car chase ending in fiery death after crashing with a train. 

Overall: 3.5/5

I think I'll watch it again, but I doubt it will ever be a favourite.