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Oliver and Company - Special Edition

It's not what is there in "Oliver and Company" that bothers me as much as what's not there. Let's forget for a moment that the film completely bastardizes everything that one could possibly hold dear about its source material, but the animation incorporated into the movie is lousy and second-rate, and the overall experience lacks the Disney charm and zeal that it so lovingly bestowed on movies like "The Rescuers" and "101 Dalmations," to name two of its far more successful efforts. ***

The movie is a basic reworking of the classic novel "Oliver," but to think of it as Charles Dickens' masterpiece with a canine reworking is giving it too much credit. Set in the middle-class streets of New York City, we are introduced to newborn kitten Oliver (voiced by Joey Lawrence), as he and his siblings await new owners in a box on the side of the road (you don't have to strain too hard to see how desperate the filmmakers are to make the audience feel some small measure of sympathy for this small feline). He soon meets up with a crafty dog by the name of Dodger (Billy Joel), an artful thief who takes him under his wing, as do the other animals under the care of Fagan, a miserable wretch who owes money to an intimidating loan shark named Sykes. ***

And then there's the sympathy aspect of the plot, where our young kitten, through a series of mishaps during one of the group's money-earning heists, is found by Jenny, a young girl whose loneliness in the world mirrors that of Oliver's. She takes him home, and the two become best friends, as Jenny's well-groomed pure-bred champion, Georgette, watches with deep chagrin. ***

The only problem with all of this is that you hardly feel much of anything for the characters. The movie's 74-minute, all-too-brief running time dispells any and all chances of coming to care for the connection between Jenny and Oliver, or Oliver's struggle to find a sense of permanency in his life, something past versions of the oft-told tale have captured marvelously. ***

In effect, the larger, more-noticeable flaws begin to make themselves known. The animation process for the film is like taking a step backwards in time, though not in a good way. Seeing the cartoonish, storyboard-like images of New York City skyscrapers, and colors that flicker slightly, reminds me of just how beautiful the images of movies like "Rescuers" and "Dalmations" looked. Sure, they are much older, but the detail put into their creation is a milestone when compared to the juvenile efforts I saw unfolding before me in this film. ***

The musical numbers heard here aren't all that impressive, either. Even Billy Joel's voice behind the lyrics of numbers like "Why Should I Worry?" can't keep the movie from sinking into a childish level that fails to provide much for adults in the way of keeping them awake or attentive. I guess one could say that kids will be impressed, or at the very least, entertained, but the flop I witnessed here reminded me many times of the spectacle and whimsy of the songs and ribaldry of the Oscar-winning 1968 "Oliver!" ***

The biggest cringe-inducer is seeing Dickens' novel being turned into a cutesy kiddie show that is completely devoid of any thoughtful intrigue or well-developed plot. Disney hasn't been afraid to reach into darker regions in the past, especially with elements from its masterpieces "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and the Gothic "Sleeping Beauty." "Oliver and Company," instead of possessing a certain level of intensity or suspense through a conveyance of the brutal street conditions its title character faces, chooses to take the usual upbeat path, incorporating song and animals personified with voice and human mannerisms into its ultimately lacking sequence of events.

Not that there's much to brag about here, but I will say I was somewhat disappointed that the images didn't feel as if they had been cleaned up very much. There is a slight flicker in large shaded areas of color throughout some sequences that is clearly noticeable, and quite distracting. As for the sound, the 5.1 mix wraps nicely into the surrounds and front channels during musical numbers and score, while deep bass kicks in every now and then during intense sequences.

For kids and adults who enjoyed "Oliver and Company," the features put forth on this disc are likely to please in all fields. The younger set will no doubt be delighted by the sing-along songs and the animated shorts "Lend a Paw" and "Puss Cafe," while the older set will take pleasure in looking over the conceptual art and pre-production drawings of certain characters and settings. *** For me, one of the few and far between who could die tomorrow without regretting not watching the movie more than once, the DVD is an unintentional laugh fest. For one thing, the making of featurette reveals that there was an abundance of computer animation used in "Oliver and Company." It's only too bad that they spent too much time on this, and not nearly enough time on making the backgrounds look more realistic (did they ever really leave the conceptual art stages as seen in the galleries?). And I'm still guffawing over the wit and witicism of the opening line that quotes the movie as "a new twist on an old Twist: Oliver Twist." How intelligent.