Oliver & Company (1988)
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A homeless kitten finds himself in the middle of a gang of street-smart dogs in New York City.
The story
In New York City, an orphaned kitten named Oliver finds himself wandering the streets alone. He encounters a Jack Russell Terrier named Dodger, who leads him to a group of other dogs living on a barge. The group, led by a petty thief named Fagin, is struggling to survive under the threat of a loan shark named Sykes. When Oliver is discovered by a wealthy family, he is taken in as a pet, leading to a complicated situation for both the humans and the animals involved as they navigate the complexities of their lives in the city.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being abandoned, a kitten named Oliver meets a street-smart dog named Dodger and his gang of friends. They live on a barge owned by Fagin, a thief who is being pressured by a loan shark named Sykes to pay off a debt. During a failed attempt to steal money for Fagin, Oliver is found by a young girl named Jenny from the wealthy Foxworth family. While the dogs believe Oliver has been kidnapped, he actually enjoys his new life with Jenny. However, Fagin sees the opportunity to pay his debt by holding Oliver for ransom. When Jenny and her friend Georgette go to rescue him, Fagin lets them take him, but Sykes abducts Jenny to blackmail her family. In a final confrontation, the dogs and Oliver work together to rescue Jenny from Sykes' warehouse. During the escape, Sykes' henchmen are defeated, and Sykes is killed in a collision. The film ends with a celebration of Jenny's birthday, where Oliver chooses to stay with Jenny but remains in contact with his friends.
- First release year
- 1988
- Runtime (minutes)
- 74
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- George Scribner
- Writers
- Jim Cox · screenplay; Tim Disney · screenplay; James Mangold · screenplay; Vance Gerry · story; Mike Gabriel · story; Joe Ranft · story; Jim Mitchell · story; Chris Bailey · story; Kirk Wise · story; Dave Michener · story; Roger Allers · story; Gary Trousdale · story; Kevin Lima · story; Michael Cedeno · story; Pete Young · story; Leon Joosen · story
- Cast and characters
- Joey Lawrence · Oliver; Billy Joel · Dodger; Cheech Marin · Tito; Richard Mulligan · Einstein; Sheryl Lee Ralph · Rita; Dom DeLuise · Fagin; Robert Loggia · Sykes; Bette Midler · Georgette
- Genres
- animated; musical; comedy; drama
- Themes
- friendship; loyalty; survival
- Tone and mood
- adventure; whimsical
- Premise and plot tags
- animal_adventure; urban_setting; musical_adaptation
- Source material / true-story basis
- Oliver Twist and Les Misérables
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the music and celebrity performances, while the animation and plot were more polarizing. It was a significant commercial success, becoming the first animated film to gross over $100 million in its initial release.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 58 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Production trivia
- It was the first animated film to include real-world advertised products.; It was the first animated object to be tested with CGI.; It was the first animated film to gross $100 million worldwide in its initial release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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