[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oliverandcompany.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:225: He gets his name about two-thirds through.]]

->''"Why should I worry?''\\
''Why should I care?''\\
''Yeah, I may not have a dime, but''\\
''I got street savoir faire."''

1988 Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon entry number 27 about [[Main/TalkingAnimal talking animals]], loosely based on Creator/CharlesDickens' ''Literature/OliverTwist''. In fact, if it were any looser, it'd fall right off. The setting is UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, and Oliver is an unwanted ginger kitten. Fagin's gang is now made up of dogs, including a mongrel named Dodger (as in the Artful Dodger). Fagin himself is human, and he's definitely a good guy this time. In fact, he's just some poor schmoe trying to pay off the loan shark Mr. Sykes (based on Bill Sikes), who is the BigBad, and here a VERY sinister gangster/Mafia type. The part of Mr. Brownlow is taken by Jenny, a 7-year-old girl who adopts Oliver.

The film is somewhat notable for some early use of CGI (mostly to create New York's traffic), and for being the last film of Disney's pre-Renaissance era - it came out just one year before ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''. It staffed many new artists who would rise to popularity with Disney's future releases. It's also important to note that the moderate success of this film brought back Disney's will to animate musicals, so you should thank it for songs like "[[Disney/TheLittleMermaid Under The Sea]]", "[[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Beauty And The Beast]]", "[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} A Whole New World]]", "[[Disney/TheLionKing Can You Feel the Love Tonight]]", [[Disney/{{Pocahontas}} and so on]], [[Disney/{{Tarzan}} and so forth]], [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc etc.]], ''[[OverlyLongGag ad nauseum]]''.

Visit [[VideoGame/OliverAndCompany here]] for the VideoGame.

----
!!Provides Examples Of:

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Gender reversed with Tito for Georgette. At first, anyway.
* ActorAllusion: [[Music/BillyJoel Dodger]] plays the piano with his tail.
** Fagin (Creator/DomDeLuise) has one or two moments that are reminiscent of [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH Jeremy]]
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The Japanese version has "Oliver" by Chami Satonaka as its theme song.
* AnimalTalk
* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: Georgette when it becomes clear Dodger didn't break into her room for sex.
** More justified than the usual examples of this trope, however: Georgette isn't so much pissed off at not being raped as she is pissed off that someone would break into the room of someone as beautiful and famous as ''her'', only to be looking for someone ''else''. At least if they'd been there to rape Georgette, Georgette would still be "the star" of the story, so to speak.
* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: As the picture on the Trope Page shows, NEVER feed ice cream to a cat.
** Kind of Justified. Plenty of children Jenny's age feed their pets human luxuries, unaware of the risks.
* AudibleGleam: Oliver's license, on his new collar.
* AwardBaitSong: Certainly the intention. Music/BillyJoel's "Why Should I Worry?" was a swing and a miss at the [[AcademyAwards Oscars]], not even being nominated, but did win a Golden Globe. It did not deter the coming movers and shakers, though, that would all but dominate the "Best Original Song" Oscar category for the next decade.
* BadassAdorable: Each dog that's a major character probably qualifies as {{Badass}}, though YMMV on how "adorable" they are. Oliver, on the other hand, is BadassAdorable with the emphasis on "adorable." The "{{badass}}" part comes from his occasional [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMOA]]s.
-->'''Fagin:''' That reminds me, I saw Desoto's nose; who did that?\\
(Dodger presents Oliver to Fagin)\\
'''Fagin:''' You... you? *Laughs* That took a lot of guts! We have never had a cat in the gang before...[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming we can use all the help we can get]].
* TheBechdelTest: Doesn't pass it. The only conversation between two females (in this case, Rita and Georgette) is about a picture of a guy in the latter's room.
** Jenny and Georgette have a conversation about Oliver (in a non-romantic way), but it doesn't really count because the film is vague over whether humans can understand animals and vice-versa.
* BigApplesauce
* BigBad: Sykes.
* BigFriendlyDog: Einstein.
* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with an elevated shot of Lower Manhattan.
* BoundAndGagged: Sykes makes sure Jenny can't escape by tying her wrists behind a chair.
* TheCameo: [[Disney/LadyAndTheTramp Jock, Trusty, Peg]] and [[Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians Pongo]] appear during "Why Should I Worry?"
** A picture of [[Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective Prof. Ratigan]] is among Georgette's vast collection of pictures of [[CrackPairing admirers]], as is Franchise/ScoobyDoo.
* CatStereotype: Oliver is orange, and is one of the nicest characters in the movie.
* ChaseScene: The climax.
* ConspicuousCG: Watch the animation of Georgette descending stairs during her "I Am" song, "Perfect Isn't Easy", for some early computer graphics.
* CoolCar: Sykes' car.
* CoolShades: Dodger during the "Why Should I Worry?" number.
* CowardlyLion: Fagin.
* CuteKitten: Oliver, natch.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Well, for 1980s animation, anyway. One critic noted that ''Oliver and Company'' was "the grimiest Disney release ever." [[note]]Presumably, they meant at the time, because if the darkness of this movie did not get overshadowed by Disney/TheLionKing, it probably got overshadowed by [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback of Notre Dame]] later on, obviously ignoring ''TheBlackCauldron''[[/note]] (All things considered, it ''is'' noteworthy that, while New York City had been portrayed in animated films many times prior to 1988, it had always been depicted as either glamorous or only "nostalgically" gritty, as in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail''.)
* DeadpanSnarker: Several characters have their moments, but Dodger is the most apparent.
-->'''Oliver:''' So when are we going to eat?\\
'''Dodger:''' We?\\
'''Oliver:''' Yeah, I'm starving!\\
'''[[{{Jerkass}} Dodger]]:''' [[KickTheDog Listen, kid, I hate to break it to you, but the "dynamic duo" is now the dynamic uno]].
* {{Determinator}}: Oliver continues to pursue Dodger after getting dipped in cement, sprayed with water, and humiliated in a wide variety of ways.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Oliver]], following the climax.
** Also, [[spoiler: Dodger after a gruesome fight with the dobermans.]]
** Gruesomely {{averted}} for several of the villains. See GoryDiscretionShot.
* DispenseWithThePleasantries: When Fagin is first visited by Sykes, who he owed money to and is implied not to be able to pay it back in time; he tries to put off admitting this by talking about the weather and about Sykes' dogs. Sykes won't have it.
-->'''Fagin:''' Oh, lovely evening, I was just saying this to your two lovely pure-bred...\\
'''Sykes:''' ... the money, Fagin.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: No one wants to adopt the orange cat. Like the red-headed stepchild who was originally going to be Penny.
* DogStereotype: Several, most obviously Francis the bulldog who is pompous and British.
* DoNotCallMePaul: "It's Francis. ''FRANCIS!!!''"
* DumbMuscle: [[IronicNickname Einstein]]
* DudeMagnet: Georgette. Just look at how many boyfriends she has had and still has.
* DuelingMovies: The 1980s were a tumultuous time in animation. Creator/DonBluth had very publicly split with Disney and started his own studio, which naturally was in competition with Disney. ''Oliver'' had ''two'' rivals from Bluth: ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', which came out on the same day but was thematically unrelated; and ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', released the following year but also featuring a roguish talking dog and a heartwarming little girl. ''Oliver'' did better than either in theaters, though it's now a somewhat forgotten member of the Disney canon while ''The Land Before Time'' and ''All Dogs Go To Heaven'' went on to spawn long-running video franchises.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: The "macabre sense of humour" variety is hinted at with Roscoe.
-->'''Dodger:''' Roscoe, is this us losing our sense of humour?\\
'''Roscoe:''' Nah, I ain't lost my sense of humour...\\
''(Roscoe kicks a television at the wall, breaking a few things and sending sparks flying.)''\\
'''Roscoe:''' See? I find that funny!
* EvilPlan: The plot of the movie is driven by Sykes trying to get Fagin to pay back the loan. The lengths he goes to are what make him a villain.
* {{Expy}}: Jenny was originally going to be Penny from ''Disney/TheRescuers'' and it shows. (Notice how they creatively changed one letter in her name.)
** Many of the dog characters in this film seem loosely reminiscent of some of those featured in ''Disney/LadyAndTheTramp''. The similarities between Tramp and Dodger, for starters.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Sykes and his dobermans, in what might rival [[Disney/TheLionKing Scar]]'s and [[Disney/{{Tarzan}} Clayton]]'s demise as Disney's most gruesome and violent final fight yet.
* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Dodger
** TheLancer: Tito
** TheChick: Rita
** TheSmartGuy: Francis, as the most erudite and the one with an interest in the arts.
** TheBigGuy: Einstein, as the biggest and strongest.
* FluffyDryCat: Current Trope Illustrator.
* FunnyAnimal: It's... complicated. The animals can understand humans, but possibly not the other way around. The animals do a lot of human poses, and Tito manages to drive a motorbike in one scene, but they stand on four legs rather than two.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: "Gang war! Gang war!"
** When Georgette finds Dodger in her room she thinks [[ArentYouGoingToRavishMe he's there to rape her]].
** Then later, Georgette asks to have a talk with Tito... alone in her room.
*** [[SubvertedTrope ...about giving him a bath and new wardrobe]]. [[DoubleSubversion Though Tito was obviously expecting something else]].
* GoryDiscretionShot: We barely see [[spoiler: Sykes getting splattered by the train]], and we only hear [=DeSoto=]--one of Sykes' dobermans--getting killed.
** [[AvertedTrope Roscoe, the other doberman, is a different story.]] Enjoy watching a grown dog getting electrocuted and whining as he dies, kids!
* GratuitousFrench: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb7kJ-j_dKA Dodger has street savoire faire (expertise)]]
* GuileHero: Dodger.
* HomelessPigeonPerson: Fagin, but instead of pigeons he has dogs.
* HoodHopping: Dodger eludes Oliver by jumping over cars. Oliver follows, but falls through the sunroof of one car.
* IAmSong: "Why Should I Worry?" for Dodger, and "Perfect Isn't Easy" for Georgette.
* IBrokeANail: Georgette.
* InkSuitActor: Music/BillyJoel, as Dodger, in one of the first major celebrity-voice turns in a Disney movie.
* InspiredBy: Some fans have no idea the film has anything to do with Dickens' ''Literature/OliverTwist'' until it's pointed out to them.
* InterspeciesFriendship: Oliver the cat befriends Fagin's dogs.
* InterspeciesRomance: Doesn't actually end up happening, but the birds that assist Georgette during "Perfect Isn't Easy" literally have their tongues sagging at the sight of her, which has some [[{{Squick}} pretty interesting implications]].
* IWantMyBelovedToBeFashionable: Georgette accidentally scares off the PluckyComicRelief[=/=]ChewToy, who's been hitting on her for the whole movie, with this trope.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A number of them - Dodger and Fagin at times, as well as Georgette, near the end.
* [[JustAKid Just A Kitten]]: Subverted repeatedly.
* KickTheDog: Definitely when Sykes has his dogs beat the crap out of poor Dodger (who protects Fagin).
* LateToThePunchline: Oliver's rescue is carried off with enough subtlety that no child would realize that Georgette anticipates rape.
* LargeHam: Francis seems to be one of these.
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: The aforementioned picture of Franchise/ScoobyDoo.
* LoanShark: Bill Sykes. Disney makes it very clear that he's willing to kill and throws in a few possible links to the Mafia.
* LonelyRichKid: Jenny.
* LovableRogue: Dodger, definitely. The other members of the gang to a lesser extent.
* MatchCut: A shot of the Manhattan skyline at night is held for a transition to the next morning.
** Oliver's shiny new collar dissolves into a star in the night sky.
* MoodWhiplash: This movie can pretty quickly go from cutesy to intense (sometimes combining the two) and from comedic to serious. [[DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney movies]] are known for MoodWhiplash, but this one takes it so far that after watching it one night you might be thinking next morning, "[[FridgeBrilliance wow, all those scenes were really from the same movie?]]"
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: When Sykes sics his dogs on Fagin (for being unable to pay his boss back) and Dodger aggressively defends the scraggly old man from the dobermans' wrath.
* OhCrap: The look on Sykes' face right before [[spoiler: [[UnusualEuphemism he catches the train.]]]]
* OverlyLongName: Tito's full name is Ignacio Alonzo Julio Federico de Tito.
* ParentalAbandonment: Jenny's parents are away on business.
* ProductPlacement: A Coke ad on a taxi, a USA Today plug, a Ryder truck... but to be fair, [[JustifiedTrope it wouldn't be New York without it]].
** Jenny did mention "Cocoa Krispies" in the meal she made for Oliver as well.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: ''Oliver''.
* [[RightHandAttackDog Right And Left Hand Attack Dogs]]: Mr. Sykes has a pair of vicious Dobermans.
* SecondFaceSmoke: Sykes does it to Fagin.
* SettingUpdate: On ''Literature/OliverTwist''.
* ShoutOut: The birds that dress Georgette during "Perfect Isn't Easy" do the same thing the birds did for ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'' during "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (at least the ones with the animal print scarf).
** And, y'know, Tito's song. [[Disney/SnowWhite "Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go..."]]
** One of the watches that Fagin is wearing is a Mickey Mouse watch. Mickey Mouse also turned 60 the same day this movie was first released.
** During the "Good Company" montage, Oliver [[Disney/TheAristocats jumps on the carriage rider's head]].
*** Also, the orange cat playing the piano, and the motorcycle thumping down the steps of the subway...
** Jenny's special birthday dress looks a lot like ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie's iconic wear.
* ShrineToSelf: Georgette.
* ShownTheirWork: The ProductPlacement throughout the movie and Sykes' behavior as a loan shark.
** Also, the fact that Georgette is wearing hair curlers. Show poodle hair is a bitch to look after, often needing hot oil and hair curlers to make it look show perfect.
** Georgette also has a lovely set of teeth, accurate for a dog.
* SleepCute: Oliver curled up next to Dodger.
* SpiritualSuccessor: The 1996 AnimatedShow ''Adventures Of Oliver Twist'' also combines Dickens' novel with [[TalkingAnimal anthropomorphic animals]] and [[TheMusical musical numbers]].
* SpontaneousChoreography: ''With dogs''.
* StalkerWithACrush: Roscoe, who suavely takes to Rita.
* StreetSmart: Everyone in Fagin's gang, contrasted with NaiveNewcomer Oliver.
* TagalongKid: Oliver, unless you see him as TheHero.
* TalkingAnimal
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Georgette, a poodle, and Tito, a chihuahua.
* VillainousBreakdown: Sykes. While he's mainly calm throughout the movie, in the climactic car chase, he pulls down the gear stick so hard it ''breaks off'' and ''punches his hand through his car's window'' to get at Jenny.
** The whole [[RefugeInAudacity driving-expensive-car-through-subway]] thing.
* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Sykes
* VillainSong: Despite Dodger not being a villain, ''Why Should I Worry'', coming immediately after he takes advantage of Oliver, qualifies.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Tito and Francis are at each others' throats almost constantly, but on at least one occasion, you see Tito [[SleepCute curled up between Francis' paws]] and using his jowls as a blanket.
* WeWillMeetAgain: "You guys are gonna pay for this, starting with that cat."
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Apparently, Disney finds it easier to portray theft, breaking and entering, and attempted murder if the culprits are animals; in that respect, this movie isn't too different from ''Disney/TheLionKing''.
* WolfWhistle: The wolf howl variation, by Georgette's enamored fans.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Or blue ''fur'' in Georgette's case. It's possible that it was dyed, but more likely it's a HairColorDissonance version of grey.
** Blue is an actual recognized colour of poodle. According to the AKC "The coat is an even and solid color at the skin. In blues, grays, silvers, browns, cafe-au-laits, apricots and creams the coat may show varying shades of the same color"

----