Oliver & Company has no idea what it wants to be. A gritty look at New York in the 80s? The typical Disney schmaltz? A modern-day musical? The contrasting elements clash with each other to produce an unappealing film on the whole.
The animation was criticized at the original time of release, and I can definitely see why. It's far more gritty than most Disney films and comes across as a Saturday Morning Cartoon. Lion King this ain't. The songs are mostly forgettable, with the sole exception of the fantastic Why Should I Worry?, the song that introduced me to Billy Joel's oeuvre. Speaking of Billy Joel, he does a pretty decent job of voicing Dodger in this film, and gives the character a distinctive, authentic New Yawk sound. Unfortunately, Dodger is of the only high points of the entire film. The rest of the characters are either forgettable (Francis; Rita) or outright annoying (the Ethnic Scrappy that is Tito.)
The schizophrenic feel of the movie shows very well in its plot. You haven't seen Mood Whiplash until you've watched this movie. In particular, the villain, Sykes, while a (almost scarily) realistic portrayal of a loan shark, is utterly out of place in the movie. He doesn't mesh well with its overall tone, which leads to the overall disjointed feel.
While Oliver & Company deserves respect for paving the way for the Renaissance of Disney from 1989 to 1999, on its own merits it is mediocre and unmemorable. Overall score: 6.5/10.
A schizophrenic movie.
Oliver & Company has no idea what it wants to be. A gritty look at New York in the 80s? The typical Disney schmaltz? A modern-day musical? The contrasting elements clash with each other to produce an unappealing film on the whole.
The animation was criticized at the original time of release, and I can definitely see why. It's far more gritty than most Disney films and comes across as a Saturday Morning Cartoon. Lion King this ain't. The songs are mostly forgettable, with the sole exception of the fantastic Why Should I Worry?, the song that introduced me to Billy Joel's oeuvre. Speaking of Billy Joel, he does a pretty decent job of voicing Dodger in this film, and gives the character a distinctive, authentic New Yawk sound. Unfortunately, Dodger is of the only high points of the entire film. The rest of the characters are either forgettable (Francis; Rita) or outright annoying (the Ethnic Scrappy that is Tito.)
The schizophrenic feel of the movie shows very well in its plot. You haven't seen Mood Whiplash until you've watched this movie. In particular, the villain, Sykes, while a (almost scarily) realistic portrayal of a loan shark, is utterly out of place in the movie. He doesn't mesh well with its overall tone, which leads to the overall disjointed feel.
While Oliver & Company deserves respect for paving the way for the Renaissance of Disney from 1989 to 1999, on its own merits it is mediocre and unmemorable. Overall score: 6.5/10.