Lacks the classic Disney charm that works for adults as well as kids
Comment
11/13/09
Oliver and Company (1988)
42
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:33
Fresh:14
Rotten:19
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Oliver & Company is a decidedly lesser effort in the Disney canon, with lackluster songs, stiff animation, and a thoroughly predictable plot.
Runtime: 74 mins
Genre: Childrens
Synopsis: This animated Disney film, loosely based on Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," revolves around a cute orphaned kitten named Oliver, who is given shelter by a streetwise gang of dogs. A human beggar... [More]
Starring: Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Bette Midler
Director: George Scribner
Reviews for Oliver and Company
Top CriticThe general quality of the animation and script would disappoint more sophisticated viewers.
11/13/09
Top CriticMuch cornball adventure ensues, punctuated by healthy helpings of singing, dancing and general merriment.
01/26/06
Top CriticQuite insipid and wretchedly unengaging.
11/24/09
The computer-assisted animation is relatively stiff and inexpressive.
11/13/09
Top CriticThe animation is fairly unexciting though serviceable, and the overall mystification of class difference would probably have made Dickens shudder, but kids should find this tolerable enough.
11/13/09
Even as a cartoon poodle, Bette Midler stops the show.
11/13/09
The last gasp of Disney Animation's post-Walt malaise before the 1990s Disney renaissance … retains Dickens's seamy milieu, but not his morality-play tableau.
03/17/09
Far from classic but it is interesting to watch for its take on the pre-Disnified New York landscape following the company's real estate foray into the iconic downtown core.
02/17/09
The animation is clumsy, the songs are forgettable, the attempts at late-80s relevance now come across as dated and slightly embarrassing.
02/10/09
I guess I can cut the Mouse House a little slack when it comes to paint-by-numbers mediocrities like Oliver & Company.
02/02/09
More notable for what it isn't than what it is, it's one of the gangly middle children of the Disney animation family, not quite sure how to fit in, or even if it's valued.
01/30/09
Surely one of Disney's weakest full-length animated features, Oliver and Company features terrible, badly dated songs and some shoddy, patchwork animation with precious few dazzling moments.
01/29/09
No review available.
08/17/05
Cute but forgettable cartoon musical; a solid voice cast does a decent job.
04/06/05
No review available.
02/25/05
Pure ‘80s drivel.
06/10/04
...the virtual nadir of the Disney oeuvre.
08/01/03
Click to read the article
05/14/03
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