Oliver and Company
The movie Oliver and Company features Oliver, an orphaned kitten that wanders the streets of New York and joins Dodger and a gang of scruffy dogs living from stealing.
When Oliver & Company try to break in a limousine the criminal act fails terribly, yet Oliver is lucky and adopted by the wealthy limousine passenger Jenny Foxworth and her butler. Despite Jenny’s family pampered, jealous poodle, Oliver prefers to stay with Jenny but promises to stay in contact with the gang.
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In 1988, Walt Disney Feature Animation decided to produce its twenty-seventh full-length animated feature based loosely on the Charles Dickens’ classic “Oliver Twist” and hired George Scribner to direct the movie Oliver and Company which was adapted to the screen by Jim Cox, Tim Disney and Jame Mangold. Joseph Lawrence, Billy Joel, Dom DeLuise and Robert Loggia were the voices of Oliver, Dodger, Fagin and Sykes.
In the movie Oliver & Company, Oliver was the last and only unwanted one of a litter of kittens left in a box by the roadside. Literally washed out by a thunderstorm, Oliver met up with Dodger, a cocky terrier, who brought him to meet the rest of the gang which included a Chihuahua, a Bulldog and a Great Dane, among other sundry breeds and half-breeds.
Oliver was modeled after a standard cat. This feline species have been living amiably alongside mankind for thousands of years. The earliest direct evidence of a domesticated cat was that of a kitten which was buried alongside a human nearly ten thousand years ago in Cyprus. However, to say a cat is domesticated is not entirely accurate for cats have always been free-ranging creatures. Perhaps it would be closer to the truth to say that cats tolerated human companionship because of the obvious benefits.
There are cats in all shapes and sizes. And all kinds of colors and lengths of fur, too. There is even a hairless cat called the Sphynx which is totally unrelated to the Sphinx. At the other end of the hairy scale are the Persians with long, silky fur. The Persians are, probably, the most uncat-like cats. While all other cats can, instinctively, twist in mid-air and fall on four paws, a Persian would literally drop like a sack of potatoes. Still, Persians are highly prized and highly priced. Maybe it’s because it’s probably the only breed that would sit up there on the shelf until you take it down. Assuming someone else had not conspired with your Persian to do a disappearing act first.
Fagin, as portrayed in the Oliver and Company movie, was more to be pitied than despised. He could, perhaps, be even recommended for a medal for his good work in giving a purpose in life to a bunch of street strays. Said strays having included some pedigreed breeds did not detract from its realism because heartless humans had been known to abandon even well-bred dogs when other attractions distract their attention.
Oliver demonstrated a very cat-like behavior when he went to live a life of luxury with Jenny, voiced by Natalie Gregory. Of course, the director had to put a twist into the tale at this point. Fagin, who owed a way-overdue debt to Sykes, the loan shark, was intimated by Sykes to deliver Jenny in lieu of payment. Even though Fagin had a change of heart at the very last moment, it was too late and Dodger and Gang had to fight fang and claw, so to speak, to get Jenny back safely.
So did Oliver rejoin the gang? Or did he do what any sensible cat would have done and go to live with Jenny? Watch the Oliver and Company DVD to find out and have fun forgetting about Oliver Twist.
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