Oliver & Company Reviews

Ostensibly based on Dickens' Oliver Twist, OLIVER & COMPANY is set in the mean streets of modern-day New York City and follows the adventures of a wide-eyed kitten, Oliver (Joey Lawrence), as he tries to survive on his own. Little Oliver hooks up with a doggy gang of thieves owned by human Fagin (Dom DeLuise). While pulling a con with Chihuahua Tito (Cheech Marin), Oliver winds up in the limousine of lonely little rich girl Jenny (Natalie Gregory). The doggy gang thinks Oliver has been kidnaped, and they track him down and rescue him against his will. Fagin pretends to hold Oliver hostage so that Jenny's rich parents will pay him ransom. Evil loan shark Sykes (Robert Loggia) witnesses the whole thing and kidnaps Jenny himself in the hopes of attaining a big ransom. Although OLIVER & COMPANY is fairly entertaining and better looking than the average Saturday morning cartoon show, the computer-assisted animation is relatively stiff and inexpressive. The gangster story line has unpleasant elements that may upset younger kids -- but then, so does Dickens.