It has been a while since I did this, so for those unfamiliar, I had been going through all the Disney Animated Movies to review. I have been going through them Chronologically, and up next on the list to review is Oliver and Company. It's another movie I know I watched growing up but didn't remember too much about. Also at this time, I'm starting to see that even in these early years, Disney has a fair few movies that just feel like they were phoning it in.
In some ways that apply here, we are seeing a lot of similar archetypes we've seen time and time again in the Disney movies, and here it features some of the least dynamic characters Disney has put out. A lot of story beats I've seen in previous Disney movies, and a lot of similar themes. In a lot of ways, I want to chalk this up to another time Disney just decided to coast on the fact it's Disney and their movies will do well.
You have Oliver, our leading cat, get involved with a group of street smart dogs. Mix in a small girl adopting him, you have the fairly typical Aristocrat vs Street Urchin kind of thing going on like we've seen in many others, though this time it's not a love story. In a lot of ways that makes this movie a bit harder to get into if you've been watching all the Disney movies as I have, it just starts to feel a bit old hat.
That said, the characters still manage to be quite likable. As generic as they are, even when they aren't on the ball Disney was still really good at making you get behind its cast. The team-up of the dogs and a cat all living with a somewhat shady and good-willed petty thief feels a lot more natural than it should, and it leads to enough touching moments between them that it manages to make up for a lot of that.
It's also one of the most relaxed and chill soundtracks that have yet to be produced in a Disney film so far. In part, it's because of how great Dodgers songs are, and something I only learned after looking up the movie for this review is that Dodger was voiced by Billy Joel. And a lot of you may not know this, but I love Billy Joel. But it's not just his songs, they all just kind of work and are easy to just kind of groove to in a nonspecific way. It's a sound that stands out from a lot of the previous films.
The villains of the show are fine, if nothing special. You have a greedy loan shark squeezing a guy for money, and that's pretty much the extent of the villain and main plot. They do a good job at portraying him and his two dog body guards he threatens to sic on people, but even at there best it's a far cry from villain of Disney past.
On a whole though, it ends up just being a good watch. The story feels a bit unfocused at times, and there is nothing about the characters that make them memorable. At the same time, there are plenty of funny gags, some good animation, and some chill songs that help make it worth watching. It's not a movie that leaves you with a whole lot to talk about, so it's a pretty short review, but I still had enough fun with the movie to say it's worth a watch. It may not leave a big impression, but the experience is still enjoyable.
I liked this one for the musical numbers.