What's The Bottom Line special Throwback Thursday presents Oliver and Company

presents

Oliver and Company (1988)

Starring Joseph Lawrence (Blossom and Melissa and Joey), Billy Joel (The Wolf of Wall Street and Hangover Part II) and Cheech Marin (The Lion King and Pixar's Cars)

First Impressions Before Seeing The Film?

All honesty, I can't remember by first impression.I remember I was at my Grandma's in Hyde (This is where all the best stories start). It was a Friday, and my Grandma had sky and the Disney Channel I was about....7/8 maybe younger I always stayed at my Grandma's Friday to Sunday afternoon was like a tradition. And, I remember seeing a trailer at home for this film "Oliver and Company", and looking back it's basically a remake of Oliver!, because we have Fagin, the dogs are the burglars etc. But, I wasn't interested until I heard the song "Why Should I Worry", now when I was in that age frame I didn't experience this kind of music, was more rock and roll, rock, pop songs so hearing this caught my attention. 

After I Watched The Film?

I think when I was this age, I thought this was one of the best films in the whole universe, and now I still think it's one of Disney's best work ever. They have remade the cult classic film of 'Oliver' and made it more modern, amazing music. There's sad moments, happy moments, hilarious moments, it's like a great movie to start of with you're kids to experience different emotions. I am not going to lie, 'Why Should I Worry' is one of my favourite songs still from Disney, it has that epic rhythm for young and old and I remember my Grandma enjoying this film as well because we both like Oliver and we enjoy the film. And, the animation is beautifully created, they captured the characters from Oliver and taken that into account when creating these dog like characters that portray the iconic characters like Oliver, Dodger, Fagin etc. And, I think it stands out this Disney film comparing to others because Basil the Great Mouse Detective came out a year before this came out which doesn't have as many musical songs then this film. I think that when we consider the fact that Oliver and Company I thought it was a 2000 film but it's actually a 1988 film, that shocked me. The music was I think more into what we see now, like Princess and the Frog. Plus, I think is an excellent example of different breeds of dogs having different personalities that bounce of other dogs and that idea of 'family', they aren't relatives but they help each other out like a  family would.

What Makes This A Great Film?

I think the balance of the music, the script, the quirky, interesting and hilarious characters with these scenarios really make this film interesting. Plus, the dog 'Dodger' really captures the old version of Dodger in Oliver but also captures the personality, the person and the soul of Billy Joel. When you hear 'Why Should I Worry', you can tell that that's Billy Joel singing his heart and soul into that song which really makes it a great film. And, there's Streets of Gold, Once Upon A Time In New York City and Perfect Isn't Easy. There all quite different songs, Once Upon A Time In New York City is quite a really sad song and then it kicks you with "Why Should I Worry" which is a really happy song. So, this film is a true roller-coaster ride, you have a huge mix of emotions at ridiculous times from a sad to an immediate happy song. 

Tips If Watching The Film?

People have missed the whole tips and facts of what I did in other blogs, so it's back on this Throwback Thursday so let's get started:

1. You all love Disney Easter Eggs and Oliver and Company have them too, when Oliver wakes up after sleeping on the truck tire, he sees people crossing past the alley where he's slept. One of those people is Roger from 101 Dalmatians (1961) (look for the guy with the brown hair, blue shirt, and blue pants).
2. One of my favourite songs is in this Disney film 'Why Should I Worry' well the song "Why Should I Worry?" was later used as the theme song of a Disney TV series starring Joseph Lawrence, who voiced Oliver in this film.
3. I think I didn't even have Oliver and Company when I was born, but it came out before I was born.... Well, like many pre-1989 Disney Films, the video release of "Oliver & Company" was delayed for years. Despite this film being released in 1988 and being a commercial success, it was not released on video until 1996. So, that explains that one then! 
4. Patrick Stewart was considered the role of Rufus. 
5. Whitney Houston was considered the role of Rita, which we all know would be epic! 
6. Another 101 Dalmations Easter Egg, during "Why Should I Worry", Pongo from 101 Dalmatians (1961) can be seen walking past wearing his noticeable red collar.
7. The first full animated Disney "musical" (three or more songs in film, not main titles) since The Fox and the Hound (1981).
8. Steve Martin and Burt Reynolds were both considered for the role of Dodger.
9. The dogs' dances were based on the choreography of Bob Fosse. Bob Fosse? If the name doesn't ring a bell he only worked on things like Chicago, All That Jazz and Cabaret.
10. Dom DeLuise had already had roles in several other animated films by this point, but this was the only time he got the chance to voice a character in a Disney film. He loved the role so much, he kept ad-libbing lines that ended up being included in the film.

My Rankings

I would of thought this film would be getting an easy 8, but IMDB users gave this a very disappointing 6.7. I can't really see why, some bits seem abit mish mash, but overall it's a solid film which is why I am giving this film a 8 out of 10, and that's mainly because of the happy and thrilling songs in the film. But, I can see why people lowering it because people could say, it's just another Oliver film. But, it's more than that to me and if you watch the film you know deep down it's not just an Oliver movie.

So, What's The Bottom Line?

I think the bottom line is simple, it's one of those happy and yet sad movie that you can enjoy and get comfortable whilst watching, perfect for many reasons. But, my bottom line is everything isn't perfect, so why should you worry watching such an incredibly Disney film. 

Here is the original first trailer of Oliver and Company:

Here is the IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095776/


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