Review of Oliver & Company (1988) by Melissa C — 26 Mar 2008

Oliver & Company was the first movie I ever saw in a theater, so it's hard not to look at it through a lense of serious nostaligia. Still, one has to admit that this still before Disney movies got good again.

The uber-simplified story is decent, but every single character is little more than a plot device with a name. The acting is okay, though not enough to elevate the characters beyond their bland outlines (also, Billy Joel is woefully wooden).

The music is probably the best aspect of the film, deffinately pointing the way to the 90's revival, though the 80's producton dull things a bit. In terms of animation, residual effects of the budget slashing that from the 70's are still obvious in the film's look, though this is still an improvement over previous films.

Plus, the early experimentation with computer animation throughout the film work surprisingly well. All in all, Oliver is better than most of it's decade, but will still be remembered as the last animated Disney before the Renaissance.