Objectively one of the worst movies Disney has ever put out. - Oliver & Company (1988) Discussion

[–] kill-the-boxtrolls 14 years ago

I can understand your feelings, and yeah, Oliver & Company is a pretty disappointing Disney film unlike The Rescuers and Beauty and the Beast were good. I'm not for sure if it's one of the worst films Disney ever put out, because I don't like people saying that old movies suck when they ARE old; this is a 1980s movie and IMDB's been out since the 1990s so why would I want to come on here for someone saying that this 1988 movie is boring and predictable?

I think the worst movie Disney ever put out was The Princess and The Frog, now that is right back at ya! Unlikable characters, boring and predictable plot, horrible etc.

Sonic will be hearty forever.
"Mom, could I get one of these?" - Little Girl

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[–] Proscriptor 14 years ago

I'm not for sure if it's one of the worst films Disney ever put out, because I don't like people saying that old movies suck when they ARE old; this is a 1980s movie and IMDB's been out since the 1990s so why would I want to come on here for someone saying that this 1988 movie is boring and predictable?

I don't know why you're saying that. The movie sucks for various reasons, and the fact that it's 'old' isn't one of them. Also, The Princess and the Frog is miles better than half of the films they've put out between the 50s and 80s (which isn't saying much).

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Proscriptor 14 years ago

It's really not hard to find the film's faults.

-Music makes my ears bleed
-Animation is stiff and rough
-Characters are pretty bad; the main dog character is a selfish immature a**hole for making the kitten feel guilty about staying in a comfortable home rather than hanging out with a bunch of homeless dogs and that bothered me a whole lot
-Predictable plot combined with retarded dialogue

As a whole, it lacks a great deal of sophistication; only a child (or manchild) could enjoy Oliver & Company today. Complete utter mediocrity through and through.

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[–] vnisanian2001 14 years ago

As a whole, it lacks a great deal of sophistication; only a child (or manchild) could enjoy Oliver & Company today. Complete utter mediocrity through and through.

Listen, you're entitled to your opinion and everything, but I think you're being way out of line by saying that only a child or manchild would enjoy it today. I'm 23 and I still enjoy it. I'm not a child or manchild. Does that make me a loser?

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[–] Proscriptor 14 years ago

I tend to go overboard with my opinions. I guess it's cool if you like the movie, but I firmly believe that it has absolutely no business being in any grown man's top 10 Disney films.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Proscriptor 14 years ago

1. I don't care about direct-to-video or live action. If we only count Disney's theatrical animated works, it's among the worst.

2. Treasure Planet and Atlantis are way, way, way, way, WAY better than Oliver & Company. So is The Rescuers Down Under.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] RepoUK 14 years ago

-Atlantis: The Lost Empire

A vastly underrated film and one which I've watched frequently over the years with several children. The voice talents of Michael J Fox and James Garner were superb casting choices. The sequel was a bit of a dog though!

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] MetFanMac 14 years ago

ALMOST always, at any rate; although opinions on which sequels are the exceptions to the rule vary from person to person.

Supermodels...spoiled stupid little stick figures mit poofy lips who sink only about zemselves.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] nagorskimb 13 years ago

Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Aladdin: Prince of Thieves are on your list?

Okay everyone, this guy is a troll. Nothing to see here.

Especially since you didn't even put Aladdin: return of Jafar on that list.

And every single person in my age group (20-25) says they loved Oliver & Company. And Atlantis. So you're either living with incredibly high standards, or you're a troll.

I thought you were happy to see me...

Then I realized I was standing in front of your friend.

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[–] vnisanian2001 13 years ago

What do you mean by "age group"? Your friends, people you know, what?

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[–] mathknapp 14 years ago

-----------------------------------
-Characters are pretty bad; the main dog character is a selfish immature a**hole for making the kitten feel guilty about staying in a comfortable home rather than hanging out with a bunch of homeless dogs and that bothered me a whole lot
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The dog wasn't an a**hole. The dog just didn't understand. Dodger LIKED living on the streets with his gang. Dodger LIKED Oliver. Dodger put two and two together and assumed that Oliver liked that life too. Dodger really did see stealing him back from Jenny as a rescue from a trapped environment to a more fun and enjoyable one. He did try to make Oliver feel guilty ... he was confused that anyone would have wanted anything else. Significant difference.

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[–] Duck_Pond 13 years ago

-Music makes my ears bleed

Music is a personal taste. Personally, I find "Why Should I Worry?" VERY catchy.

-Animation is stiff and rough

1. It was made in the 1980's
2. I think the rough animation fits the rough NYC vibe.

-Characters are pretty bad; the main dog character is a selfish immature a**hole for making the kitten feel guilty about staying in a comfortable home rather than hanging out with a bunch of homeless dogs and that bothered me a whole lot

Dodger did not understand.

-Predictable plot combined with retarded dialogue

This I agree with, except I hate the word "retarded."

As a whole, it lacks a great deal of sophistication; only a child (or manchild) could enjoy Oliver & Company today. Complete utter mediocrity through and through.

I do agree that it is definitely not the best Disney movie ever. It would not even make my personal top 10 Disney films. However, I do not agree that only a child could enjoy it. I think anyone can enjoy this film. Do I? Yes, to an extent.

"Doctor Who" is about intellect and romance that triumphs over brute force and cynicism.

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[–] norman-dostal 8 years ago

you sound like an idiot-the songs were huge hits-especially the Huey Lewis one and Why Should I worry?

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[–] honora_dragon 14 years ago

maybe its because i'm a dog lover (and was as a kid too) but i love this movie. lol. Although i was never a fan of fagin or sykes. But i thought the songs were fun. Streets of Gold is my fave.
I'm not saying its one of the best because there's a whole heap that sit higher on my fave's list than this one.
But its definitely not the worst.
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"Well that's just Maddeningly unhelpful"

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[–] Pheebshirl 14 years ago

I don't know how the OP can say that they are being objective when their post is one of the most non objective I have seen. I personally love Oliver and Company. It was the first film I ever saw at the cinema and have loved it ever since. I like the story (I've always liked the story of Oliver Twist), the characters and the music. I had a cassette tape of the soundtrack as a child and I really loved the soundtrack. I still really enjoy the 80s vibe of the songs and think they are great (though I'm not very keen on Jenny's song). I would personally say Oliver and Company is my favourite Disney cartoon. I realise it is not the best of the films, but for some reason I really enjoy it.

I love 80's movies

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] mcmgm 14 years ago

There are the things called 'opinions' OP, learn what that means then try again.

------------------------------
Kristen Dowd
The Future of Independent Film

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[–] i_am_switch 14 years ago

I agree with the OP - disney was doing far better films all around the same time. There were obvious attempts to try and get the "feel" of NYC and in some ways it works and in other ways it flops.

the music was not very good, it just doesn't seem to catch for me. The poster a few above me said that the OP was wrong and that this was great, then went on to list all the reasons that it is great which lead back to nostalgia.

kudos to disney for throwing in so many cameos, but this really was a boring, predictibale story with uninspired dialogue. Everyone talks about how the disney sequals are weak and not any good. This was supposed to be a sequel to the Rescuers film, but was pulled. That's why Jenny and Penny share some similarities. I for one am glad to see that they dropped the idea entirely because this movie can't hold a spark to The Rescuers' down under.

Part of the problem with the plot is that there is no connection between the mob and the girl's dad. He calls up and is holding the girl ransome. Why? How does he know who the girl is? What is his connection to the girl's father? Are they brothers? what is his motivation for holding her and why is it important?

You know why we don't have the answers to these questions? because we are never told anything about it. They try to lean on the connection by having pictures of the Dobermans in the Queen's room, but that's the only connection at all. I guess maybe they are rival dog breeders? I'm not sure.

This would have been a better film if the story was written as a narrative with a proper start and finish, but it fails at that. Instead it tells a rambling story that just happens to fall into place and somehow all tie in together. By comparison Aladdin and the Little Mermaid have clear plots and stories and that makes them superior to this film.

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[–] vnisanian2001 14 years ago

Someone else who happens to like this movie pointed out that the only real problem with it was that it was too short (only 74 minutes long to be exact), and because of that short running-time, the only characters that are actually developed are the ones that he felt were portrayed as Dog stereotypes (Dodger, Tito, and Georgette).

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] PopSixSquish 13 years ago

*sadface* I seem to disagree with almost everything that was written in this thread. xD Which is fine, really, but I'm 23 and I have a tremendous love for this movie that stems not only from nostalgia but from the film itself. It's among not only my Disney favorites, but my all-time favorites.

From the characters to the music to the animation to the voice acting to the New York City "vibe," I can find nothing not to love about it. It stands out as a wholly unique, but unjustly ignored, Disney film. Of course, I'm a complete Disney fanatic and I don't think I could name a single movie from them prior to and including Tarzan that I don't love with a passion. Or at least like a whole lot. Robin Hood might be my least favorite of them, but I'd still rate that about a 7/10.

I'm even given to going easy on their direct-to-videos and sequels because I tend to read much more deeply than I'm probably supposed to into even preschool shows, so I usually end up finding *some*thing to like. Not always. There are a few that, even considering their good points if there are any, I don't believe should ever have been made. But I personally found reasons to really enjoy and/or love The Fox & the Hound, Cinderella, Lady & the Tramp, Little Mermaid (I don't find Ariel idiotic at all--one of my all-time favorite characters, & my favorite princess), and 101 Dalmatians sequels, as well as the Beauty & the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

As to non-animated movies and the other "worse" ones listed by somebody else, I can hardly believe that anyone could fail to love Homeward Bound II. I adore Atlantis, and Treasure Planet...and Snow Dogs was decent...I LOVE the Santa Clause trio...all right, The Country Bears and Inspector Gadget we probably could've done without (not that I completely regret having watched them, but they were fairly forgettable for the most part.)

Well, anyway. I've always had a strong bias towards Oliver. I mean, you probably don't even wanna know how crazy I was about this movie from the time I first read its storybook. I was singing the songs on the school bus and in class, teaching them to my friends and every other student in the school, listening to the soundtrack on my CD player everywhere I went, holding my feet up against the sprinkler in the backyard and jumping on the furniture pretending I was a dog leaping on cars...I completely adore this fantastic movie. I've got merchandise all over the place. Yes, I go about that nuts for all my favorite things (I'll never forget helping a few other people in second grade to create a Homeward Bound storybook for our teacher; I was an illustrator and the key writer, since I had the film memorized better than anyone.) But anyway...that's just the perspective of a crazed fan. X)

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[–] DarthBill 13 years ago

Oh on now how can you not love "Why Should I Worry?" or Huey Lewsis's "Once Upon A Time In New York City"?

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[–] PopSixSquish 13 years ago

Exactly!! The music in this film is completely irresistible, not to mention star-studded!

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[–] vnisanian2001 13 years ago

not to mention star-studded!

Well, all except for Myhanh Tran, who sang the Good Company number. Besides that, she hasn't done anything else, other than perform as one of the choral background singers in another film that came out in 1988 called Lady in White.

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[–] PopSixSquish 13 years ago

Aw, yeah, she is the odd one out...too bad...she seems to have had quite a bit of talent to have basically never been heard from again.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] thereseuphemiaabernathy 13 years ago

I may not have been able to experience 80s NYC, but I can certainly grasp what it was like from older folks' descriptions...so I'm going to go ahead and totally agree with this. I think the style and execution of this film's art design and animation are excellent, because they deliberately tried (and succeeded) in capturing that rough, gritty, unpolished, sketchy atmosphere. And yet, the movie never looks "sloppy" or simply thrown-together to me; rather, I find it well-drawn and planned-out. You can even compare the look and feel of the Foxworths' 5th Avenue penthouse with Fagin's downtown barge.

I like you, Um. I like largeness...

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[–] e25171971 13 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdd6_ZxX8c

So sayeth The Dude, so it shall be.

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] PsychiatricPezDispenser 12 years ago

I can think of 50 worse Disney movies. Although I don't disagree that this wasn't up to par with some of the greats.

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