Walt Disney Feature Animation
Starring: Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Bette Midler
Directed by: George Scribner
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: An updated version of Dicken’s classic novel Oliver Twist. Oliver (voiced by Joey Lawrence) is a kitten abandoned on the streets of New York. He is taken in by a gang of dogs headed by the resourceful Dodger (voiced by Billy Joel) who work for a down-and-out man named Fagin (voiced by Dom DeLuise) and learns the ways of the streets.
Cartoon Kitty: This film has a lot of charm, not the least of which is due to the lead character Oliver, a feisty little orange tabby kitten who has to contend with a fast, scary world much larger than himself.
The friendship that develops between Oliver and Dodger is fun and sweet, and even though the gang doesn’t necessarily have Oliver’s best interests at heart they certainly are prepared to defend him no matter what.
The story follows the original tale pretty closely (at least for the first three-quarters of the movie), including Oliver’s time in high society. His consequent love for the little girl, Jenny (voiced by Natalie Gregory) is heartwarming.
Not the best Disney film but far from the worst, this is a must for fans of cats, New York and Billy Joel music.
Final Mewsings: Cats can hang with the big dogs
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