Review of Oliver & Company

OK, first things first. I am not sure what Charles Dickens would say if he found his best book "Oliver Twist" has inspired an animation. I hate to say this, but surprisingly the project worked quite nicely, if a little predictable and uneven at times. The animation isn't bad at all, actually very clean and smooth mostly, and neither is the story, both of which are the redeeming merits of an enjoyable movie like this one. The characters were also well done in general. My favourite was Georgette, what a genius the casting director was to cast Bette Midler. Jenny and Oliver- who was adorable- were appealing also, but Sikes at times was a bit frightening, and Fagin's part was quite poorly written. Now the script was the letdown, very uneven at times, and unintentionally funny, and this marred the well-told narrative. Some of the characters were uninspiredly written, and Tito was a little hard to understand. On a positive note, I loved the songs, especially "Why Should I worry?" which is delightfully catchy. May I also say that Billy Joel did a great job with Dodger, who was one of the better characters. And it has a wonderful contemporary atmosphere. All in all, an enjoyable and well-told film, that was let down by the script. 8/10. Bethany Cox