Oliver & Company (DVD)

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At just 73 minutes, "Oliver & Company" is one of the shortest full-length features from Disney, but there's a lot packed into it, and occasional director George Scribner does a good job moving things along while still allowing plenty of room in each scene for emotional content. He has a good sense of how the music, visuals, and storyline work together, and while no one will ever mistake "Oliver & Company" for one of those golden Disney oldies, it's still doggone entertaining.

Video:
I expected better, though, for a 20th Anniversary release. If this is remastered, it's not noticeable. A lot of scenes seem soft, and there's considerable graininess too (though some, I'm sure, was deliberate). But at least the colors are bright in the city scenes, and the drab waterfront scenes have enough backlighting to make the detail stand out rather than recede. I wouldn't presume to tell fans what to do, but if you already own "Oliver & Company," I'm not sure that you need to replace it with the new version. "Oliver & Company" is presented in 1.66:1 widescreen and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions.

Audio:
The audio is stronger, with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 driving the music (and a snappy bass, at that) and distortion-free dialogue. Spanish and French language tracks are also provided.

Extras:
Not much here, really, except for a few fun cartoon shorts: "Puss Café," starring Pluto and friends, and "Pluto Rescues a Kitten and Saves the Day." Other than that, it's the same six-minute "Making of Oliver & Company" that was on a previous release, and the same two sing-along songs ("Why Should I worry?" and "Streets of Gold"). Other than that, the only all-new feature is Oliver's Big City Challenge Game. It's a multi-level game for small children that's not terribly difficult. On one level, for example, you have to count the hot dogs and select the correct number, while on another you have to watch a brief clip and then compare a new background with different things added/removed and use arrows to select those that are different.

Bottom Line:
Like ol' Dodger, "Oliver & Company" has gotten a bad rap. It's a better movie than people give it credit for, though when you compare it to "The Little Mermaid" which followed, it really pales.