Anyone remembered seeing Oliver and Company in a theater?

[John289]

I'm talking about the original 1988 release, not the re-issue!

Well i sure as hell did back when i was 6, it was back in 1988 when i was living in Omaha Nebraska back then and i saw this movie in the winter of 1988 three times in a theater even one more time at one of the shopping mall theaters. I Had some of the original merchandise like pajamas, a coloring book, Mcdonald's finger Puppets, Mcdonald's Christmas Tree ornuments that sing, a plastic Oliver figure, a storybook and a read-along book with cassette. But unfortunately it never came on video and i was kind of disappointed but neverthless i never forgotten about the movie not even my mom and dad did cause they still remembered the first words of the song "Why Should i Worry".

But luckily back in 1996, when i was 13 turning 14 i read an article on disney channel magazine saying that "Oliver and Company" was coming back to theaters for the first time in years on March 29th, i was excited cause a long lost missing piece of my childhood was returning to theaters and i did manage to see it two times in a theater and fell in love with it again just like i did as a kid, even some of my junior high chums remembered seeing it at the movies when they were young. During that year it was also about time it came on video after 9 years of waiting, i bought it the first day it came out and added it to my video collection but now i replaced it with that great special edition DVD since DVD is superior to VHS.

I still enjoy the movie as nogalistica of my 80's childhood and feels like an animated metaphore of 1988 New York City long before the twin towers were destroyed and the soundtrack's great too! Rita is such a knockout.

[Wonderlicious]

Welcome to the forum, John!

Back on topic, I never saw this the first time it came out in cinemas. This movie was actually released in England in 1989 (many of the Disney animated films were released a year after they first made their American debut, as you can read more about in this ol' thread). I was only one year old back then and it never got a re-release in the 1990s so I never had the chance to see this movie on the big screen. In fact, I think that I've only ever seen this movie once the whole way through. I've been meaning to pick up the DVD, but I keep forgetting to. Silly me!

However, a piece of Oliver and Company does remain a big part of my childhood. I have the first UK video copy of Sleeping Beauty and on that video was a trailer at the beginning for this movie! Sleeping Beauty was one of my most watched videos and I often saw this trailer multiple times, even if I didn't get to see the movie until many years later.

[ichabod]

Well I hate to disappoint you Wondy but Oliver and Company did get a theatrical rerelease.

I saw the rerelease when it was in theatres however I could not remember a SINGLE thing that happened in it, which is the case with all of the Disney films I saw in the theatre!

As I child I saw

Aladdin
Pochontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Lion King
The Aristocats (90s rerelease)
Oliver and Company (90s Rerelease)
The Fox and the Hound (90s Rerelease)
and
The Black Cauldron (90s rerelease)

All the above films I distinctly remember going to see, however until I got them on DVD I had absolutely NO recollection of what happened in any of them!

Talk about bad memory!

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Oh yes, waaaay back then in 1989 or so I saw Oliver & Co in the theater. I think it was the first Disney animated feature I ever saw at all in its entirety.

[Wonderlicious]

Well I hate to disappoint you Wondy but Oliver and Company did get a theatrical rerelease.

Really? I wonder why I never knew about it. I was a huge Disney fan back in the early to mid 90s so I would assume that I would have heard a little about it. Currioser and Currioser...

[ichabod]

Do you not remember the slew of backpacks that had Oliver's face around early-mid 90s when it was rereleased? Virtually every other kid at my school had one!

[Wonderlicious]

Do you not remember the slew of backpacks that had Oliver's face around early-mid 90s when it was rereleased? Virtually every other kid at my school had one!

Nope, I have no recollection. Perhaps my memory is playing me up.

[Dan05]

I never saw it in theatres but I really like this movie aswell. Sykes, DeSoto, and Roscoe are such awesome villians!! It seems to be one of those Disney films that is sometimes ignored/forgotten but I think it's one of the best to have been released in the 1980's.

[banjoboy]

Nope, didn't see it, and since it's one of my least favourite Disney features, I'm not too sad about that. What I do remember seeing, however, is a HUGE poster for the movie on a building, quite a few blocks away from the theatre. This is rather unusual in smaller Swedish towns (like mine) so I guess Disney knew they had a bomb on their hands and tried to save it by advertising ...

[Disney-Fan]

I love the movie, but I never saw it in theaters. The first theatrical release I saw was Aladdin and we left after 5 minutes because I was scared of the Cave of Wonders.

[Fidget1234]

Awww, I remember seeing it in theaters- it was my new FAV besides Cinderella till LIon King came along & then it all goes down in history for me there...

I had the finger puppets, the books, pins, & the xmas ornaments, My sis used to wear the Dodger around her neck & she took it EVERYWHERE w/ her.

It still goes on my Disney Xmas tree EVERY YEAR & the music still works... sometimes.. sometimes its just one shrill note-othertimes its the whole Jingle Bells tune....

Tito was my fav back then & still is now.... though I have to say besides Cheshire Cat-Oliver is my fav Disney Kitty!

Can u believe that was almost 20 years ago??

[Joe Carioca]

I had already heard it before, but when did "The Black Cauldron" get rereleased in the 90s? Was it only in international territories?

[ichabod]

I had already heard it before, but when did "The Black Cauldron" get rereleased in the 90s? Was it only in international territories?

Not sure when, I can't remember but i think it was '93/'94

[MinnieMe]

I saw it back in 88/89 whenever it came out! I was 6 and it was AWESOME! I actually hadn't seen it until the other day- I got the DVD and seeing it just totally took me back! I still remembered the whole "Why Should I Worry" bit and fell in love with it all over again

[CJ]

I never got to see this one on the big screen. Actually, I didn't see any Disney movie in theaters before The Lion King other than Bambi.

[PatrickvD]

It was also quit succesful back in 1988, it made $53,279,055. Adjusted that would be a lot of money. But for some reason it slipped back into the background. INto the shadow of the Little Mermaid & Company

I actually really like the film. Love the songs, the voice cast. It's all pretty solid. Eventhough it was the last of the Cat/Dog era at Disney.

[Luna]

Yeah,I saw Oliver and Co. when it first came out in '88...I was 9 at the time...I also used to have The McDonalds finger puppets of Oliver and Dodger,as well as the Christmas ornaments,and larger plushes of Oliver,Dodger,and Georgette...I also saw the rerelease in '96(?),and bought the film when it finally came out on VHS(and a few years later,I received the DVD as a birthday gift...)
I love the characters in the film(esp. Oliver),and the songs(my favorites are "Why Should I Worry?" and "Good Company")...

[Mermaid Kelly]

Not me....I was only 1 year old! Actually though, I could have seen it in the theater but obviously I don't remember! The first one I remember seeing was The Little Mermaid (when I was 2)

[LindaMYoung]

Yes, my husband and I saw Oliver and Company in its original release...I was 33 and he was 32 at the time. We saw it Thanksgiving Day; we went to the movie first and then had Thanksgiving dinner at a Piccadilly cafeteria. It was a memorable Thanksgiving; great movie and a nice quiet day.

Linda

[John289]

for those who had seen the originally release as a child, were you also disappointed that never came on video? well what took them so long for 9 years to get it on video?

No Black Cauldron or Fox and The Hound didn't get a theatrical re-issue just on video but Great Mouse Detective did get a theatrical re-issue. Any guys here think Rita is sexy? much better than the b***y Georgette.