Reviews

Truth be told, Oliver & Company isn't one of Walt Disney Studio's most compelling titles, but it's still plenty of fun. It has a wonderful soundtrack featuring great talents such as Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Huey Lewis, and Ruth Pointer. All of the musical numbers in the film are well-staged, nicely animated, and have fun tunes to carry them along. "Why Should I Worry?", Billy Joel's song and the film's show-stopper of sorts, is the most popular. While I like that song a lot, my personal favorites are "Once Upon a Time in New York City", the opening song sung by Huey Lewis, and "Perfect Isn't Easy", Bette Milder's song to go along with the character she voices: Georgette, a spoiled poodle.

The story itself isn't quite as strong as it could've been (which is why I award the movie an eight as opposed to a nine or a ten), but it still offers a lot of sweet, charming, heart-filled, and suspenseful moments. The characters also aren't *all* the way there, but they're still good as they are, and their voice actors do their jobs well. Each character has traits that make them appealing, even if they aren't the strongest characters in the Disney canon.

I'll end by saying that Oliver & Company is a very enjoyable Disney feature. Children will certainly be entertained by it, especially if they love cats, dogs, and fun musical numbers. Adults can enjoy it too if they appreciate the worlds of animation and Disney enough. Because of the film's level of fun and charm, I give it an eight. If the story and characters had been even better, I would've given it a nine or a ten.

Any cartoon or TV series based on a toy line is bound to receive vehement criticism in the animation world. Many people see them for exactly what they are: toy commercials, dribble, and fluff. However, I don't see how creating a show or a movie about a toy is a terrible thing. If children like a certain toy and it means a lot to them, then there's nothing wrong with them enjoying a cartoon/movie about their favorite toy. They may not enjoy it forever, but it would form into a fond memory, and be a fun thing to smile and laugh about later on down the road.

Now that's that out of the way, let's talk about the main topic of this review: The Pound Puppies Movie. It certainly isn't a powerful or remarkable piece of animation. It's easy to tell where the animation is faulty and the writing is sub par. Still, it's a movie for children, and children aren't as prone to be bothered by such factors. I, as a matter of fact, loved this movie throughout my childhood, and sneaked secret viewings of it up until I was about thirteen. I wasn't quite ready for the magic to die, I guess you could say.

I believe I loved this movie so much because it had talking animals and music. I had that in all of the Disney movies I owned, so it was easy for me to get into this one. Also, I saw it when I was young enough. My memory stretches back to age three, but I was probably watching the movie a bit earlier than that- I (once) had the movie for as long as I could remember; I think it belonged to my older brother first. If I had seen it when I was ten as opposed to when I was a toddler, it probably would've made a difference. Getting further into why I loved the movie, I really liked all of the characters. They were all funny and cute to me, and the villain in particular had two cronies- one skinny and one fat- who would always get involved in silly slapstick humor that left me in stitches. The giant dog, Big Paw, was endearing to me as well. Everyone thought he was vicious, but he actually turned out to be gentle and lonely. I liked that as a child. Also, the memory I take away most from the film is this: the music. I was always filled with anticipation and excitement when the first song began ("At the Pound", based on the '50s hit "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors), and I danced to virtually all the others. I became interested in '50s music thanks to this movie, as a matter of fact.

All in all, The Pound Puppies Movie is a cheesy, far-from-perfect animated film that kids will probably like, providing they see it when they're little enough and love movies with talking animals/musical numbers. It's not a movie for all ages, but a good one for kids. I have outgrown the movie (though I occasionally look up the songs on YouTube for old time's sake), but I thank it for the memories it gave me, and for introducing me the the music of the '50s.

PS: I'd also like to note that when I was little, Pound Puppies weren't in as in style as they were in the '80s, and I also had a video of the original cartoon, which was vastly different. Didn't stop me from loving the movie. ;-)