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An orphaned kitten in New York City called Oliver makes friends with a group of street dogs who hang out with Fagin, a petty thief.

The last film Disney made before embarking on its Renaissance era with The Little Mermaid (1989) is an uninspired version of ”Oliver Twist” that offers adventure and attitude, but fails to make much of anything; it was a box-office hit nonetheless.

Simple animation in the vein of Wolfgang Reitherman’s 1960s films, with discreet use of CGI. Gets a boost from its song score.

1988-U.S. Animated. 74 min. Color. Directed by George Scribner. Screenplay: Jim Cox, Tim Disney, James Mangold. Songs: ”Why Should I Worry?” (Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight), ”Streets of Gold” (Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford). Voices of Joey Lawrence (Oliver), Billy Joel (Dodger), Cheech Marin (Tito), Richard Mulligan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dom DeLuise, Robert Loggia, Bette Midler.

Trivia: Future Pixar and Disney filmmakers Joe Ranft, Kirk Wise, Roger Allers, Gary Trousdale and Kevin Lima contributed to the story.