Oliver Twist (1982 film)
Encyclopedia
Oliver Twist is a 1982
Australia
n 72-minute made-for-television animated film from Burbank Films Australia
; a part of the studio's series of adaptations of Charles Dickens
' works made from 1982 through 1985. It was originally broadcast in 1982 through the Australian Nine Network Australia. The film is based on Charles Dickens
' classic English
novel, Oliver Twist
, first published in 1838, and was adapted by John Palmer. It was produced by George Stephenson and directed by Richard Slapczynski. A second live-action, made-for-television title under the same name was produced in the same year. All copyright in this film is currently owned by HS Holding Corporation who controls the licencing of this film. Different companies, including the American
GoodTimes Entertainment
and Digiview Entertainment, distribute the film for home video
around the globe.
of Mr. Bumble, where he is left an orphan
as his mother dies shortly after giving birth to him. Mr. Bumble, just as he does with all his other orphans, puts Oliver to daily work, giving him in exchange little more than a daily bowl of porridge
. One day, outraged that Oliver would dare supplicate for more food, Mr. Bumble sells the boy to Mr. Sowerberry, an undertaker, who makes him an apprentice at his funeral home
. There, Oliver is humiliated and insulted by Noah, Mr. Sowerberry's other apprentice. Tired of this life, Oliver runs away from the funeral home and heads for the city of London
where he meets the Artful Dodger. The Artful Dodger takes Oliver to the home of Fagin
, a seemingly kind old man who turns homeless boys into shameless pickpockets. There, Oliver is trained to wander the streets stealing from ladies and gentlemen. When Oliver witnesses the Artful Dodger and another boy named Charlie stealing the handkerchief
of Mr. Brownlow as he browses the books at a street bookshop, Oliver flees. The suspicious act on Oliver's part arouses the attention of Mr. Brownlow and accuses him of theft. When caught, Oliver is taken before a magistrate
treated as a cold-blooded criminal and sentenced. Mr. Brownlow
confronts the magistrate, telling him that his sentence is too harsh and that he never did see Oliver actually steal the piece of cloth. Mr. Brownlow takes a liking towards Oliver and invites him to live in his home. Mr. Monks, a sinister man, seeks information about Oliver from Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, when they present him with a locket that the old nurse Sally had taken from Oliver's mother. Mr. Monks wishes Oliver to be involved in a crime and imprisoned, so he may claim the inheritance that is rightfully Oliver's.
1982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n 72-minute made-for-television animated film from Burbank Films Australia
Burbank Films Australia
Burbank Films Australia was an Australian animation-production company that in a span of eight years produced over thirty different animated films...
; a part of the studio's series of adaptations of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' works made from 1982 through 1985. It was originally broadcast in 1982 through the Australian Nine Network Australia. The film is based on Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' classic English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novel, Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
, first published in 1838, and was adapted by John Palmer. It was produced by George Stephenson and directed by Richard Slapczynski. A second live-action, made-for-television title under the same name was produced in the same year. All copyright in this film is currently owned by HS Holding Corporation who controls the licencing of this film. Different companies, including the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
GoodTimes Entertainment
GoodTimes Entertainment
GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was a home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well-known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics...
and Digiview Entertainment, distribute the film for home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
around the globe.
Plot summary
Oliver Twist is born at the workhouseWorkhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
of Mr. Bumble, where he is left an orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
as his mother dies shortly after giving birth to him. Mr. Bumble, just as he does with all his other orphans, puts Oliver to daily work, giving him in exchange little more than a daily bowl of porridge
Porridge
Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
. One day, outraged that Oliver would dare supplicate for more food, Mr. Bumble sells the boy to Mr. Sowerberry, an undertaker, who makes him an apprentice at his funeral home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
. There, Oliver is humiliated and insulted by Noah, Mr. Sowerberry's other apprentice. Tired of this life, Oliver runs away from the funeral home and heads for the city of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he meets the Artful Dodger. The Artful Dodger takes Oliver to the home of Fagin
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
, a seemingly kind old man who turns homeless boys into shameless pickpockets. There, Oliver is trained to wander the streets stealing from ladies and gentlemen. When Oliver witnesses the Artful Dodger and another boy named Charlie stealing the handkerchief
Handkerchief
A handkerchief , also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
of Mr. Brownlow as he browses the books at a street bookshop, Oliver flees. The suspicious act on Oliver's part arouses the attention of Mr. Brownlow and accuses him of theft. When caught, Oliver is taken before a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
treated as a cold-blooded criminal and sentenced. Mr. Brownlow
Mr. Brownlow
Mr. Brownlow is a character from the novel, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. He is later revealed to be none other than a very close friend of Oliver's father.-Description:Dickens describes Brownlow's first appearance:-The novel:...
confronts the magistrate, telling him that his sentence is too harsh and that he never did see Oliver actually steal the piece of cloth. Mr. Brownlow takes a liking towards Oliver and invites him to live in his home. Mr. Monks, a sinister man, seeks information about Oliver from Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, when they present him with a locket that the old nurse Sally had taken from Oliver's mother. Mr. Monks wishes Oliver to be involved in a crime and imprisoned, so he may claim the inheritance that is rightfully Oliver's.
Characters
- Oliver Twist: The protagonist, Oliver Twist is a ten-year-old orphaned boy born at Mr. Bumble's workhouse. He experiences many hardships and cruelty from greedy villains before finding his rightful place in the world.
- Mr. Brownlow: An old friend of Oliver Twist's mother, his path is crossed with Oliver's when he believes the boy had stolen his handkerchief.
- Fagin: Fagin is a seemingly kind and harmless old man who collects homeless boys from the streets and teaches them to steal from people, thus making his own fortune.
- Artful Dodger: The Artful Dodger is Oliver's first friend and Fagin's preferred boy. He is streetwise and the best among Fagin's band of pickpockets.
- Nancy: Nancy is the girlfriend of Bill Sykes. She takes pity towards Oliver and tries to help him into a new, better life, which ends up costing her her own.
- Bill Sykes: A cruel man, he is determined to see Oliver commit a crime in order to receive compensation from Mr. Monks, no matter whose life may be at stake.
- Mr. Monks: He is revealed to be Oliver Twist's own brother and wishes to take his inheritance from him by involving the young boy in a crime. He believes he's destroyed the last evidence of Oliver's parentage when he destroys the golden locket Sally gives to Mrs. Bumble.
- Mr. Bumble: He is the owner of the workhouse where Oliver Twist is born. He is a cruel man and forces his boys to hard work from the day they're capable of standing on their feet.
- Sally: Sally is an old nurse working for Mr. Bumble at his workhouse, where she is abused and ill-treated. She nurses Oliver Twist's mother as she gives birth to her son and is with her when she dies. She notices Agnes, Oliver's mother, dropping an old locket on the ground; she picks it up and holds on to it. Ten years later and shortly before dying, she apologetically gives the locket to Mrs. Bumble and supplicates her to give the piece of jewelry to Oliver, so that he may know who he is.
External links
- Oliver Twist at the Big Cartoon DatabaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....