Oliver! (film) in the United States, and Oliver Reed, who played Bill Sikes, had just begun to make a name for himself. Producer John Woolf suggested Oliver Reed for the role to the director Reed, without knowing that the two were in fact related. Ron Moody, who was also well known in Britain but not the US, recreated his London stage performance, after Peter Sellers, Dick Van Dyke and Peter O'Toole reportedly turned down the role. Elizabeth Taylor turned down the role of Nancy as well. Julie Andrews was also considered. Director Reed also had Shirley Bassey in mind, but his choice
Oliver & Company of dogs (one of which is Dodger), and Sykes is a loan shark. Following the release of "The Black Cauldron", Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg held a pitch meeting with the animation staff, in which story artist Pete Young pitched the idea to adapt "Oliver Twist" with dogs. The pitch was quickly approved, and the film quickly went into production under the working title "Oliver and the Dodger". Released on the same day as "The Land Before Time", "Oliver & Company" was a box office success, but it received mixed reviews from film critics. The film was re-released in the