| Director: | Richard Slapczynski |
| Producer: | George Stephenson |
| Music: | Richard Bowden |
| Editor: | Peter Siegl |
| Network: | Nine Network Australia |
| Released: | [1] |
| Runtime: | 72 minutes |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
Oliver Twist is a 1982 Australian 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.[2]
It was originally broadcast in 1982[3] [4] through Nine Network Australia.
The film is based on Charles Dickens' classic 1838 English novel, Oliver Twist, and was adapted by John Palmer. It was produced by George Stephenson and directed by Richard Slapczynski.[5] A second live-action, made-for-television title under the same name was produced in the same year.[6] All copyright in this film is currently owned by HS Holding Corporation[7] who controls the licensing of this film. Different companies, including the American GoodTimes Entertainment and Digiview Entertainment, distributed the film for home video around the globe.
Oliver Twist is born at the workhouse 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 to transportation to Australia. 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.