''Saban's Adventures of Oliver Twist'' (, lit. "The New Adventures of Oliver Twist", also known as ''Oliver Twist'') is a children's

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

created by

Saban Entertainment BVS Entertainment, Inc., previously known as Saban Productions, Saban Entertainment and Saban International, is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 24, 1980, as a music production company by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, it ...

. The series first aired in the United States from 1 February 1996 to 12 February 1997 through the company's syndicated "The Saban Network for Kids!" strand, totaling 52 episodes. The series began airing in France on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

on September 1, 1997, and on Fox Kids (starting with Fox Kids Netherlands and Fox Kids UK feeds later expanded airs on other feeds) on internationally. Ownership of the series passed to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes

. Loosely based on the 1838 novel ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, the series features

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

animals and occasionally humans.

Characters

(voiced by

Mona Marshall Mona Marshall is an American television and voice actress, known for her work in a number of cartoons, anime shows, films and video games. Her major credits include ''South Park'', where she voices many of the female characters on the show, '' .h ...

) - A

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

. An orphan on the run from the workhouse, trying to earn the respect of his friends Dodger and Charlie and hoping to find his mother, whom he got separated from. *

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of th ...

(voiced by Brianne Siddall) - A

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

. A cunning sort who is full of ideas. * Charlie Bates (voiced by

Tony Pope Anthony J. Pope (March 22, 1947 – February 11, 2004) was an American voice actor. He appeared in over 100 titles during his three-decade career, including as the voice of Goofy from 1977 to 1988 before Bill Farmer took over the role in 1987. ...

) - A

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

. A laid-back sort who is pretty accident-prone and greedy for food. *

Fagin Fagin () is the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a " receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates ...

(voiced by Bob MacGarva) - A

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

. Leader of the fellowship of young thieves. In most episodes, he is also the narrator of the story. *Princess Annushka (voiced by

Barbara Goodson Barbara Goodson is an American voice actress who has done voice-over work in cartoons and shows. Her best-known role was providing the English dub voice of the main villain Empress Rita Repulsa in the ''Power Rangers'' television series, starti ...

) - A dog. She is a runaway Russian princess who gives little regard for the boys and stays with Fagin's fellowship. * Nancy (voiced by

) - A

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

. A courteous and kind sort, who dreams of becoming an actress and stays with Fagin's fellowship. * Mr. Bumble - A

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

. Old and crude, he is the master of the workhouse. *Scratch and Sniff - Two cats. They are sent by Mr. Bumble to capture Oliver and bring him back to the workhouse. *

Bill Sikes William Sikes is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists (alongside Monks) in the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. Sikes is a malicious criminal in Fagin's gang, and a vicious robber and murderer. Throughout much o ...

- A

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

. A brutish ruffian of a man who makes threats by extortion and intimidation to gain his money. He is sometimes accompanied by a gang of thieving river rats with Big Cheese as his second-in-command.

Plot

Oliver escapes the orphan house and is on the run. While on the run he meets Dodger and together they go to Fagin. Fagin is the boss of a little gang and Oliver must prove himself, if he is worthy to stay; the workhouse master won't stop to bring Oliver back to the workhouse. Oliver and his friends, Dodger and Charlie, are making it a mission to find Oliver's mother and they make adventures along the way.

Episodes

Home media

As with many other

series, the only major English-language

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release is by Czech distributor North Video, featuring both Czech and English audio and original video (with English-language text) in the original production order. The first 18 episodes were released on 6 volumes, from September 24 to October 29, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saban's Adventures Of Oliver Twist 1990s American animated television series 1990s American children's television series 1996 American animated television series debuts 1997 American television series endings American children's animated adventure television series Animated television series about dogs Animated television series about orphans American English-language television shows First-run syndicated animated television series Television series by Saban Entertainment Television shows based on Oliver Twist