In this animated version of Charles Dickens' classic novel, we see the story of young Oliver Twist, a boy orphaned at birth and left to grow up under the cruel tutelage of Mr. Bumble, the local parish beadle. Apprenticed to a workshop at an early age,Oliver runs away from this harsh and loveless life to London, where he falls in with a group of pick-pockets, headed by the Artful Dodger and organized by the crafty thief Fagin. Fagin wants Oliver to join his band of cut-purses, and, with the help of his associate Bill Sikes, trains the boy in the ways of petty theft. On his first day out in the streets, however, Oliver watches two of the other boys steal a handkerchief from an old man and, striken with guilt, runs off. He is caught by Mr. Brownlow, who lets Oliver see the possibility of another life, one of civility and honesty. Oliver is quite taken with this life, but will Fagin and his associates really let the young boy go?