DISNEY'S `OLIVER TWIST' ON TRACK.

Byline: Ron Miller Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

One wonders how Charles Dickens might react to the fact that his ``Oliver Twist,'' a searing novel of 19th-century child abuse that helped promote social reform in England, finally has been embraced by ``The Wonderful World of Disney.''

My best guess is that Dickens wouldn't mind, especially if he had a chance to see the two-hour Disney version Sunday, which turns out to be a handsome and entertaining production that doesn't water down the grim story as much as one might imagine.

The movie doesn't dwell on Oliver's painful childhood at the workhouse; and Alex Trench, who plays the woeful lad, looks a mite too well-scrubbed and well-fed for the youngster Dickens envisioned. As for Fagin, the trend to turn him into a more sympathetic character continues as Richard Dreyfuss joins the growing list of actors trying him on for size. Dreyfuss' Fagin is complete with broad gestures, the obligatory putty nose and a froggy voice.

Still, children aren't spared the tragedies of ``Oliver Twist'': Warm-hearted Nancy pays her bloody dues on schedule, Bill Sikes keeps his gruesome date with destiny and Oliver is cuffed about a good deal before the secret in that locket his dying mother gave him finally alters the course of his life forever.

It's hard to imagine what a modern child might take from ``Oliver Twist.'' This is, after all, the era of ``Bastard Out of Carolina'' and ``Before Women Had Wings,'' recent TV movies about abused children.

Yet, Sunday's ``Oliver Twist'' does deliver some valuable messages for young viewers - and their parents. It shows, for instance, how strong peer group pressure can be. When young Oliver is taken under the wing of the Artful Dodger (Elijah Wood), a young thief who pulls the poor boy into Fagin's band of light-fingered urchins, Oliver is so lonely and intimidated by London's urban squalor that acceptance by the group is immediately comforting. Things haven't changed that much. Some kids still get that feeling of family from gangs.

In its day, ``Oliver Twist'' was a powerful tract, involving readers with its abused and lost young hero and making them understand that reform of child labor laws was one way to protect the Olivers of their society. It helped bring about a change of attitude among Victorians and helped persuade the new generation it was time to take responsibility for the thousands of homeless youngsters walking their streets.

THE FACTS

The show: ``Oliver Twist.''

What: ``The Wonderful World of Disney's'' adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic.

The stars: Alex Trench, Richard Dreyfuss and Elijah Wood.

Where: KABC (Channel 7).

When: 7 p.m. Sunday.

Our rating: B

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Oliver (Alex Trench, left) strives to succeed in Fagin's (Richard Dreyfuss) world with the Artful Dodger (Elijah Wood) in ``Oliver Twist.''