1992 film by Kenny Ortega
Newsies
is a 1992 American
historical
musical
drama film
produced by
Walt Disney Pictures
. Directed by choreographer
Kenny Ortega
(in his
feature directorial debut
) from a screenplay written by the writing team of
Bob Tzudiker
and
Noni White
, it is loosely based on the New York City
newsboys' strike of 1899
. Featuring twelve original songs by
Alan Menken
with lyrics by
Jack Feldman
and an underscore by
J. A. C. Redford
, it stars
Christian Bale
,
Bill Pullman
,
Ann-Margret
, and
Robert Duvall
.
The film was a
box office bomb
and received mixed reviews. However, it later gained a
cult following
on home video,
[2]
and was ultimately adapted into
a stage musical
on
Broadway
. The play was nominated for eight
Tony Awards
, winning two including
Best Original Score
for Menken and Feldman.
Plot
[
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]
In 1899, 17-year-old Jack "Cowboy" Kelly lives with other struggling
newspaper hawkers
("newsies") in New York City, selling copies of the
New York World
on the
Manhattan
streets ("Carrying the Banner"). When David Jacobs and his younger brother Les join the group, Jack notices David's intelligence and Les's marketable cuteness, and egotistically takes them under his wing. Unlike most newsies, the brothers work to financially support their family, as their father Mayer lost his factory job after being injured. Invited to the Jacobs' home for dinner, Jack becomes enamored with their sister Sarah. He later laments his isolation due to lacking his own family and fantasizes about traveling to
New Mexico
("Santa Fe").
After
New York World
publisher
Joseph Pulitzer
raises the prices required for newsies to buy newspapers from taking the idea and credit from his right-hand man
Bunsen
from his distribution centers, Jack and David angrily galvanize the other Manhattan newsies to go on
strike
("The World Will Know"). While the others notify newsies in
New York's other boroughs
, Jack and Les confront Pulitzer, who ejects them from his office. Bryan Denton, a reporter for
The Sun
, takes an interest in the boys' story. Jack and David inform the
Brooklyn
newsies, whose leader, "Spot" Conlon, reluctantly opposes the strike. David motivates the dejected Manhattan newsies ("Seize the Day"), who consequently ambush the distribution center and destroy the newspapers. Pulitzer's enforcers, brothers Oscar and Morris Delancey, capture disabled newsie "Crutchie", who is placed in an
orphanage
and
juvenile detention center
called the Refuge, where the sketchy Warden Snyder neglects the orphans to embezzle money the city provides him for their care.
The newsies attempt deterring
strikebreakers
, but the violent struggle is revealed as a trap set by the Delancey brothers. Before the newsies can be arrested, Spot Conlon arrives with the Brooklyn newsies and the two groups repel the police. After Denton puts the story on the front page of
The Sun
, the ecstatic newsies imagine potential fame ("King of New York") before planning a rally. Snyder informs Pulitzer that Jack is an escapee from the Refuge, inspiring Pulitzer to have Jack arrested. During breakfast with Sarah atop the Jacobs' apartment building, Jack explains his desire to flee to Santa Fe, and wonders if she would miss him.
At Medda Larkson's Bowery, Jack, David, and Spot encourage the gathered newsies from around the city to stick together for their cause. Before they all return to their own boroughs, Medda cheers them up with a song ("High Times, Hard Times"). The police then arrive and arrest the newsies, but Denton pays their legal fines for them. Snyder testifies against Jack, revealing his real name as Francis Sullivan; his mother is deceased and his father incarcerated. Jack is sentenced to four years of rehabilitation in the Refuge, while Denton is reassigned as a
war correspondent
, unable to report on the strike. Pulitzer offers to waive Jack's sentence and pay him a salary if he works despite the strike, or he will have the other newsies thrown into the Refuge. The boys attempt to rescue Jack, who tells them to leave.
Though the newsies are shocked and dismayed to see Jack at work the next day, he rescues the Jacobs brothers when the Delanceys attack, knowingly breaking his deal with Pulitzer. Denton notifies the newsies that their strike has not swayed public opinion, since the city thrives on
child labor
and Pulitzer has warned newspapers against reporting on the strike. Using an old printing press of Pulitzer's, they publish a "Newsie Banner" which they distribute to child workers citywide ("Once and For All"). Denton shares the paper with Governor
Theodore Roosevelt
, exposing the mistreatment of children at the Refuge. Numerous child laborers join the strike, stalling the city's workforce. Jack and David confront Pulitzer, who finally concedes.
Roosevelt has Snyder arrested, releases the children from the Refuge, and thanks Jack for alerting him to the situation. He offers Jack a ride, who asks to be taken to the train yards so he can head to Santa Fe. The newsies are disheartened by this, but Jack returns shortly, with Roosevelt having convinced him that he belongs in New York. As the newsies celebrate his return, Sarah and Jack kiss, and Roosevelt returns Spot to Brooklyn.
Cast
[
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]
Production
[
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]
Walt Disney Pictures
tapped its film financing partner,
Touchwood Pacific Partners
, to fund the production of the film.
[4]
The production had a $15 million budget.
[5]
Alan Menken's longtime collaborator,
Howard Ashman
, was too sick from AIDS to work with Menken on this film, and he would eventually die on March 14, 1991. Menken brought in lyricist
Jack Feldman
to help.
Music
[
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]
Newsies (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
|
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|
Released
| April 10, 1992
|
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Recorded
| 1992
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Genre
| Soundtrack
|
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Label
| Walt Disney
|
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Title
| Performer(s)
|
---|
1.
| "Prologue"
| Max Casella
| 0:48
|
---|
2.
| "Carrying the Banner"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 6:15
|
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3.
| "Santa Fe"
| Christian Bale
| 4:18
|
---|
4.
| "My Lovey-Dovey Baby"
| Ann-Margret
| 1:30
|
---|
5.
| "Fightin' Irish: Strike Action"
| J.A.C. Redford
| 1:50
|
---|
6.
| "The World Will Know"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 3:20
|
---|
7.
| "Escape from Snyder"
| Redford
| 2:08
|
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8.
| "Seize the Day"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 2:01
|
---|
9.
| "King of New York"
| Bill Pullman
and Newsies Ensemble
| 2:25
|
---|
10.
| "High Times, Hard Times"
| Newsies Ensemble/Ann Margret
| 2:54
|
---|
11.
| "Seize the Day (Chorale)"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 1:12
|
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12.
| "Santa Fe (Reprise)"
| Christian Bale
| 1:49
|
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13.
| "Rooftop"
| Redford
| 3:13
|
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14.
| "Once and for All"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 2:24
|
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15.
| "The World Will Know (Finale)"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 1:50
|
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16.
| "Carrying the Banner (Finale)"
| Newsies Ensemble
| 6:20
|
---|
Release
[
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]
Newsies
was released on April 10, 1992, via distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
. The film did not recoup its $15 million budget, making less than a fifth of that at the box office.
[5]
Newsies
has since gained a measurable fan base.
[2]
In 1992, the film was released on
Walt Disney Home Video
, while a collector's edition
DVD
was released in 2002.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
released the film, while a 14th Anniversary Edition DVD, on May 30, 2006. on
Blu-ray
, as a 20th Anniversary Edition, on June 19, 2012.
Reception
[
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]
Critical response
[
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]
On
Rotten Tomatoes
, the film's average score is 39% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The critical consensus reads: "Extra! Extra! Read all about
Newsies
instead of suffering through its underwhelming musical interludes, although Christian Bale makes for a spirited hero."
[6]
On
Metacritic
, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
[7]
Film critic and historian
Leonard Maltin
called it
Howard the Paperboy
, noting "This ambitious (up to a point) project is done in by a lackluster score, and by cramped production numbers that seem cheap despite the movie's hefty production budget -- not to mention its bloated running time."
[8]
Box office
[
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]
The film grossed $2,819,485 domestically. The film did not recoup its $15 million budget, making less than a fifth of that at the box office.
[5]
It also ranks among the lowest-grossing live-action films produced by the
Walt Disney Studios
. This is due to the film being pulled from many theaters after a poor opening weekend.
Accolades
[
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]
Historical accuracy
[
edit
]
The actual
newsboys' strike of 1899
lasted from July 20 to August 2. The leader of the strike was a one-eyed young man named Louis Balletti, nicknamed "Kid Blink", who spoke with a heavy Brooklyn accent that was often phonetically transcribed when he was quoted by newspapers. Kid Blink is featured in the film as a minor supporting character, while the role of strike leader is given to the fictional Jack "Cowboy" Kelly. Kid Blink and another real-life newsie, Morris Cohen, were the inspiration for Kelly. The actual strike ended with a compromise: the
World
and
Journal
agreed to buy back all unsold copies of the newspapers.
Stage adaptation
[
edit
]
Disney Theatrical Productions
produced a
stage musical based on the film
that played at the
Paper Mill Playhouse
in Millburn, New Jersey, starting on September 25, 2011, through October 16, starring
Jeremy Jordan
as Jack.
[9]
Newsies!: The Musical
contains songs from the film, as well as several new numbers.
[10]
[11]
The musical opened to previews on
Broadway
at the
Nederlander Theatre
for a limited engagement from March 15, 2012, to March 28, 2012, in previews and from March 29, 2012, to June 10, 2012, in its official engagement.
[12]
This was later extended through August 19, 2012, after the first weekend of previews and then extended again, this time to an open-ended run.
[13]
The show went on to earn eight
Tony Award
nominations, including
Best Musical
,
[14]
winning
Best Choreography
and
Best Original Score
.
[15]
The show closed on August 24, 2014, having played 1,004 performances.
[16]
[17]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"
The News Boys
(PG/CUT)"
.
British Board of Film Classification
. July 30, 1992
. Retrieved
July 6,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Collis, Clark (August 31, 2007).
"Spotlight on Christian Bale"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Time
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
"Teen Beat 1993"
.
Newsies
. Retrieved
21 January
2020
.
- ^
Harris, Kathryn (May 21, 1992).
"A Dilemma for Disney : Films in Its Latest Financing Deal Have Mostly Been Clunkers"
.
LA Times
. pp. 1?2
. Retrieved
19 July
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Newsies (1992)"
.
Box Office Mojo
. IMDb.com, Inc
. Retrieved
June 3,
2019
.
- ^
"Newsies (1992)"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
.
Fandango Media
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
"Newsies Reviews"
.
Metacritic
.
CBS Interactive
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
Maltin's TV, Movie & Video Guide
- ^
Sorokoff, Stephen (September 26, 2011).
"Photo Coverage: Newsies Opening Night Curtain Call!"
.
Broadway World
. Retrieved
January 12,
2012
.
- ^
Jones, Kenneth (September 21, 2010).
"Harvey Fierstein Is Librettist for
Newsies
Musical, With Songs by Menken and Feldman"
.
Playbill
. Archived from
the original
on October 18, 2012
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
Itzkoff, Dave (February 14, 2011).
"Extra, Extra! 'Newsies' Musical to Open Paper Mill Playhouse Season"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
January 12,
2012
.
- ^
Jones, Kenneth (November 15, 2011).
"Read All About It: Disney's Newsies Gets Spring 2012 Broadway Engagement"
.
Playbill
. Archived from
the original
on June 27, 2012
. Retrieved
March 19,
2018
.
- ^
"
'Newsies' extends Broadway run"
.
United Press International
. March 19, 2012
. Retrieved
June 11,
2012
.
- ^
Healy, Patrick (May 1, 2012).
"
'Once' Leads the 2012 Tony Awards Nominations"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
May 1,
2012
.
- ^
Wells, Matt; Cote, David (2012-06-11).
"Tony awards 2012: Once scoops eight gongs on night of upsets"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 2020-10-05
. Retrieved
2020-10-05
.
- ^
"
'Newsies' to Close in August"
.
The New York Times
. 22 June 2014
. Retrieved
22 June
2014
.
- ^
Bowgen, Philippe (June 23, 2014).
"Disney Musical
Newsies
to End Broadway Run"
.
Playbill
. Archived from
the original
on June 25, 2014.
Notes
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]
External links
[
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]
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Newsies
.
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Television
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Documentary
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Soundtracks
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