Newsies
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Short description
Set in New York City near the end of the nineteenth century, Newsies follows the young boys and teenagers who sell newspapers on the streets for the rival papers of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Many of them are orphans or runaways surviving on the little they earn. When Pulitzer cuts what the newsboys receive per paper while expecting them to keep selling, Jack "Cowboy" Kelly and his friends decide the time has come to fight back. Led by Jack and joined by the Jacobs brothers, a reporter named Bryan Denton and the vaudeville performer Medda Larkson, the newsies organize a strike and try to win public support against the powerful publisher.
The film is a Walt Disney Pictures musical drama directed by Kenny Ortega, written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White and produced by Michael Finnell, with songs by Alan Menken. It was Ortega's first feature as director, released in April 1992, and he went on to make Hocus Pocus the following year. Christian Bale plays Jack, with Bill Pullman, Ann-Margret, Robert Duvall, David Moscow and Luke Edwards among a credited cast of 67. Made for around 15 million dollars, it took in roughly 3 million worldwide, a small return on its budget. On IMDb it holds a 5 out of 10 critics' rating from 38 reviews, while on TMDB it has 6.7 out of 10 from 309 votes, showing audiences responding more warmly than critics.
What's left behind the scenes
- Most of the young actors involved in the film underwent intensive training in dance and martial arts over ten weeks.
- Originally, 'The Newsies' was intended to be a drama, not a musical.
- Many of the film's newsboy characters are based on real people who participated in the 1899 strike, such as Spot Conlon, Racey Higgins, and Mushy Blink. At the same time, the character of Jack Kelly, played by Christian Bale, was fictional, although he may have been partially based on Mushy Blink, who was accused of being bribed by Pulitzer to end the strike. His friend David is to some extent based on another strike leader, Morris Cohen.
- For a long time, the film remained the lowest-grossing live-action project in the entire history of the Disney studio.
- The song "King of New York" was written by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman after filming had already wrapped, later becoming their favorite song in the entire film.
- When Christian Bale performs the song "Santa Fe" in one episode, he is riding a horse. In the shot where his arms are raised and he is leaning back, the actor was actually riding on the shoulders of a stunt performer.
- The dress worn by Elle Woods (Sara Jacobs) during the performance of "Off to the Races" was an authentic dress from 1899. Due to the delicate stitching and fragile condition, the costume designers were forced to remove the dress and mend small holes and tears in the fabric after each take.
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