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IMDbPro

Newsies

  • 19921992
  • PGPG
  • 2h 1m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
21K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,262
1,249
Christian Bale and Max Casella in Newsies (1992)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer2:07
5 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaFamilyHistory
A musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthless... Read allA musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business.A musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
21K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,262
1,249
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kenny Ortega
    • Writers
      • Bob Tzudiker
      • Noni White
    • Stars
      • Christian Bale
      • Bill Pullman
      • Robert Duvall
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kenny Ortega
    • Writers
      • Bob Tzudiker
      • Noni White
    • Stars
      • Christian Bale
      • Bill Pullman
      • Robert Duvall
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 314User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
    • 46Metascore
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations

    Videos5

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:07
    Trailer
    Hollywood's Shared History with Broadway
    Clip 6:12
    Hollywood's Shared History with Broadway
    Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:08
    Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
    Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 0:55
    Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
    Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:11
    Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition

    Photos136

    Ann-Margret in Newsies (1992)
    Newsies (1992)
    David Moscow in Newsies (1992)
    Christian Bale in Newsies (1992)
    Mark David and Kenny Ortega in Newsies (1992)
    Christian Bale and Robert Duvall in Newsies (1992)
    Kenny Ortega in Newsies (1992)
    Christian Bale, Marty Belafsky, Dee Caspary, Joseph Conrad, Mark David, Jimmy Grant, Aaron Lohr, Dominic Maldonado, and Trey Parker in Newsies (1992)
    Christian Bale, Luke Edwards, Aaron Lohr, Dominic Maldonado, and David Moscow in Newsies (1992)
    Christian Bale, Luke Edwards, Aaron Lohr, and David Moscow in Newsies (1992)
    Christian Bale and Ele Keats in Newsies (1992)
    Dominic Maldonado in Newsies (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Christian Bale
    Christian Bale
    • Jack Kelly
    Bill Pullman
    Bill Pullman
    • Bryan Denton
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • Joseph Pulitzer
    Ann-Margret
    Ann-Margret
    • Medda Larkson
    David Moscow
    David Moscow
    • David Jacobs
    Luke Edwards
    Luke Edwards
    • Les Jacobs
    Max Casella
    Max Casella
    • Racetrack Higgins
    Gabriel Damon
    Gabriel Damon
    • Spot Conlon
    Marty Belafsky
    Marty Belafsky
    • Crutchy
    Arvie Lowe Jr.
    Arvie Lowe Jr.
    • Boots
    Aaron Lohr
    Aaron Lohr
    • Mush
    Trey Parker
    • Kid Blink
    Dee Caspary
    Dee Caspary
    • Snitch
    Joseph Conrad
    Joseph Conrad
    • Jake
    Dominic Maldonado
    Dominic Maldonado
    • Itey
    Matthew Schoenfeld
    • Snipeshooter
    • (as Matthew Fields)
    Mark David
    • Specs
    Ivan Dudynsky
    • Dutchy
    • Director
      • Kenny Ortega
    • Writers
      • Bob Tzudiker
      • Noni White
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Christian Bale was supposedly ashamed to tell his friends that the movie was a musical.
    • Goofs
      The real 1899 New York newsboys' strike was a partial failure. Prices were not lowered, although before the strike, unsold papers were not refunded, whereas afterwards they were.
    • Quotes

      Spot Conlon: Your honor, I object.

      Judge Monahan: On what grounds?

      Spot Conlon: On the grounds of Brooklyn, your honor.

    • Crazy credits
      Right before the credits begin rolling, a boy with a newspaper jumps up and the shot freezes on him. At the end of the credits the shot unfreezes and he falls down and rolls on the ground.
    • Alternate versions
      The featurettes on the DVD version of "Newsies", include at least two scenes that were altered in the final movie:
      • On the soundtrack for "Newsies" during the song "Carrying The Banner" there is a line that goes, "You need a smile as sweet as butter, the kind that ladies can't resist. It takes an orphan, with a stutter, who ain't afraid to use his fists." This footage is also present during the song on one of the featurettes, however in the movie, this part is cut, leading straight to the scene where the boys jump over the barrels.
      • During another featurette, one of the cast members mentions that Christian Bale had to learn an extra skill for his part and then there is footage of him with a lasso doing various tricks. This scene appears to be from the "Santa Fe" song, although it is not made clear.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Straight Talk/Rock-a-Doodle/Thunderheart/Beethoven/Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
    • Soundtracks
      Carrying the Banner
      Music by Alan Menken

      Lyrics by Jack Feldman

      Performed by Max Casella, Matthew Schoenfeld, Trey Parker, Mark David, Marty Belafsky, Aaron Lohr, Christian Bale, Michael A. Goorjian, and the Newsies Ensemble with JoAnn Harris, Sylvia Short, Melody Santangello, and Lois Young

    User reviews314

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Lots of Fun, and Tuneful Too!
    Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the early 1990's, when Jeffrey Katzenberg was still a top exec at Disney, he had one of his less successful ideas -- to bring back the break-into-song musical. So, as the story goes, he selected three scripts that were about to go into production and gave them to Disney Music Maestro Alan Menken and asked him which of the scripts could be turned into a musical.

    And that's how NEWSIES was born.

    It's a great story, too, being a fictionalized account of the newsboy strike in New York at the turn of the century. It follows the exploits of a ragtag band of teenage boys, including Cowboy (Christian Bale), who dreams of becoming a ranch hand in Santa Fe, and David & Les (David Moscow & Luke Edwards), brothers who take up selling newspapers when their father is injured on the job.

    Conflict arises when Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duval) gets greedy and raises the price of his newspapers to the newsboys, but not to the public. The outraged "newsies" decide to go on strike, which eventually galvanizes all the working children in the city to stand up for themselves.

    It's a fun film, with Duval playing his villain to the hilt, but Ann-Margret is wasted in her role as a showgirl (both of her musical numbers are badly edited down to just snippets of song). Bale is the real wonder here, though, singing and dancing with surprising aplomb. The songs overall are quite good, but a couple of them are hard to distinguish from each other. My favorites are the opening number, "Carrying the Banner," and the rousing "The World Will Know." It seems odd, though, that Duval doesn't get a musical number of his own, considering in Disney's animated musicals the villains usually get the best songs ("Poor Unfortunate Souls" or "Be Prepared" anyone?).

    It's a shame that the film didn't do better financially, since as a result of its dismal box office Disney declined to ever make another like it. First time director Kenny Ortega, who also choreographed (he was known for his choreography of DIRTY DANCING), directed one more feature after this, the underrated Bette Midler flick HOCUS POCUS; since that film also failed to find an audience, he hasn't directed a movie since. And that's a shame; he has a very distinctive kinetic style that served both films well.

    Seek out a copy of NEWSIES, and go for the widescreen version. You won't be disappointed!
    helpful•57
    6
    • kalel6868
    • Dec 5, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 10, 1992 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The News Boys
    • Filming locations
      • New York Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Touchwood Pacific Partners 1
      • Walt Disney Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,819,485
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $1,232,508
      • Apr 12, 1992
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,819,485
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 1 minute
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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