Newsies
DVD Release
- Release Date: 2002
- "Newsies: The Inside Story"
- "The Strike: The True Story"
- Widescreen [2.35:1] enhanced for 16x9 televisions
- Audio commentary with filmmakers
- "Newsies, Newsies, See All About It"
- Storyboard-to-scene comparison sequence with audio commentary
- Singalong feature
- Dolby Digital Surround Sound
- Spanish-language track
- French and Spanish subtitles
- Rating:


- Genre: Musical
- Movie Type: Period Film, Musical Drama
- Themes: Down on Their Luck, Labor Unions
- Director: Kenny Ortega
- Main Cast: Christian Bale, David Moscow, Luke Edwards, Ann-Margret, Max Casella, Marty Belafsky, Ele Keats
- Release Year: 1992
- Country: US
- Run Time: 121 minutes
- MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
A failed effort to revive the big-budget movie musical, Newsies attempted to create toe-tapping, song-and-dance excitement out of the true story of an 1899 strike by newspaper boys against publishing magnate Joseph Pulitzer. The "newsies" band together to protest a pay cut by Pulitzer (Robert Duvall), organizing a union to protect their rights and ensure fair wages. They are helped along the way by Medda (Ann-Margret), a local dance-hall performer who befriends the boys and provides an opportunity for an additional song or two. Director Kenny Ortega had previously choreographed Dirty Dancing, and composer Alan Menken had provided the acclaimed scores for Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors, but their work here failed to capture the spark of their popular successes. Unable to connect with older or younger viewers, Newsies gained a reputation as a major bomb that cut short an attempt to bring back the live-action musical, though in the intervening years it has gained a small but appreciative cult. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie GuideReview
Touted by its makers as an attempt to bring live-action musical motion-pictures into the '90s, Newsies fails not because it lacks what the great musicals of the past had, but because it inserts nothing new into the genre, simply rehashing the archetypes and clichés that beat movie musicals to death in the first place. But just because it didn't incite '90s remakes of Bye Bye Birdie and Singin' in the Rain doesn't mean Newsies is completely worthless. For fans who enjoy even the more mediocre song-and-dance flicks of the '40s, '50s, and '60s, it's got just about everything. The songs are catchy and enjoyable, the story is simple and secondary to the music, and the cast isn't bad. Even Ann-Margret is in it, so at the very least audiences may want to squint and imagine they're watching a second-rate musical from the early '60s. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie GuideCast
- Christian Bale - Jack Kelly
- David Moscow - David Jacobs
- Luke Edwards - Les Jacobs
- Ann-Margret - Medda Larkson
- Max Casella - Racetrack
- Marty Belafsky - Crutchy
- Ele Keats - Sarah Jacobs
Arvie Lowe, Jr. - Boots; Robert Duvall - Joseph Pulitzer; Aaron Lohr - Mush; Bill Pullman - Bryan Denton; David James Alexander - Gov. Teddy Roosevelt; Michael Lerner - Weasel; Kevin Tighe - Snyder; Charles Cioffi - Seitz; Ogie Banks III - Newsies Dancer; Christopher Bonomo - Newsies Dancer; William Boyett - Judge Movealong Monahan; Damon Butler - Newsies Dancer; Daxon Calloway - Newsies Dancer; Dee Caspary - Snitch; Scott Caudill - Newsies Dancer; Joseph Conrad - Jake; Gabriel Damon - Spot Conlon; Mark David - Specs; Jeffrey DeMunn - Mayer Jacobs; D.J. Dellos - Newsies Dancer; Bret Dieball - Newsies Dancer; Ivan Dudynsky - Dutchy; Shay Duffin - Captain McSwain; Chris Dupre - Newsies Dancer; Dak Eubanks - Newsies Dancer; Robert Feeney - Snoddy; Matthew Fields - Snipeshooter; Tom Finnegan - Bunsen; Brian Friedman - Newsies Dancer; Jesus Fuentes - Newsies Dancer; Deborrah-Lee Furness - Esther Jacobs; Frank Girardeau - Chief of Police Devery; Tony Gonzales - Newsies Dancer; Michael A. Goorjian - Skittery; Rob Grayson - Newsies Dancer; Shon Greenblatt - Oscar Delancey; Jo Ann Harris - Patrick's Mother; I.M. Hobson - Gammon; Michael Irvin - Newsies Dancer; Robert Jaquez - Newsies Dancer; Todd Jenkins - Newsies Dancer; Larry Jones - Newsies Dancer; Gregg Kent-Smith - Toby the Candy Butcher; Terry Kohl - Bailiff; Kevin Kruger - Newsies Dancer; David Larson - Newsies Dancer; Terry Lindholm - Newsies Dancer; Mark Lowenthal - Jonathan; Dominic Lucero - Bumlets; Alan Luzietti - Newsies Dancer; Ryan MacDonald - Mayor Van Wyck; Dominic Maldonado - Itey; Kevin McCasland - Newsies Dancer; Dean McFliker - Newsies Dancer; James Earl Miller - Newsies Dancer; Patrick Lars Olsen - Newsies Dancer; Travis Payne - Newsies Dancer; Eric Pesqueira - Newsies Dancer; Craig Raclawski - Newsies Dancer; Jim Raposa - Newsies Dancer; Michael Rohrbacher - Newsies Dancer; Greg E. Russell - Newsies Dancer; Melody Santangelo - Nun; David Sheinkopf - Morris Delancey; Sylvia Short - Nun; David Sidoni - Pie Eater; Kevin Stea - Swifty; Jeff Thysell - Newsies Dancer; Wes Veldink - Newsies Dancer; Michael Warwick - Newsies Dancer; Joshua Wiener - Newsies Dancer; Lois Young - Nun; Jason Yribar - Newsies Dancer; Marc Lawrence - Kloppman; Frank Novak - Polieman; Elisabeth Leustig; David Evans - Newsies Dancer; Trey Parker - Kid Blink; Kevin Michaels - Ten Pin




