Newsies

**Newsies** is a 1992 film. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution and Warner Bros.. The film was written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, and released on April 10, 1992.

## Plot

In 1899, 17-year-old Jack "Cowboy" Kelly is one of many struggling newspaper hawkers in New York City, selling copies of the New York World on the streets of Manhattan ("Carrying the Banner"). When David Jacobs and his younger brother Les join the "newsies", Jack notices David's intelligence and Les’ marketable cuteness and self-servingly takes them under his wing. Unlike most of the newsies, David and Les are not orphans or runaways; they have a home and family and go to work in order to help their family get back on their feet financially, as their father was fired from his factory job due to an injury. Jack is invited to the Jacobs' home for dinner, where he becomes enamoured with their sister Sarah. Later, Jack laments his isolation due to lacking a family of his own; he fantasizes about traveling to New Mexico, about which he has heard many romantic stories ("Santa Fe").

Attempting to outdo his business rival William Randolph Hearst, New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer raises the prices that the newsies must pay to buy newspapers from his distribution centres. Angered, Jack and David galvanize the other Manhattan newsies to go on strike ("The World Will Know"). While the others spread the word to newsies in New York's other boroughs, Jack and Les confront Pulitzer and are thrown out of his office. Bryan Denton, a reporter for The Sun, takes an interest in the boys' story. Jack and David take their cause to the Brooklyn newsies, but their leader, "Spot" Conlon, is reluctant to join the strike. This dejects the Manhattan newsies, but David riles them up ("Seize the Day"). As a result, they ambush the distribution centre and destroy all of the newspapers. Disabled newsie "Crutchie" is captured by Pulitzer's enforcers, the Delancey brothers, and placed in an orphanage and juvenile detention centre called the Refuge, run by the sketchy Warden Snyder, who neglects the orphans so that he can embezzle money given to him by the city for their care.

The newsies try to ward off strike-breakers, but the struggle turns violent and turns out to be a trap set by the Delancey brothers. Just as the newsies are about to be arrested, Spot Conlon arrives with the Brooklyn newsies and the two groups unite to repel the police. Denton puts the story on the front page of The Sun. Thrilled, the newsies all rejoice at making the headline and imagine what it would be like to be famous ("King of New York"). They then plan to hold a rally. Snyder informs Pulitzer that Jack is an escapee from the Refuge, giving Pulitzer legal cause to have him arrested. Jack has breakfast with Sarah on the roof of the Jacobs' apartment building; he tells her of his desire to flee to Santa Fe, and wonders if she would miss him.

Newsies from around New York gather at Medda Larkin's Bowery. Jack, David, and Spot give speeches, encouraging the newsies to stick together and not give up on their cause. Before they all go back to their own boroughs, Medda cheers them up with a song ("High Times, Hard Times"). The police then break up the rally and arrest the newsies, but Denton steps in to pay their legal fines. Snyder testifies against Jack and reveals to the others that Jack's real name is Francis Sullivan; his mother is deceased, and his father incarcerated. Jack is sentenced to four years of rehabilitation in the Refuge. Denton is reassigned as a war correspondent and can no longer report on the strike. Jack is taken to see Pulitzer, who offers to waive his sentence and pay him a salary if he will work as a strike-breaker. When Pulitzer threatens to have the other newsies thrown into the Refuge, Jack complies. The boys attempt to rescue Jack, but he tells them to leave.

The newsies are shocked and dismayed to see Jack report for work the next day. When the Delancey’s attack the Jacobs children, Jack steps in to save them, knowing this will break his deal with Pulitzer. The newsies learn from Denton that their strike has had little effect on public opinion, since the city thrives on child labour and Pulitzer has ordered newspapers not to report 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, bringing the city's workforce to a standstill. Jack and David confront Pulitzer, who finally gives in to their demands.

Roosevelt has Snyder arrested, releases the children from the Refuge, and thanks Jack for alerting him to the situation. He offers Jack a ride, and Jack 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, having been convinced by Roosevelt that he still has things to accomplish in New York. As the newsies celebrate his return, Sarah and Jack kiss, and Spot gets a ride back to Brooklyn from Roosevelt.

## Cast and Characters

* Christian Bale as Jack "Cowboy" Kelly/Francis Sullivan
* David Moscow as David Jacobs
* Dominic Lucero as Bumlets
* Luke Edward as Les Jacobs
* Bill Pullman as Bryan Denton
* Robert Duvall as Joseph Pulitzer
* Ann-Margret as Medda Larkson
* Ele Keats as Sarah Jacobs
* Aaron Lohr as Mush Meyers
* Max Casella as Racetrack Higgins
* Trey Parker as Kid Blink
* Michael A. Goorjian as Skittery
* Gabriel Damon as Spot Conlon
* Marty Belafsky as Crutchie
* Jeffrey DeMunn as Mayer Jacobs
* Deborra-Lee Furness as Esther Jacobs
* Kevin Tighe as Mister Snyder
* Michael Lerner as Wiesel
* Shon Greenblatt as Oscar Delancey
* David Sheinkopf as Morris Delancey
* Charles Cioffi as Don Seitz
* William Boyett as Judge Monahan
* Marc Lawrence as Mr. Kloppman
* Arvie Lowe Jr. as Boots Arbus
* Scott Caudill as Newsies Dancer

## Production

Walt Disney Pictures tapped its film financing partner, Touchwood Pacific Partners, to fund the production of the film. The production had a $15 million budget. Alan Menken's long-time 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.

## Release

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. Newsies has since gained a measurable fan base.

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 on Blu-ray, as a 20th Anniversary Edition, on June 19, 2012.

### Box Office

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. 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 theatres after a poor opening weekend. Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin called it Howard the Paperboy, noting "This ambitious (up to a point) project is done in by a lack-luster score, and by cramped production numbers that seem cheap despite the movie's hefty production budget, not to mention its bloated running time."

## Reception

### Critical Response

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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".