Newsies (Disney 1992)
synopsis
(musical drama) Set in 1895, NEWSIES is loosely based on the actual newspaperboys strike in New York City. When newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall) decides to jack up the price of newspapers, the paperboys are led by a charismatic leader, Jack Kelly (Christian) to go on strike. Directed by Kenny Ortega (HOCUS POCUS) and also starring Ann Margret and Bill Pullman.
update!
On Christian's birthday, January 30th, 2001, 9 years since its original release (!!!) Balehead fan power again flexed its muscle forcing Disney to re-release the popular NEWSIES soundtrack to be remastered on CD! Click below to buy from Amazon!! Next up? Register to get the movie back on DVD!!
Video and Laser disc (but hard to find as discontinued). Disney's great experiment of 1992 was to revive the live action musical. They had had hits every summer with their animated musicals, so why not a live action musical? But while NEWSIES was the brainchild of then Disney boss, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the new Disney bosses after Katzenberg ignored the high audience test scores and decided to dump the movie in limited release and limited promotion. The End? Nope. When it was released on video, a new generation of Baleheads rallied behind the film, amazed and stunned that the little English boy from EMPIRE OF THE SUN was now sporting an American/New Yorker accent. And even more amazed and stunned that this film was dumped unceremoniously by Disney - making it a personal discovery and treasure by all who watched it. With its great songs and muscular choreography, NEWSIES also pre-dated the current boy-band craze by 5 years! Boy band? Sure, a movie about a bunch of handsome teenaged boys singing and dancing? Could be an NSYNC video!
Originally embarrassed by its poor box office, both Christian and Disney have come to regard the orphaned film with greater respect. All the stories you've read are true. Christian originally signed on to do NEWSIES when it was a drama in the vein of WHITE FANG. When it turned into a musical, he balked at the idea but soldiered on. NEWSIES is a must-see for fans - an immediate uplifter - you can't be in a bad mood after watching it! It's the major Bale movie that has launched hundreds of fan sites, fan fiction, and devotion unparalleled in recent history. Disney! Wake up and release NEWSIES on DVD!!! Register your vote below!
Update!! Disney is testing a re-release of NEWSIES in 2 theaters this May 11, 2001, in the Baxter Theater in Louisville, KY, and the Charles Theater in Baltimore, MD. Fans of the movie, SOMEWHERE IN TIME, have finally managed, after 11 years, to get the film re-released this fall and to get a special 20th anniversary DVD issued.
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