Thrashbrowns v. Mouse House, Round 7

Newsies (1992)

The Story:

In this prequel to Batman Begins, young Bruce Wayne leads a movement against corrupt corporate overlords- wait, this isn't a Batman prequel? It's really just a musical about Jack Kelly (Christain Bale) and David (David Moscow) organizing the youthful paper carries of New York in a battle for their rights against newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall)? Oh. Bummer. Also, Bill Pullman shows up but doesn't give a rousing speech about Independence Day. So disappointing...

Has Thrashbrowns seen this? Why or why not?

I hadn't seen a single frame before tonight. Believe it or not, there was a time in my life when singing, dancing newspaper boys didn't make a lick of sense to me.

The Good:

The songs are pretty great, with a couple of them (cough Santa Fe, The King of New York cough) being flat-out fantastic. Bale leads a great young cast and it's clear that even at that age, the dude had serious star power. And I'll watch Bill Pullman any chance I get.

Best of all, this is a tale of uniting against the powerful that still resonates today. Hell, with corporations and billionaires eating up more and more of the country's wealth, leaving only crumbs for the rest of us, it may be even more resonant today. 

The Bad:

Newsies had one big flaw that bugged the crap out of me: the direction. Kenny Ortega, whose resume also includes Hocus Pocus and all three High School Musical flicks, hadn't had it all figured out quite yet. The choreography is solid but Ortega captures it in a way that is completely devoid of energy. These songs crackle with energy and with a more competent director who knows who to capture the kineticism and movement of the choreography, these music numbers could leap off the screen.

One lesser gripe: This movie took a little too long to hook me. Eventually, it did (thank you, Santa Fe), but up till it did, it was a bumpy ride.

Most Annoying Disney-ism:

Disney hypocrisy...

These days, it's impossible for me to watch a Disney film that tackles corporate greed and corruption without feeling like there's more than a little hypocrisy going on there. And this is something I've sensed in plenty of other flicks distributed by the House of Mouse. (i.e. Wall-E.) 

I realize that it's only gotten worse since then and it's a little scary to think of what Disney is capable of now that they own so many of the big, profitable franchises. So to see a Disney movie commenting on those the dangers of single entities, be them corporations or individual people, gaining too much power comes off as more than a little insincere and sanctimonious.

Does Thrashbrowns get why people love this?

I know a lot of people who love this movie, most of them women. Since I still don't understand how women think, even in my advanced age, I don't feel too comfortable saying I get it. But if they like it cuz it's got hunky young dudes singing catchy songs and showing that kids can get great things accomplished then yeah, I get it.

Did Thrashbrowns like it?

Like I said, the beginning fifteen minutes or so were pretty bumpy, but once Bale sang Santa Fe and pulled at my heartstrings, I was sold. Newsies isn't perfect, not even close, but I'd watch it again. Happily.

Up next:

Holidays, the flu and winter snowstorms kept us from getting to Moana, but we're gonna try to get that one out of the way next.