Story Lessons: Newsies (1992)
This Disney flop teaches us how to avoid ruining ‘true stories’.
In the year 2020, when we have premium film and television content coming out of our ears: why am I analyzing Newsies?
The same reason I take inventory of my toilet paper every other day: Covid-19.
As my family adjusts to sheltering in place, there’s been way too much Disney+ in our lives.
The other day, rather than watch Moana or Winnie the Pooh for the umpteenth time, I insisted on something new. Something I wanted to watch… that also met the strict parameters of being age-appropriate and, in the words of my anxiety-ridden six-year-old, “not scary”.
Up stepped Newsies.
Even with those qualifiers, it’s a strange movie to analyze. This Disney live feature is nearly thirty years old and was a critical and commercial flop. Add to that it’s a musical — arguably the weakest genre when it comes to storytelling because it leans heavily on the old song and dance numbers — then why bother?
Mainly, it’s the determination of trying to make the best of a bad situation; which is what we’re all doing right now during this pandemic. I subscribe to the belief that you can learn just as much from a bad story as a good one. Sometimes more.
