“Newsies” is a cheery musical and I was really surprised how much I liked it. The film was initially a flop both financially and critically but has since gone on to develop a large following, eventually leading to it being adapted into a Broadway play.

“Newsies” tells the story of the children selling newspapers on the streets of New York City in 1899. Newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall “The Godfather”) decides to increase the prices of papers for the children, forcing the young Jack Kelly (Christian Bale “Empire of the Sun”, “The Machinist”) to lead the children to stage a strike.

Christian Bale and many of the other child actors give some very impressive performances. They all sing and dance very well and are able to nail the New York accents. The singing and dancing are so important in musicals and here we see the children engage in lots of fast and creative dance routines. Robert Duvall is pretty good as the movie’s villain but I wish we saw a little more of him. Bill Pullman (“Lake Placid”) plays a journalist that covers the story of the children’s strike and while the performance isn’t bad, Pullman’s singing leaves a lot to be desired.

Some of the songs aren’t that great and some may find the premise a little boring but “Newsies” won me over. This is a splendid little movie that can put a smile on your face with some fun singing and dancing but it also helps shed a little light on a part of history I never knew about. If you really don’t care for musicals then I doubt you’ll like this but I think most people will enjoy it. The fact that the movie has found an audience in the years since its release show that “Newsies” is worth checking out.