#Bob Tzudiker

[roskirambles]

Animated Movie of the Day: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, a building witness to countless stories. The most famous, however, involves two men (one young and malformed, the other old and in power) who fell in love with a Roma girl. While the young one let her go once he saw her heart belonged to another, the older one decided to have her whatever the cost. Or in the words of the street performer Clopin, the story of a man and a monster.

The house of the mouse is no stranger to toning down their literary inspirations to appeal to a general audience. Problem is, with an author as cynnical as Victor Hugo you can only tone down so much before the story loses it's point. So taking a gamble, the end result is a shockingly dark movie that explores authoritarianism, psychological abuse, systemic discrimination, lust, posessiveness and objectification, with some theological unpacking about the nature of sin and virtue at that. Seriously, it says a lot this movie's take on Claude Frollo is the most disturbing villain in the entire Disney canon by a landslide (with some people even having drawn paralels to characters like Griffith from Berserk… and having a point at that).

At least, that's when they don't try to get cute. Either as a genuine but misguided attempt to bring some levity into a movie that can genuinely get intense or a compromise to get the thing greenlit, the addition of the comic relief gargoyles and slapstick gags stick out like a sore thumb. And that's not getting into their depiction of the Roma people still potentially falling into stereotypes, but that's a whole separate can of worms.

It's an imperfect package, but a bold move that only could've happened in the Disney Renaissance. Whether it's the powerful human drama, a fantastic central cast of heroes, a breathtaking visual rendition of the Notre Dame Cathedral or the majestic score by Alan Menken. its strengths do outweight its weaknesses.

And do not misunderstand my words. The movie IS drastically different from the book as most of the cast was given a more sympathetic and audience appropriate portrayal(the way Phoebus is portrayed is night and day compared to the novel). Still, in contrast to many of the Disney adaptations they still had to bite the bullet when it comes to some of the thematic content.

[thebutcher-5]

Il gobbo di Notre Dame

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Nello scorso articolo abbiamo deciso di cambiare argomento e, invece di parlare di cinema, ci siamo spostati nel mondo della letteratura, andando a discutere di un grande classico, un romanzo storico veramente importante e che io amo particolarmente, Notre-Dame de Paris di Victor Hugo. La storia è ambientata nella Parigi del 1482 e inizia per la precisione…

[spookysplatt]

Gay people were invented by Noni White, Bob Tzudiker, and Kenny Ortega on THIS DAY 32 years ago can you believe it

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Tarzan (1999)

It's hard to define sometimes where the end of the Disney Renaissance period from the late 80s through the 90s is. After the release of The Lion King, the 2D animated features steadily made less money and critical acclaim became more mixed. There was a sea change occurring thanks to more competition from companies like DreamWorks and Warner Bros., as well as the advent of the computer. For me, the dividing line is 1999's Tarzan, mostly because it's after this point that we get to what I and others call the 2000-2004 "experimental" age with films like The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch, and Treasure Planet. But Tarzan has much in common with those films, representing a step away from the Broadway musical traditions and into a new, intriguing arena of animation storytelling. It's genuinely one of my favorite Disney films to revisit, and I hope this review helps explain why.

The story takes Edgar Rice Burroughs' initial novel Tarzan of the Apes as a guideline more than an actual adaptation, namely ditching concerns about nobility wealth inheritance and unflattering black African caricatures (the spinoff TV series would deal with the latter in trying to be, uh, less problematic about such). We pick up with Ye Olde Dramatically Convenient Boat Wreckage in a truly commanding opening sequence set to Phil Collins' anthemic Two Worlds. Tarzan's unnamed parents land in Africa and are put in parallel to gorillas Kala (Glenn Close, at the time coming off a very different performance for Disney as live action Cruella De Vil) and Kerchak (Lance Henriksen). Tragedy strikes for both families, and where one loses his parents, another gains a son. But Tarzan (Alex D. Linz as a child, Tony Goldwyn as an adult) grows up knowing he is "different", desperate to prove himself as an ape and belong. He seems to find an equilibrium, becoming best friends with Terk (Rosie O'Donnell) and Tantor (Wayne Knight at his most nebbishy), and even managing to vanquish Sabor, but then strangers arrive. Strangers who look like him, in the form of British scientist Archimedes Porter (Nigel Hawthorne), his daughter Jane (Minnie Driver), and their guide Clayton (BRIAN BLESSED). Now things steadily grow more complicated as Tarzan wishes to learn all he can about these outsiders and himself, but what might it cost?

One of the first, most notable things about the film to me is its complexity in the writing and characterization. Looking back, the Renaissance can have a problem in terms of male leads being love interests who don't get as much focus or slightly bland focus-tested "likable". This isn't true for ALL of them; the Beast has many layers to his personality, while Simba and Quasimodo are great, imo, because they have more baggage tying them down and thus more to rise above for true heroism. Nor does it make most of them bad characters. But it was notable enough, as was the tendency for them to be overshadowed by the villains or sidekicks, for co-directors Kevin Lima/Chris Buck and writers Tab Murphy/Bob Tzudiker/Noni White to slightly...course-correct.

Ergo, Tarzan himself is very much the main focus here. There's only one major sequence that he's not really involved with, and even when he's not onscreen, the other characters are as intrigued by his contradictions as the audience. (Insert your own Poochie jokes here, though obviously it doesn't come CLOSE to that) We truly feel his anxiety about fitting in, and the lengths he goes to are intensely relatable even at their most self-damning.

The other characters, too, feel richer and more lived-in than many of the standard types. Kala is a mother figure, one who tries to make Tarzan feel like he belongs, but is deeply scared of losing him. Kerchak is possibly my favorite character in the film because of how much you have to read into his actions because he holds so much back emotionally until the very end. Even then, he comes off as a more realistic harsh father figure than a caricature, and we can always understand where he's coming from. Jane is one of the best Disney love interests, meanwhile, feeling like a modern romantic comedy heroine with a lot of drive and initiative, as well as being just genuinely nerdy, which you don't often see even today. Clayton manages a nice two-step of seeming like an obvious bad guy but playing things down the middle until he gets what he wants. Even the comic relief gets good moments, such as Professor Porter gently supporting the romance or Tantor standing up for himself at a critical juncture.

Of course, what helps here is that said characters have some of the most beautiful environments and animation backing them up in Disney history. The African jungle is depicting as a kind of painterly, hyper-real fantasy, with impossible tree shapes and vines that bloom in the sunlight. And the then-revolutionary Deep Canvas CGI process allows Tarzan to soar through them, the camera spinning and rotating with each movement. The design sensibility is "classical" Disney to a large degree, but with slightly longer faces or larger eyes to add expressiveness. The California, Parisian, and Florida animation teams all clearly busted their asses to make this come to life. And Glen Keane's work with the Paris studio on Tarzan might be the best of his legendary career in terms of the variety of movements and subtleties in expressions. So too goes the rest of the supervising animators: Ken Duncan makes Jane truly lovable and wholly distinct from the likes of his Meg or Amelia; Randy Haycock gives Clayton a macho swagger that feels entirely his own rather than feeling like a Gaston ripoff; Bruce Smith combines remarkable anatomy work and microexpressions with Kerchak; Russ Edmonds' Kala is warm and motherly while never letting you entirely forget she's a gorilla; Dave Burgess makes Porter funny with his slightly squat, short shapes; and Mike Surrey and Sergio Pablos make for an excellent duo on Terk and Tantor in terms of contrasting their size, as well as the latter giving nervous-nelly body language to such a huge character. That's harder than it looks.

The aural end is just as good. Much hay and memery has been made of Phil Collins going ridiculously hard on the storytelling songs, which I fully support. But it really is true that they add so much here and take the burden off the characters in terms of singing save for the improvisational scat number "Trashin' The Camp". I'm partial to "Strangers Like Me" in terms of the earnest yearning and connections that Tarzan makes over the course of it. And of course the various versions of "Two Worlds" are essentially the mission statement of the film, complete with absolutely bitchin' percussion. Mark Mancina's accompanying score is also excellent, sounding like a fusion between The Lion King (which he produced/arranged for both the film and Broadway show) and his action movie work on projects like Speed or Bad Boys. Particularly great is the cue that plays when Tarzan defeats Sabor and builds up to his classic yell, which milks the heroic triumph for all its worth.

The voice cast is also excellent top to bottom. Goldwyn has a deeper timbre than many Disney male leads, less of an ingenue, and this adds to the stormier emotions; we truly feel his pain on lines like "Why didn't you tell me there were creatures that look like me?" But he's not TOO grim, thankfully, and gets some good subtly funny moments such as sounding out monkey noises in a conversation that Jane only hears one half of. Close is properly maternal, of course, getting her best showings in emotional one-on-ones with both Linz and Goldwyn as they hash out their relationship. Henriksen, like the animation, wisely underplays Kerchak and lets the emotion come out through his gruff, gravel-pit voice rather than obviously signaling things. Driver is hilarious and winning as Jane, getting some of the best laughs and most sweetly tender bits of the proceedings. It's all the more impressive when you consider she played Lady Eboshi in the Princess Mononoke dub the same year, which is the utter opposite of this performance. BRIAN BLESSED doesn't do a lot of his patented BRIAN BLESSED yelling outside of some choice bits at the end, but he makes a meal of Clayton regardless as a charismatic asshole, and I like how he plays a climactic bit of manipulation in particular. Hawthorne gets a much better showing here than his previous Disney voice role as Fflewddur Flam in The Black Cauldron, daffily sweet and humorous in equal measure, while O'Donnell and Knight are familiar vocally but use that to inform their characterizations rather than distract.

I think what I like most about this movie is that it feels incredibly well-rounded. Some Disney movies from this period might have a great villain or sidekicks but a weaker protagonist in Hercules or strong protagonists/villains but a weaker supporting cast as in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Then you have Pocahontas, which sucks on ALL ends!) In Tarzan, everything feels of a piece, and nobody jars against the tone or mood. Combine that with the dizzying highs of the animation and truly excellent emotional beats, and you've got a real winner that stands the test of time in my eyes.

[newsies1992fan]

We have an early version of the Newsies 1992 script, but its not the original. Here's Bob Tzudiker and Noni White speaking about what they originally planned.

Noni recalls that the original script called for Jack Kelly’s love interest to be a fellow “newsie,” a girl named Charlie and at the end of the film they were to go off together on a train bound for Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bob interjects at this point to tell us that the train was cut for budgetary reasons. Noni laughs and says, “They (filmmakers) said you want a train??”

Noni says, “When we originally wrote (the story) with Charlie the girl who was the love interest of Jack she lived in a house of ill repute with her aunt and her aunt did not want her to go into that life and so she was really trying to shield her from it. As soon as we sold it to Disney I said to Bob, guess what Bob, goodbye to the house of prostitution. This was a family film and it was just not going to fly. That was changed to Meta Larkson (a cabaret style singer).”

It is also interesting to note that the original screenplay had the “newsies” hanging out at an African American juke joint, which Disney replaced in the film with a soda fountain.

What soda fountain though? Am I just dumb? I don't remember a soda fountain.

[jackmkelly]

could you elaborate on sarah replacing another female character? ive never heard about that before /nf

i can Always elaborate it’s what i live for <3

basically! while writing the og og og script it was not . for disney so obviously things were a lot different and obviously characters would have had to be dropped and replaced (hence why charlie was scrapped and sarah was added)

idk much about charlie BUT! she was both a newsie & jacks original love interest! (she also did go to santa fe with jack at the end!)

heres two interviews shes mentioned in <33

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Another special guest episode!

Transcript below the break.

Rosemary

(singing) Pulitzer and Hearst, they think they got us.

You going to put my singing on there as a teaser?

Jane

Yes. Yes I am.

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind, the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies. Usually these are movies that I love for my own personal reasons, but for this episode, I will be joined by my sister Rosemary to talk about one of her comfort movies, which is #32 on my list: Disney’s 1992 historical musical Newsies, directed by Kenny Ortega, written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White – who I just learned are married to each other, so that’s fun – and starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, Bill Pullman, and Robert Duvall.

It’s 1899. The streets of New York City echo with the voices of newsies, carrying the banner on every corner, bringing you the news for a penny a pape. Our story starts the day David Jacobs (David Moscow) and his younger brother Les (Luke Edwards) begin their newsboy careers and team up with experienced newsie Jack Kelly (Christian Bale). But soon after, the head of the newspaper, Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall) decides that in order to increase profits, he needs to further exploit the newsies, so David and Jack decide to lead a strike.

This movie is truly bizarre, and I don’t think I’ve ever quite figured out how I feel about it. I’ve somehow managed to watch it 16 times, and most of those viewings were either directly or indirectly because of my sister, so without further ado, let’s talk with Rosemary about Newsies.

Hello!

Rosemary

Hi!

Jane

Very excited to talk to you about Newsies, because the only reason that it made it onto this podcast is because of you.

Rosemary

Yeah, that is my fault, I think.

Jane

I don't think I would have watched it again after the first couple of times we watched it if you hadn't gotten into it.

Rosemary

And I don't really know why I loved it so much.

Jane

Yeah, I don't really either, but I think we should tell the listeners how we were introduced to this movie because we were introduced to this movie in the weirdest way possible.

Rosemary

The weirdest way.

Jane

So why are we even there? Why did we go to this Kid Court thing?

Rosemary

So we did this summer camp. It was like a day camp where it was kind of like mock trial. And it was for like 10 to 14 year olds or something.

Jane

It was the summer of 2003, because then you did it again the next year but I was too old.

Rosemary

OK. Well,  roughly for like 10 to 13 year olds, putting on a trial to figure out how to be lawyers or something. I think like the premise of the camp, like it was somebody's dad, that was a lawyer and he like, it was through the parks and Rec department. And it was just like a summer camp day camp class and it was a week long class to teach young ones about what it's like to be a lawyer and kind of like, get people interested in criminal justice. And they based it on a movie. And so the premise of the camp was they showed a movie and then had some sort of trial, like a premise of a trial. And we were supposed to play like the lawyers and the people themselves and put this trial on for the parents who would come and be the jury at the end of the week.

Jane

Yes, and why they decided to do a trial based on Newsies, I don't know.

Rosemary

No idea. It is the most random thing they could have picked in 2003. Like this movie that came out in 1992, like 11 years later, we're like, let's do a mock trial on if Jack Kelly or Pulitzer should... I don't even remember the premise of the trial.

Jane

I think it was trying to decide if Pulitzer should go to jail for cruelty toward the Newsies or something. Because I played Pulitzer.

Rosemary

I played Jack Kelly.

Jane

I'd forgotten about that.

Rosemary

Because I had to call you Joe all the time, because that was really cool. Because that's what Jack Kelly did.

Jane

Oh man, I forgot about that. I just remembered that I had a beard made out of construction paper. Because I remember we were trying to argue about whether Weasel had any culpability. Or if he was just taking orders from Pulitzer. But the thing the thing was like we had never heard of this movie before.

Rosemary

We had never heard of this movie and we also were not that interested in becoming lawyers.

Jane

No, so that's, why were we there? Was it because, because, OK, so as we're recording this, my Chicago episode has not come out yet, but it will have before I release it, and the friend that I will talk about in that episode came to this camp with us.

Rosemary

Correct.

Jane

So was it because she wanted to do it? Is that why we were there?

Rosemary

Truly I don't remember.

Jane

For some reason we're at this like mock trial day camp for preteens, and for some reason that makes even less sense, we're doing a trial based on this movie that we never heard of before, and I remember, so it was 2003 cause that was the first year that I was keeping track of my movies and we watched the whole movie. But then we like were watching bits and pieces of it again, but I didn't know how many times to count it, and I remember that being like a real dilemma. And that's kind of a running theme with this movie is a lot of times I'll just watch certain parts of it. So I don't really know how many times I've watched the whole thing. I would count it if I watched most of it. So the the counting might be a little off on this.

Rosemary

Oh dear.

Jane

Anyway, we watched it and we did a trial and the trial made no sense because none of us understood the movie.

Rosemary

Or how to do a trial.

Jane

Yeah.

Rosemary

So anyway, I remember the first day of camp. We're in this like classroom in the Community Center, and they dim the lights, they bring in this TV on wheels, and we watch Newsies. And it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Like it was singing, dancing teenage boys from 1899, going on strike, singing about it. And I don't know, it was like a mesmerizing experience. And maybe also because, like, we watched it in a group setting and nobody was really that familiar with the movie, I don't think, and we just watched it and we were supposed to like really get into it so we could do this trial. So I remember like watching it with my senses on alert being like, OK, what's the trial going to be and how are we going to defend them?

Jane

I just remember like not following the plot of the movie at all.

Rosemary

Oh.

Jane

Like I liked the singing and dancing, but I did not know what was going on.

Rosemary

Huh.

Jane

So I had a a hard time with this trial because I was like, I don't even understand what happened in this movie. I don't super remember watching it for the first time that vividly, so I think I might have like, just zoned out. I just remember, like when we were doing the trial, I was like, I don't even understand what's supposed to have happened in this movie, so I don't know what we're doing.

Rosemary

(laughing) That's fair.

Jane

I mean, I got that they went on strike. I just didn't really understand, like... there were too many little like intricacies of like what exactly they were protesting and stuff like that. I mean, now I know what it's about, but at the time I just thought, This is weird. I don't understand this movie.

Rosemary

I also remember because we would go back and watch different clips from it because that was our like evidence, it would sit on the DVD menu for long stretches of time, and this one girl in the class she like made this whole dance routine for the, like, menu music that we listen to over and over again.

Jane

Oh yes.

Rosemary

So I think about that. Every time I watch it on DVD.

Jane

I I do remember that. But I don't remember a ton about the mock trial. I just remember that it was weird.

Rosemary

It was weird. Somebody made a poster of brass knuckles.

Jane

Oh, yeah. (laughs)

Rosemary

Um, and... I was supposed to be Jack Kelly, and that's pretty much all I remember.

Jane

Yeah.

Rosemary

One of the witnesses was this random person that was where the milk jugs got knocked over.

Jane

We never actually see that person in the movie.

Rosemary

He's not in the movie. They don't exist.

Jane

Somebody decided to be the person whose milk jugs got knocked over. I realized to the listeners that this is going to sound weird, but it's like weirder than you think it was based on what we're saying.

Rosemary

Yeah, none of this makes sense.

Jane

It almost feels like it didn't happen, like I made it up, but I know that it happened because that's how we got introduced to this movie. But then I don't remember why we watched it again after that.

Rosemary

So how many times did you watch it in 2003?

Jane

I counted watching it twice. Then I watched it again in 2004.

Rosemary

OK. So I know that we rented it from Hollywood Video.

Jane

Oh, OK.

Rosemary

Because they had like, one copy of it. Because why would you need more? And I just remember being like, I need to see this movie again, and one day we were at Hollywood Video and got it. So that must have been the 2004 watch? Because I imagine you counted it twice for mock trial.

Jane

Yeah, I think so.

Rosemary

So we would get it from Hollywood Video and then I think the library had a copy of it that wasn't very good. And then eventually I got it on DVD, which I think was probably in 2005. When we got our DVD player like that was the year of the DVD's right?

Jane

I think so.

Rosemary

I think I got it then.

Jane

But I also feel like I remember being like at work and talking to someone about it and saying that we didn't have it on DVD. And then they got it for me at the same time that we got another copy because we ended up with two copies of it on DVD.

Rosemary

Oh well, maybe I didn't get it in 2005. I definitely had my own copy when I went away to college.

Jane

Yes.

Rosemary

Because I took it with me.

Jane

Yes. Because I think that that someone gave you a copy and one of my coworkers gave me a copy. That would have probably been like 2009.

Rosemary

Yeah, that makes sense. OK, I don't know.

Jane

It was a long time ago. But like your friends were also really into it.

Rosemary

Yeah, I was kind of like, my circle of friends kind of overlapped the theater kids ,and it was big in the theater kid circle. And this was like my like middle school friends. And so we would frequently watch it, like at sleepovers or hangouts or whatever, we would just turn on Newsies and have, like, a whole sing along.

Jane

Yeah, because I remember like being really annoyed by it for a while. And that was like your thing that you did with your friends. And I was like, this movie is so bad though.

Rosemary

Oh, I didn't know that you had that period of time.

Jane

Yeah, and then I don't know, I I kind of came around to it eventually and like, I mean, there's parts of it that are definitely bad.

Rosemary

No, like full disclosure: this is not a good movie.

Jane

No, but it is enjoyable.

Rosemary

(laughs) When it comes down to it, it's not good. Like the acting isn't very good, the singing is fine, the editing needed... it needed to be shorter. It's a very long movie.

Jane

Well, it's almost like it's like two different movies because there's, like, the musical, and then there's the drama.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

The whole, like, Pulitzer part doesn't fit with the rest of the musical because, like, he kind of seems like he's in a completely different world, which maybe was intentional. I don't know. But I feel like it's kind of like they were combining two different types of movie into one, not very well.

Rosemary

Yes.

Jane

But also what's funny about it is that, like it was a total flop when it came out. I think it was like the lowest grossing Disney live action film to date. Or one of them.

Rosemary

Which doesn't like.... it's not a great movie, but that just doesn't feel right. Like, it's fine.

Jane

But the thing is that like then it became really popular later and it's like kind of a cult classic. And so they... the initial box office loss was made up by video rentals, once it came out for home viewing. And now there's like this whole group of people that absolutely love it. I mean, and then it was turned into a Broadway musical, like way later, because it was super popular.

Rosemary

Yeah, in like 2014 or something?

Jane

Yeah like in the 2010s. And so it's just really funny how it was like when we first watched it, nobody knows what this movie is, and then like a few years later, everyone was like, Oh yeah, I love Newsies! And I was like, what? You know about Newsies? I thought that was just our thing. And now it's like, oh, OK, everybody knows Newsies, but most people I think are maybe now more people are familiar with the stage version.

Rosemary

Yeah, especially since they've filmed it and it's on Disney plus, and you can watch it anytime you want, so...

Jane

Yeah.

Rosemary

I think they're different. I think the choreography is really fun and exciting in the Broadway stage show because they have Broadway dancers to do the choreography and not Christian Bale, who I don't think is known for his dancing.

Jane

No, oh, it's just so funny that Christian Bale is in this movie. Like, can we talk about how random that is? Like, he's not a musical guy.

Rosemary

But he's a good singer.

Jane

Yeah, no, I think he does a good job. It's just very not on brand for him.

Rosemary

Nope, but he was also like, a child.

Jane

It's true. And then, like Pulitzer is played by Robert Duvall, and he doesn't get to sing, even though Robert Duvall could sing and sang in other movies. So I do like that the stage musical gave Pulitzer a song. I think it makes him feel more part of the story.

Rosemary

Well, yeah, that needed to happen. And then Ann-Margret is randomly there?

Jane

Her character did not need to be there. I don't understand why her character was there.

Rosemary

Why was anyone there?

Jane

But like, the music isn't great, considering that it's Alan Menken. Like, he wrote much better songs.

Rosemary

But it's fine.

Jane

Most of the songs are pretty good, but Ann-Margret's songs are bad. Like, they are bad songs and I don't know why they're like that because because they change that character a little bit for the stage musical, and gave her different songs that are actually good. And I'm like, why couldn't the movie have good songs for this character?

Rosemary

Um... yeah.

Jane

But I actually do love Carrying the Banner. I think that is a great opening number.

Rosemary

It is!

Jane

The rest of the movie doesn't necessarily live up to that start, but I love that. But there's other good songs.

Rosemary

I mean Carrying the Banner is great. King of New York is fantastic. Seize the Day is fine. The World Will Know is a good song. And it's a play on The World.

Jane

Oh yeah, they do enjoy that pun.

Rosemary

They like that a lot.

Jane

The newspaper is called The World, and so they, like at one point, one of Pulitzer's assistants is like, “It’s like the end of the world. Oh, no. I didn't mean that!” There's a lot of that in that movie.

Rosemary

So it's really just... I mean, even Santa Fe is not a bad song.

Jane

That's true. It's that the songs don't save the rest of the movie and the dancing could have been better. I think that's the thing.

Rosemary

But see, we need to talk about how Kenny Ortega, the director/choreographer, was kind of ahead of his time with this movie. Because, had it come out ten years later or 15 years later, like when High School Musical came out, Kenny Ortega's Magnum Opus, it would have been way more popular. Like, the world was not ready for a musical of teenage boys in 1992, but they were ready for a musical of teenagers in 2004.

Jane

Also like, I wonder if this had been a Disney Channel original movie instead of a theatrically released movie, would it have been more popular?

Rosemary

Well, and they probably would have edited it better if it was a direct for TV movie because it's so long and if it was a Disney Channel original movie, it would have been shorter and a little faster pace. And possibly better. Like maybe they were, they were trying to make this Mary Poppins-esque feature and maybe didn't realize that that was not what they should have been shooting for.

Jane

Well, and it it is long, but it feels longer than it is.

Rosemary

Yes.

Jane

Which is not what you want.

Rosemary

No. (laughs) Like there's so many things that don't need to be in the movie, and I say this as a person that loves this movie, but it's like, pick up the pace, man.

Jane

Yeah, it definitely drags. And I think a lot of musicals have this problem where there just aren't enough songs in the second act. But if it was going to be as long as it is, they needed more songs, like good songs, not just High Times Hard Times, in the second act.

Rosemary

Yeah, that doesn't help because it's like the second act needs more songs, and then the songs that are in the second act are not good.

Jane

Yeah, it really loses steam.

Rosemary

It does. We haven't talked about how Bill Pullman is randomly in this movie.

Jane

Bill Pullman is great and also that they completely changed his character for the musical and turned him into a woman who has a romance with Jack.

Rosemary

Yeah... I mean that's much more like Hollywood, Disney romance. And so it's kind of weird that they didn't do that in the movie version.

Jane

Well, so also like the character of Sarah.

Rosemary

Oh, geez.

Jane

There's like two women in the whole movie that are actually important. There's Medda, who has the horrible songs, and then there's Sarah, who is David's sister, who kind of has a romance with Jack. But it's very forced. It's just like kind of stuck in there. I- there's no reason for it to be there.

Rosemary

No. They were just like, I guess this movie should have some romance in it.

Jane

Yeah. And it's like her, her character is completely underdeveloped and all that. But also like, I don't remember when we read this, but at some point I was looking up facts about Newsies and people were talking about how it kind of seems like Bill Pullman's character, Denton, and David have, like, romantic chemistry? And now I can't unsee it.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

It's a little creepy because I don't know how old David's supposed to be. I think he's supposed to be a teenager, and Denton is a grown man, but there's just like so many moments between them, that's like, oh, this is interesting.

Rosemary

Yeah, they're very flirtatious with each other and are having a good time, and it's... it's just a little odd that they staged it the way they did.

Jane

Yeah, and I don't know how intentional that was or what they were trying to do with that. I didn't notice it before I read it, but it's it's there.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

But I mean, I know it's based on a true story, but I'm not sure like how much they were trying to stick to the true story and how much they were just going off of the basic premise of like, oh, these newsboys went on strike this one time. Because I don't know if, like, they're based on actual people or if they just decided like, OK, we're just going to make up some Newsies, because that might make a difference. Like, maybe there really was a reporter like that who hung out with them and, I don't know. But yeah, Bill Pullman does his best.

Rosemary

He always does his best and we are grateful for that.

Jane

He's a good singer!

Rosemary

He is! Yeah. I have definitely watched the special features on this movie a few times and there is one that's like all about the historical, like the true story of the Newsies. Um... I don't know why I'm saying this, because I don't actually remember so. But there's a special feature on the DVD if you have it, so you can go check it out and learn your history of the Newsies. There is audio commentary from Kenny Ortega throughout the whole movie as well. That's a treat.

Jane

I don't think I've ever watched it.

Rosemary

I definitely have.

Jane

Yeah, I believe you.

Rosemary

You learn little fun facts, but you don't actually have to watch it with commentary with Kenny Ortega. If you're watching it with me, because I will tell you when things come up.

Jane

It's true.

Rosemary

I'm like, did you know this fun fact that I just happened to know? Like I'm doing my own commentary on it. But I was thinking about, like, why did I like this movie so much? Like, why did it have such a hold on me from like 2003 to 2012? Like, why was this my go to comfort film? Why could I spend the whole day like watching it and the special features and going on IMDb to look up the actors? And I don't know. It doesn't make sense knowing like, who I am as a person and the things I normally like and things like that like it's it's kind of odd. But I think I enjoyed the like sense of friends who are family and that camaraderie and these boys have nobody but each other and they care about each other a lot. They know each other's quirks and idiosyncrasies and accept them all into their little family. Like they live in that boarding house together. And I'm sure it's, like, very idealized. And like they were very poor and hungry and cold and probably stinky, and it probably shouldn't be, like, romanticized, I guess. But I think I was really drawn to that like, sense of community that they had. And they're fighting for something. And I think that the little like social justice warrior in me was like, yeah, we just all have to be friends together, and then we can like, change the world.

Jane

Yeah, that makes sense. I I definitely agree that I I enjoyed the ensemble aspect of it, but I like always wanted more from the side characters. Like I want like a whole TV show of just like them hanging out.

Rosemary

Oh yeah! I definitely made-up back stories in my head of a lot of those background guys because they're really good background actors and they did a good job getting like this whole crew together. And I'm like this part is what's truly fascinating is these people that are all part of this story that aren't the Jack Kelly or the David, but they don't want to pay $0.10 more for 100 papes.

Jane

Yeah, and just that they have such pride in what they're doing.

Rosemary

Yeah!

Jane

The whole “Headlines don't sell papes, Newsies sell papes” thing is cheesy, but it's nice, like they're like, yes, we're doing something important. We're bringing news to people and... the movie kind of like glosses over this to the point that I didn't even notice it at first: the whole like branching out the strike to other child laborers?

Rosemary

Yeah.

Jane

That kind of confused me because it's like there's so much that drags and then that, they kind of rush through that in one musical number. But they were really trying to help stop child workers from being exploited, so they have pride in what they're doing, but they also recognize, like we are children and we are being worked way harder than we should be, and this is the last straw. And I think that's really cool. I don't know if that's actually accurate to what actually happened with this strike.

Rosemary

I don't think it was like one strike changed everything but, part of the whole like, labor rights movement at the turn of the century and like safe working conditions and limits on working hours and working ages and stuff like that. And I don't think they did a bad job of telling that story.

Jane

No, it's just they could have done a better job.

Rosemary

For sure.

Jane

But I also think that part is like one of the most moving parts of the movie now that I like catch that it's there. The World Will Know Reprise, I guess is what it is. Where they're like, waiting for people to show up. And they're like, oh, it's just gonna be us. Nobody else is listening to us. And then like that whole group of people come in to, like, stand in solidarity with them. I love that part.

Rosemary

When you've got a million voices singing,

Jane

Who can hear a lousy whistle blow?

Rosemary

And the world will feel the fire and finally know.

Jane

It's like to a certain extent, the reason that I watched this movie is because it's, like, so bad it's good in some ways.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

But also like there are parts of it that are actually pretty good.

Rosemary

Yeah!

Jane

There's a lot of like they almost got there, but it just I think they didn't quite know exactly what they were trying to do, like what story they were trying to tell, and it gets a little unfocused.

Rosemary

But also like, as you said, like the Newsboys take pride in being the ones that deliver the news? Those young actors at the time, took like huge pride in being in that movie and in the special featurettes of like, what was it like on set? Like these teenage boys were like having a great time and were really proud of their, you know, their singing and dancing and bringing this story to life. And maybe Christian Bale doesn't like to talk about it anymore, but you know who among us likes to talk about what we did when we were 16?

Jane

Well, and like Christian Bale is by far the like most famous one of those kids like now.

Rosemary

Oh for sure.

Jane

A lot of those people are still working and some of them are like have done other things that I know about. But like in terms of name recognition, if you named the other actors that played the kids, like Christian Bale is on a completely different level of fame than the rest of them.

Rosemary

Yes.

Jane

And I think even at the time he was, like, embarrassed to tell people that he was making a musical. And I think like everybody else was just like, yeah, of course, we're making musical. This is fun. And I think he was kind of like, this is beneath me. But I mean he still did a good job.

Rosemary

Yeah.

Jane

But it's not a typical Christian Bale movie.

Rosemary

It definitely is not.

Jane

But it’s the only Christian Bale movie that made it in my Top 40, so what does that say?

Rosemary

Something. But I think you know like why did I, why was it my like comfort movie? But it it really was for a time and truly, it's baffling, I don't know.

Jane

Yeah, I mean, it doesn't always have to make sense. A lot of times you just, a movie makes you feel good, so you watch it. Like it doesn't have to be for a particularly deeper reason. I think that that's totally fair. And I think, that that part of why I keep returning to it, is it like makes me think of you, so it's comforting for that and there's a little bit of nostalgia from back when you were watching it constantly when we lived in the same house. So yeah, I don't know. And I don't think we have to know why we watch it a lot, but it is strange. And just like, thinking about trying to tie it into the theme of the podcast of like watching it from an aroace perspective, the worst part of the movie is the romance, and most people agree about that. So it's like, OK, I'm watching it for the, for the friends and most other people are. So I think that has something to do with it, that like, it's more about friendship and camaraderie than romance. But then it's just kind of like, oh, but we need to have romance in here cause there's a female character, which I hate so much.

Rosemary

Yeah, I mean, I would have loved like, we could have done a side story of like those girls that were working in the sewing factory or whatever?

Jane

Oh yeah.

Rosemary

That come to the strike or whatever? We could have had a whole side story about them and their friendship and their camaraderie and all of that to talk about their experiences. And kind of just make it a movie about friendship, which it mostly is.

Jane

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Rosemary

And fighting the man.

Jane

Yeah. Well, and then there's the whole thing about the children's refuge.

Rosemary

Yeah.

Jane

And locking kids up and all that.

Rosemary

The commentary on the pipeline to prison system.

Jane

Yeah. They don't get into racism at all like...

Rosemary

Yeah...

Jane

They have some characters of color, but it's more colorblind casting is what it feels like. But it is definitely a commentary on, like poor people just getting locked up, and there's a little bit about like disabled people because there's the character of Crutchy, who at one point they're doing strike activities and they're kind of, I don't even know. They're, like ripping up newspapers and stuff like that. And everybody gets away except for the kid who can't walk very well. I don't know what his condition is supposed to be, but it's interesting to see how different characters treat him and that, like the other Newsies, are like, yeah, he's our friend. And then the people in power are just kind of like, let's throw him away and beat him up and stuff like that. I don't know if they were trying to say anything in doing that. But I think it's interesting to see his character and how he's treated.

Rosemary

Yeah, that they at least included him, when they didn't have to, like, have that representation at all.

Jane

Yeah, I mean it, it would have been better if he was played by an actor who was actually disabled.

Rosemary

Well, yes.

Jane

That's too much to ask for now, let alone 30 years ago. So...

Rosemary

Yeah... yeah. I mean it's like it is rich versus poor. It is, you know, the powerful against the not powerful, and you know the way that adults treat children, and don't take them seriously and kind of want them to disappear unless they're doing something that makes them money.

Jane

Yeah. And I think that that actually is why Ann-Margret's character is there because she is like, she and Bill Pullman's character are, like, the only adults that really support them and take them seriously. And so I think it is kind of important to show that like, I mean, the kids are doing most of it on their own, but they do have some support and it comes in unexpected ways. You know, romanticizing David and Denton kind of cheapens that a little bit. It is it... they just have weird moments together.

Rosemary

They really do.

Jane

I think ultimately it's not intentional like he's just supposed to be helping them because he wants to support their cause. And he gets silenced temporarily, and it's interesting how they show that like he feels like he has to follow the rules because he'll lose his job and stuff, and these kids have very little to lose because they don't have much. And so it's interesting the way they showed that that like he's kind of ready to give up, but then the kids talk him into staying and fighting.

Rosemary

Doing what's right.

Jane

Yeah, they're they're ready to go on without him. But I like that he comes back and joins up with them and helps them rally all of the other child laborers. So yeah, it's it's an uplifting story. Like it does make you feel powerful in a way. I just, they miss what they're trying to do a few too many times that it, like, doesn't quite work. But there's moments that work. It's just it's a weird tone of a movie, like it doesn't know how serious to be, and I think that part of that is good. Like, I think it's nice to have a balance of like, the lighthearted musical numbers and the actual, like, really tough messages. But I just, I don't feel like it strikes the right balance somehow. And I'm not sure how, like I don't know how it could be better. I don't know exactly how to solve the problem of Newsies, cause I think the the musical like, I like the movie better just because... the thing I don't like about the musical is that they changed the words to the songs that they kept. Like add new songs? Great, but why did you change the words just for the sake of changing the words? That's my biggest gripe with the musical.

Rosemary

And can we talk about the line, “both the Delanceys pee in their pantsies” because like, what is that? I'm personally offended by that. Like what? Who wrote that?

Jane

Like there's no reason to change the words to that song because it was already a pretty good song. But then that they changed it to that of like, what? Oh, also another thing that I was going to mention is that so Alan Menken wrote the music and Howard Ashman was going to write the lyrics, but then he died. And I don't even remember who wrote the lyrics. Sorry person who wrote the lyrics.

Rosemary

Jack Feldman.

Jane

OK, I don't know, did he write the lyrics for the stage show? The reason that I bring up  the Howard Ashman thing is, I feel like if Howard Ashman had written Newsies lyrics before he died, people would have felt less OK messing with them because like, he's such a legend. But I don't know. Maybe maybe I'm wrong about that.

Rosemary

I think he did both. Jack Feldman.

Jane

Yeah so it's almost like they recognize, like, OK, the movie didn't quite work, so we're going to try and make the musical work better, which I think that ultimately, overall, it does work better in telling the story. But, they incorrectly identified certain things that didn't work and changed things that didn't need to be changed, and that irritates me.

Rosemary

I feel that.

Jane

It makes it so I don't want to listen to the cast recording because they changed the words to songs that didn't need the words changed. But the new songs they added I think were really good. And the the songs they took out were not missed, so there is that. But they didn't need to change King of New York.

Rosemary

Sorry, I'm now reading an article about Newsies. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.

Jane

What?

Rosemary

The tea!

Jane

Oh dear.

Rosemary

Apparently there were behind the scenes drama because Christian Bale and the girl that played Sarah, Ele Keats, they started dating during pre production, but then they broke up right before filming.

Jane

Oh dear!

Rosemary

And so they weren't even, like talking to each other before they had to film these scenes of them being like, “I'm in love with you!” So maybe that's why it doesn't work.

Jane

That's definitely part of it. I was also reading that Sarah was supposed to have a song, but then they cut it.

Rosemary

Mmm.

Jane

Because her character does like very little in the movie. Like...

Rosemary

Yeah, she does nothing.

Jane

We don't need her to be there.

Rosemary

Apparently Howard Ashman died the day before the first songwriting session for Newsies.

Jane

Awwww, so sad. Yeah, so I don't know. I mean, again, I like a lot of the songs in the movie and I think that they have better lyrics than the Broadway versions of them. But I wonder how different things would have been if Howard Ashman could have written the lyrics for these songs, but. On the one hand, like I keep saying, like the movie doesn't work, they should change stuff, but also I do kind of love it the way it is. I love that it's broken and and a little bit of a mess. That's part of its charm. And it's sad if you think about some of the issues too hard, but it doesn't let itself get too sad, so it feels uplifting. And I mean it has an encouraging ending. They won, but it's unclear exactly what that means going forward other than that the price they have to pay for the papers is what it was. But also OK. That was the part that really confused me when we watched it the first time. I didn't understand like why raising the price was hurting them because I didn't realize that it was the price-

Rosemary

Of the distribution apparatus?

Jane

Like the Newsies had to buy the papers and then sell them? I like kind of missed that whole thing. So I was like, what exactly are they fighting for? Also, it makes it so much more complicated because it was two for a penny, and then they were raising it 10 cents a hundred. It's like so much harder to get the right change for the number of papers when it's like that. So for that reason alone, they shouldn't have raised it.

Rosemary

It just wasn't a good idea and one that was just sort of thrown out there during a brainstorming session. And, um, they just ran with it.

Jane

It's a really good indication of how big companies operate because the other idea that was thrown out in that brainstorming session was that they cut the salaries of the people at the top and they're like, “We can't do that!”

Rosemary

Mmm-hmm.

Jane

That's still a thing of like we gotta exploit the lowest workers who already are struggling to eat, while the people in charge are making more money than they could spend in several lifetimes.

Rosemary

And it's a Disney movie, is it?

Jane

Yes, it's it's it's a good point. The message does kind of get lost because it is a Disney movie and it's like Disney is in control of the entire entertainment world now it feels like.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

But they're still like, “Oh yeah, no, we champion the underdog. We definitely pay all of our workers fairly.”

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

So... yeah, I don't know. It's hard to explain what we love about the movie because it is objectively bad.

Rosemary

It's objectively not good, but I wouldn't say it's objectively bad.

Jane

Yeah, that's a better way to put it, because there's definitely some great moments in it.

Rosemary

It's definitely watchable, especially if you fast forward some parts.

Jane

Yeah, well, that's why it's hard because a lot of times I would just like go through and watch the good songs and skip everything else.

Rosemary

So when was the last time you watched Newsies?

Jane

I watched it last year.

Rosemary

Oh. Why? (laughs)

Jane

I don't remember why. I watched a lot of movies last year. Last year was the year I watched the most movies since I started keeping track. I might have, like, convinced Mom to watch it on Robert Duvall's birthday. I know I did that once recently.

Rosemary

That checks out. There it is. Not Ann-Margret's birthday?

Jane

No.

Rosemary

Not David Moscow's birthday? Not Pulitzer's birthday?

Jane

Apparently the movie came out on Pulitzer's birthday.

Rosemary

Oh! Interesting.

Jane

It's just funny because it's like, Robert Duvall is this big star who's been in a ton of things, and like, this is the movie of his that I've seen the most?

Rosemary

Well, and apparently according to the special features, he like got super into the role and read like a 500 page biography of Pulitzer, and like, was really into the character and everything, was fascinated by the character. And I'm like, well, maybe for Pulitzer's biopic, but that's not what this is.

Jane

Yeah he's not in enough of the movie to justify it. I will say one of my favorite parts is when he makes all those like adding machine noises.

Rosemary

Yeah.

Jane

That's pretty great. I I do enjoy that.

Rosemary

Yeah, so he tried to stay true to Pulitzer.

Jane

You gotta respect that.

Rosemary

And maybe we do need a Pulitzer biopic one of these days.

Jane

Yeah, I think he's a little bit old now. Is he still acting?

Rosemary

Is he still alive?

Jane

I think so, but he's very old. Yeah, he's 92. Also, we haven't talked about Les, but I love Les. That kid!

Rosemary

He is so genuine.

Jane

He is dedicated. Both the actor is dedicated to being in the movie, the kid is dedicated to the cause.

Rosemary

He’s dedicated to being dedicated.

Jane

He really is. And I love the part in The World Will Know Reprise before all the people show up when they're singing and they're just like, yeah, whatever. And he's like, NO! He's like into it. Like, how dare you suggest that we would give in? He is dedicated to the cause from the get go and he is like, very devoted to Jack, and he's like “Jack knows what he's doing” and all this stuff. It's just, while I think that Sarah could have easily been eliminated, I love that Les is there. I think that he's he's a good addition to the group. And again I would love a TV show of just everybody hanging out.

Rosemary

We didn't talk about Spot Conlon either.

Jane

Oh my gosh. Scott Conlon is iconic and they OK, that's another thing I have a problem with the stage show about: they almost completely eliminated him from the stage show. He’s like barely there

Rosemary

But they did get a song for the Brooklyn crew.

Jane

Yes, but it’s very short. And that's like the only time we see him. Like I couldn't even tell which one was supposed to be Spot Conlon, cause it's just a bunch of people singing about Brooklyn. It's interesting that they kind of get into a little bit of the like politics within the Newsies in the different boroughs and stuff, but they don't explain it well.

Rosemary

No.

Jane

It's like a little bit lacking.

Rosemary

But it's also kind of like, you're just, like dropped into this.

Jane

That's true, and you're kind of following David in that sense, of like he gets dropped into this world and he doesn't understand it at all. And nobody really wants to, like, sit him down and explain it to him. It's just like, figure it out.

Rosemary

Yeah, because they don't really, even like sit down and explain it to themselves. Like it's just the way things are and like, he's this newcomer and they're just, like, catch up!

Jane

Yeah. It's like there's just, it's such a a weird thing of, like, some of it is like, yeah, this is really interesting. And then some of it's, like so boring.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

The pacing is weird.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

There's parts that are boring that don't have to be boring, like the story isn't boring, that they're focusing on. They're just focusing on it in a weird way.

Rosemary

They're just not telling it well.

Jane

Yeah! It's like there's so many things that almost work, but just don't, and I don't even really know how to explain it, which is why I keep floundering about it. But yeah, it's it's just a strange movie that is fun to watch.

Rosemary

There you go. Sums it up.

Jane

I definitely would have completely forgotten about it after that Kid Court if you hadn't gotten back into it.

Rosemary

It just... had a hold on me.

Jane

It did, and I think that that's great. There's lots of movies like that for me, but most of the movies that are in my Top 40 are because I enjoy watching them by myself. And this one I I'm sure I have watched it by myself, but usually I watched it because you wanted to watch it. So...

Rosemary

You're welcome.

Jane

Thank you for keeping this movie in my life.

Rosemary

For carrying the banner.

Jane

Carrying the banner.

Thank you, Rosemary, and thank you to anyone who is still listening. That was a fun chat, although I don’t feel like we were particularly coherent. Then again, I don’t know that there is a particularly coherent way to talk about this movie. Even though we were pretty critical of it, I truly believe that everyone should watch Newsies at least once, so if you’re still here and you haven’t seen it yet, definitely do that, and hopefully you’ll understand.

I’m going on vacation so there won’t be a new episode of The Rewatch Rewind next week, but I will be back the week after, so make sure you’re subscribed or following so you don’t miss that. When I return, I’ll be discussing the first of three movies I watched 17 times. As always, I’ll leave you with a quote from that next movie: “A pleasant little foursome. I predict a hatchet murder before the night’s over.”

[saturdaynightmatinee]

CALIFICACIÓN PERSONAL: 5 / 10

Título Original: Stand Alone

Año: 1985

Duración: 94 min

País: Estados Unidos  

Dirección: Alan Beattie

Guion: Roy Carlson

Música: David Campbell

Fotografía: Tom Richmond, Tim Suhrstedt

Reparto: Charles Durning, Pam Grier, James Keach, Bert Remsen, Barbara Sammeth, Lu Leonard, Luis Contreras, Willard Pugh, Bob Tzudiker, Mary Ann Smith, Cory 'Bumper' Yothers, Duane Tucker, Annie O'Donnell, Robert Covarrubias, Marty Zagon, Al Christy, Mercedes Alberti, Hanala Sagal, Kerry Yo Nakagawa, Joey Miyashima, Ed Pansullo, Alan Abelew, Thomas Rosales Jr., Del Zamora, Chester Grimes

Productora:  Texas Star Productions. Distribuidora: New World Pictures, New World Video, Scorpion, Starmaker Entertainment [USA]

Género: Drama; Action

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090062/

TRAILER:

[pintsizeddeepthoughts]

25 of 250: Favorite Films - The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Not long ago, work colleagues and I got into a discussion about what our favorite films were. Given my categorical nature I could not resist writing down a list and, as a writing challenge, have decided to write 250 word reviews of my favorite 25 films of all-time. Note: these are my favorite films, not what I think are the best films of all time.

Directed by: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

Written by: Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White, Jonathan Roberts

Starring: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline

Year/Country: 1996/United States

Those who’ve enjoyed the dramatic, serious sequences in Pixar’s best movies owe Disney’s version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame a debt of gratitude. Why? Because it was the first Disney movie in the modern era to take true risks, emboldening the company to greenlight more than just animated musical comedies.

Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame was an odd choice for Disney to adapt. But after the critical success of Beauty and the Beast, Disney was Oscar hungry and this tale of political, judicial, and spiritual corruption is rich soil to till. The resulting product was an awkward fit. Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise still had to make a Disney film - meaning songs and comedic relief. The latter is the primary driver of the film’s disjointed tone in the form of horribly miscast, unfunny gargoyles. 

When most people think of this film, they recall the dark musical sequence of “Heaven’s Light/Hellfire”. Both songs address sexual awakening after Quasimodo (Hulce) and Frollo (Jay) meet the beautiful Esmeralda (Moore). Quasimodo sees this as luminous, comparing Esmeralda to light. Misogynistic, racist Frollo has a much more reactionary point-of-view. It’s here where this film realizes its potential. It understands different people have different attitudes towards attraction and embraces that complexity. “Hellfire” highlights Frollo’s guilt, revulsion, lust, and longing amongst thunderous music, apocalyptic lyrics, and gorgeous, traditionally hand-drawn animation. It’s where the film best marries the source material with the style, and why it’s my favorite Disney film of all time.

[thedestinysunknown]

Tarzan (1999):

“ A man raised by gorillas must decide where he really belongs when he discovers he is a human. “

9 / 10.

[harrypotterhousequotes]

HUFFLEPUFF: "If we don't act together, then we're nothing. If we don't stick together, we're nothing. And if we can't even trust each other, then we're nothing. So, what's it gonna be?" –Bob Tzudiker + Noni White (Jack Kelly: Newsies)

[90smovies]

[thebutcher-5]

Tarzan (1999)

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Nello scorso articolo abbiamo ripreso a parlare della Disney, continuando a parlare dei suoi classici animati e arrivando a parlare di uno dei suoi lavori migliori, Mulan. Gli Unni hanno superato la Grande Muraglia e l’imperatore della Cina ha ordinato la mobilizzazione dell’esercito e di chiamare almeno un uomo di ogni famiglia pronto a combattere. Una di…

[cinemasentries]

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bob Tzudiker in Total Recall (1990)

[animationsource]

Tarzan (1999) directed by Chris Buck & Kevin Lima, screenplay by Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker, & Noni White

[rays-of-gold]

If you are ok with sharing it I would really like to read the paper you wrote about newsies

Like I don’t even know what it’s about but I like debatey essay stuff

Literally if it’s not in english i will learn another language to read it I’m really interested

well it's your lucky day as it is written in English! :) it's under the cut (constructive criticism welcome!)

“In 1899 The streets of New York City echoed with the cries of the Newsies,” - Max Casella (Ca*sell*a) If you’re familiar with Disney then the 1992 movie Newsies might ring a bell. The movie is about the Manhattan newsboys as they strike back against Pulliazar and the World. As the beginning exposition of the movie suggests this is a true story. In 1899 a group of children really did take a stand against the goliath that was the World.

In this speech I will be giving a quick overview of the actual events, how the mantle was taken up and transformed into a movie musical and then Broadway, and the lasting impact this has made on the legacy of this movement.

During the 19th century yellow journalism, which refers to sensationalized or biased stories that newspapers present as truth according to an article published by Tennessee State University, was the highest form of journalism, it was used by the owners of the major companies to influence readers and sell papers. Each of these papers, from the New York Journal to the Sun, were in competition with one another, whoever could sell the most papers would be King of New York, metaphorically. This meant they needed to get their papers to the masses of New York’s population, the solution, newsboys. They went up and down the streets hawking the headlines. The Newspapers that employed the child labor force, would sell the kids papers, but any that they did not sell would end up costing them, as there was no safety net. Any unsold newspapers would not be bought back.

Being employed on a day to day basis ment that no matter rain or shine, the children would be out selling newspapers. This system worked until the Spanish American War, upping the prices for a bundle of newspapers, the problem was at the end of the war the prince never went down. Living off the pennies they made by selling these papers, the boys and girls who sold papers were rightfully enraged. July 20th the newsies strike began, preventing anyone from buying from either the Journal or the World. Soliciting on the streets for their plight, shoving their messages into the faces of New York residents. Strikers went to rallies and marches for the cause. They got in fights and were arrested before anyone who could change anything took notice. William Randolph Hearst met with a few of the newsboys in charge, coming out of the meeting with an end to the strike.

That strike resonated with screenwriter Bob Tzudiker (sou*dic*cur), he with the help of his wife, Noni (No*ni), took the story of these children under their wing. With care and consideration to the original source they composed the screenplay that would become Newsies. When Disney film exhaustive Donald DeLine (Da*lean*ie) agreed to the film in 1991, Disney had been highly successful with classic films like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. And one member of the team, Jeffrey Katzenberg (Cats*in*berg) brought the idea to turn the production into a live action musical.

The newly born musical was brought together by a creative team, the 20 musical numbers were done by Alan Menken with lyrics by Jack Feldman. With Danny Troob on board to give the young actors vocal training, along with Kenny Ortega as the director. The cast was put though in their own words “torture” to be able to complete the complicated stunts and vigorous singing required. But the rag tag group of boys endured the ten long months of training, and in mid-April shooting for the film was ready to begin. The film when released into theaters in 1992 was not an instant hit. Newsies grossed a little over $2.8 while the production budget was $15 million dollars. The film had become a joke to the public - for all except the children watching the movie.

These children who watched the movie were the ones who allowed for the Newsies revival. A decade and a half later Disney decided to give Newsies a chance once more. Only this time on Broadway; Harvey Fierstein (fear*stein) being re-joined by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman work on the project together they began to remiange to beloved arrangements, to be remodeled into a new form, one recognizable as its predecessor. The newly done musical was an instant sensation, from the cleaner - more organized script, the costumes, the lighting, set design, and dance numbers Newsies the Musical had quite literally seized the day. In the 66th Tony Awards Show it won eight of the eleven awards it had been nominated for. In 2017 it would go on to be professionally recorded, and available for the general audiences viewing.

Now Newsies has been adapted into movie musicals, broadway productions, and touring shows over different content and with the recent news of the Newsies being picked up by West End Theater in London has been swept through. It goes to show how the act and dedication of one man and his wife can keep the actions of hundreds of people alive for multiple generations. These Kids took a stand for their rights only to be overlooked by history. They sit in the shadow of the titans of industry, in the height of the industrial revolution, and these kids though their names might have been lost to history, their story was able to live on, this is their legacy.

The Newsies were what you would consider a rag tag bunch, with no ties anywhere. But these children had the determination and strength, they were able to persevere through harsh living conditions in order to make ends meet. The strike can be summed up in a few lyrics. And this ain’t for fun! And this ain't for show! And we’ll fight ‘em toe to toe and Joe the World will feel the fire and finely know. - The World Will Know

Once and for all we won't carry no banner that don’t spell freedom! Finally we’s raisin’ the stakes, this time whatever it takes! This time the union awakes Once and for all - Once and for all. Thanks to books like Newsies vs. the World by Ashley Varela their legacy lives on today.

Thank you.