With Little Old New York re-created by William Sandfell, Newsies often looks wonderful, and Bale and the boys give it heart and excitement. Yet as a musical, Newsies rarely hits home.

| Jun 4, 2018

It's extremely earnest and more than a little corny, but there's an innocence about it that makes it kinda irresistible.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 19, 2018

...manages some acrobatic dance numbers, but they seem oddly confined by the camera's frame.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Jan 24, 2016

Certain movies engage your affections so strongly that, even if they start to fall apart, you tend to keep rooting for them. That's pretty much the case with Newsies.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 20, 2013

A Disney musical with an undistinguished score, fair to middling choreography, and clunky direction that still manages to be entertaining in spots because of its story.

| May 20, 2013

Bale and Menken are literally what make the movie sing.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 20, 2013

Despite Newsies' many flaws, it's bracing to see Disney attempt a PG movie about something as meaty as labor relations. Would that every strike be resolved with so little bloodshed and so many songs.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 20, 2013

Newsies is a live-action musical, but it's only barely alive. Call it Snoozies.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 20, 2013

There`s a boyish exuberance about Newsies that is hard to resist.

| May 20, 2013

Stop the presses! Newsies is the best live-action movie musical since Little Shop of Horrors.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 20, 2013

An old-fashioned musical that is better when its characters sing and dance than when they talk.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 20, 2013

Though the cast is large, no interesting or even moderately well-rounded personalities emerge from it, and no compelling relationships emerge between the characters.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 20, 2013

Bale and the cast are energetic and fun to watch, and the story itself is fascinating history. But the songs and choreography are a disappointment.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 24, 2012

As a drama, it features potent material. But by presenting this as a musical, all hope is lost, thanks to imminently forgettable tunes and the casting of actors who can't sing.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 19, 2012

The movie stands as a textbook demonstration of why they don't -- and probably shouldn't -- make 'em like they used to.

| Original Score: C | Sep 7, 2011

Kids go on strike in gritty, historical musical.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 15, 2010

Making his directorial bow, choreographer Kenny Ortega strains valiantly to breathe life into this misguided musical.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 9, 2009

The writers have created cardboard cutouts instead of flesh-and-blood characters.

| Dec 11, 2008

It's a bit of a throwback and a solid family film and, at the time, represented a well-intentioned leap of faith of the sort that studios rarely take.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 10, 2008

If you have a soft spot for feisty, back-talking bambini with cute squints, backwards caps and names like Crutchy, Dutchy and Bumlets, your heart will melt.

| Jan 26, 2006