'"Newsies" keeps itself from an educational documentary by holding the Pulitzer and Hearst conflict, Theodore Roosevelt and effectiveness of strikes in the periphery. Indeed, it forces historical accuracy out of the periphery and into the trashcan to provide a feel good ending for the film.
Newsboys did indeed strike in 1899 as a result of Pulitzer's decision to raise the price the newsies paid in order to cover the cost of foreign correspondence. However, the newsie's union did not achieve its goal. Joseph Pulitzer did not return the price of the papers to its former level. The newsies only won the right to redeem unsold papers for money.
But that's not much of a victory, is it? Not compared to the voices of thousands of children raised in protest, calling for rights while gathered in the square beneath the offices of newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer.
Machiavelli would have been full of pride (and taking notes) as Robert Duvall's Pulitzer extorted a few extra cents from his 'distribution apparatus'.
James Rogers, author of the 'Dictionary of Clichés', would have instantly revised his book to include characters Racetrack (a character who just might have been lifted from a Damon Runyon novel: a snappy dresser who bets and smokes cigars), Frances Sullivan/Jack Kelly (charismatic leader), Crutchy (crippled kid looked after by his friends), David Jacobs (the brains behind the leader) and Brian Denton (idealistic journalist looking for a great angle), among others.
At any rate, it's a David and Goliath story. Had the Philistines, the Israelites' opposition at the biblical battle where a shepherd slew a giant, made a cameo appearance, they most likely would not have been able to keep up with the newsboys' dance moves. The choreography blends together well, but still holds the right tone for the characters, working kids living as they please.
All in all, it's a fairly enjoyable movie, if you forget history and refrain from analyzing characters and plot. Its idealistic ending is a crowd pleaser, and the song 'King of New York', will stick in your head
