What If They Remade Newsies

Hello & welcome back  to A Look at Disney. As most of use know, James has decided to put What If They Remade on hiatus.  I've decided to once again, throw my hat into the ring as I've done this prior when I remade Dumbo.  Though, today I've decided to take one of my favorite musicals that bombed at the box office that has a cult following.  As you see, I've noticed that most of James' remakes have been of successful  films. But I've always wanted to give Newsies, a second life at the box office.  Don't get me wrong,  the play has done wonderfully in saving this film from obscurity and I almost feel that because of the film's cult status,   there would almost be a bigger uproar then if the film had been successful, during it's original theatrical run.  Now I should also state upfront that I will be combining elements of both the original film and the play as they fusing the two together, would give the perfect Newsies movie. So over the next two  articles,  I'll be casting my remake of Newsies.



Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly

Okay, now as  I mentioned.   I would want to bring over elements from the stage adaption for this remake and the first being bringing back Jeremy Jordan to play Jack Kelly  in the remake.  There are a few reasons as to why,  I want to do this.  Starting with, I'm a sucker for when film adaptions of plays include members of the original cast but that is not the main reason as I feel that Jeremy Jordan would bring 110% to the role as he already knows the character and this may be sin to say as a fan of the film but I think he does a better job with this role then Christian Bale did.  (Though, I imagine Bale would be inclined to agree with me as he hates the movie).  If you need convincing that he's right for the role, just listen to him sing Santa Fe.  THIS is what Jack Kelly needs.  Jeremy brought all of the emotions that are needed for this character. Honestly, his performance as Jack will make the audiences weep from the brilliance of it.  Okay, I'm overselling it a little bit but I think, he's that good.




Nick Pitera as  David "Davey" Jacobs

This is one that just came to me and I imagine some of my readers may not know who Nick Pitera is.  Which is a crying shame because he is a true talent.  Nick Pitera is a YouTube superstar that deserves his fans and shows that he talent unlike say Fred (how did Fred get his own show, when Nick Pitera is 10000 times more talented then that loser!)   Anyways, Nick Pitera is known for his one man tributes including, Disney, The Lion King, Newsies, Les Mis, & Phantom.  And these are some of the most stunning videos I've ever seen. He has the voice of an angel.  Just check out any of his videos.   Here's a link to his YouTube page.  And don't think Disney hasn't noticed him as they recently tapped him to do a One Man video for Kiss The Girl for their "Find Your Voice" contest promoting the re-release of The Little Mermaid.  And this man is a Disney fan through and through.  But enough about that,  the big reason,  I chose Nick for this role is because I already cast Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly but Nick has the charm and charisma that one looks for a singer especially in a musical and I feel that he is so versatile that he could probably play any of the Newsies but there is just something about him that I feel would bring life to Davey and it is going against type a little as Davey is more serious, then Nick has portrayed in his videos but I am 100% convinced that he could pull it off and someone that could bring a lot of life to this character and because of a change,  I've made I decided to cut down David's brother, Les.  Fun Fact: he's an animator for Pixar.  Okay, this guy is getting cooler by the minute. Someone get him in a musical.





Queen Latifah as Medda

Now if you recall my Screen To Stage review of Newsies,  I mentioned that Medda was portrayed a loud and proud boisterous black woman and served as great comedic relief.   And when thinking of who I would cast as that version of Medda.  My mind instantly went to Queen Lafitah.  As she will bring the spunk and spark that Medda needs in order to work.   I have not seen very many films with Queen Lafitah in them but the ones that I have seen and in her interviews,   she always seems to carry herself  with the grace and attitude that Medda had in the play.   And I'm convinced that she would be perfect for the role.




Joesph Gordon-Levitt as Brian Denton

Now I had  to think long & hard about whether or not,  if I wanted this character in my remake.  Because as you see,  in the play this character does not exist and this is the only thing that truly bugged me about the play.  Yes, they did have a character that filled this role.    But you see Denton  served a purpose that the Newsies truly needed as he was the only adult that stood up for them. In my original review of the film,  I stated that Denton served as the father figure the Newsies needed.  Now I'll admit, that the relationship between Denton and the Newsies would change because in the remake, he'd be closer to their age and in that regard, he'd almost be more of a big brother to the Newsies and that also brings to another change that I'd make.  And  so for those fearing him not being able to sing, I did my research and he can carry a tune.



Lea Michele as Katherine Plumber

Now this is the biggest change, I'd make.   As you see I hated the love interest in the original film as she was not a character but rather just a prop.   So, she's out and instead, I'm bringing in the play's love interest.   However, you see in the play, she was revealed to be the daughter of  Pulitzer.  I'd change that and instead have her be Denton's younger sister and have her resent all of the time, Denton  spends with the Newsies and decides to take the pen name of Katherine in order to write for the papers as to try and get closer to her brother and also make him proud.  At the same time,  I'd also keep her as the feisty spirit, she had and I feel Lea Michele from Glee would perfectly bring all of the levels of emotion needed from jealousy, anger, spunk and her crush on Jack wonderfully.




John Dossett as Joseph Pulitzer

Now I wanted to avoid relying too much on the OBC  (original Broadway cast) but there is no one else, I can picture in this role.  Dossett captures the coldness and cruelty of Pulitzer that is needed for this portrayal. He comes across as someone that you do want to cross because he will destroy you. A huge step up from the still very good Robert Duvall in the original.   All you have to do is listen to his two number The Bottom Line and it's reprise.  And if that doesn't convince you,  sorry.  The reprise, even more so.  Now,  I know I didn't recast all of the characters but these are the ones that I felt were the most important.


Music


The more I look at this, this is becoming less a remake of one of my favorite films and more an adaption of one of my favorite plays. And there is nothing wrong with that.  I say that because of how much I'm lifting elements from the stage production and I would do the same with the music.  Now as  I went over in my Screen To Stage, the songs had been changed up some but y'know to not compare this film to much to the original,  I would use the play's music and it's line up.  Just to give it more of a different flair.




My Final Thoughts



I would really love to see this happen and if Disney did consider adapting the play, I'd be first in line to see it wearing my Newsies cap.  And really, it wouldn't surprise me as movies musicals have seen a bit of a resurgence and there are many more lined up to come,  including Clint Eastwood's Jersey Boys, Wicked,  and Into The Woods, from Disney.  Still,  I do think there might be a small uproar from old Fansies, if they did this.  You would not believe the arguments old time fans, who love the film get into with people who were introduced to the story and characters via the play. It's almost laughable but as much as I love the film, I love the play equally and I think an adaption of the play at the theater could do very well.  Especially considering the large amount of Fansies that are around and I do feel that this cast could do their characters justice.  Peace!