Some have blamed the decline of the labor movement on the invention of the air conditioner, but it might have just been a dearth of catchy pop songs. At least, that’s the argument you could make after watching the sweet sweet 1992 dance moves of the film Newsies paired with the Bruno Mars hit “Uptown Funk.”
There is no reason that the fight for better pay can’t be accomplished with pelvic thrusting and angry punching; and no one has a more serious dancing face than Christian Bale, playing Jack “Cowboy” Kelly.
The mashup is so perfect that it’s almost weird. But then again, Bruno Mars is a much better match for these moves than “Solidarity Forever,” or whatever else newspaper-selling-orphans might have been listening to during their strike of 1899.
It’s worth noting that while Mars’ original video might not carry same message of social and economic equality brought about through dance, he and his crew are styled pretty similarly.
Indeed, the newsboy hat is truly timeless.
Note: The original video posted to YouTube was stolen from the Tumblr of “Sallie The Salad,” who posted the original clip back in June. We’ve deleted the previous YouTube link and posted the original.