Scenery and Costumes
The costumes from Robin Hood: Men in Tights were styled to look like they came from 19th century England with a modern twist. They were deliberately cheesy and fake looking, but convincing enough for their purposes. Some characters had baseball caps or sunglasses which had not yet been invented in England and were references to modern Californian culture. The baseball cap matched the traditional caps color-wise, which were worn by everyone else. For further testament to 90s style, it was actually turned backwards, as well.The tights that the men wore added comedic effect but also served the purpose of imitating superheroes of the time. For the most part, superheroes wore tights and this relayed the idea that Robin Hood and his men were heroes in their own rights. In Evita, the palate worn by the characters followed the trend of more muted, grungy colors. The grunge look worked itself into the costumes of the movie, subliminally or not. The straighter hair, red lipstick and frequent use of black displayed the growing popularity of the trend at the time. Newsies was set in the 1890s, a hundred years before the film was made, yet some of the grunge aspects of the 90s could be found in it, as well. The use of plaid, flannel, and dirty colors transitioned well into modern times.
Languages and Songs
Robin Hood: Men in Tights did not have a lengthy soundtrack but did manage to be on target with changing tastes in music genres. It included the Sherwood Forest Rap that sounded similar to many of that raps that were topping the charts back then, with the exception of short breaks when the SFR would switch over to medieval-style intervals. There was humor in all of the songs from that movie, as well as mainstream sounds and rhythms. Evita starred Madonna, a famous singer in her own right. The song Don’t Cry for Me Argentina was immortalized by her. It speaks of valuing friendship and trust over fame and fortune. The 90s were a simpler time and the songs showcased those ideals. The cast of Newsies utilized heavy New York accents. In the song, The World Will Know, Christian Bale’s character translated from plainer English to slang and phrases that the other newsies would understand and rally behind. There was a lot of tension worldwide, as many wars had started in the early 90s. Political unease was at a high. The songs from Newsies were uplifting, about conquering, and applied to the mood of the moment.
Pop Culture References
Evita Peron, played by Madonna, was a stout feminist. Around the time that the movie was being released, a third wave of feminism was ongoing. The decade was about empowerment and justice who had not had it for themselves before. Newsies and Robin Hood also follow this theme. Newsies represented the many in poverty joining forces to defend themselves from the powerful few. They were fighting for equal rights and empowerment, much like women achieving equality in the real world. Robin Hood was centered around taking from the greedy and giving to the needy. Equipping others with the ability to fight, for their rights and for themselves, is the tie that binds these 90s movie-musicals together culturally.