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Swing Kids Review: After starring in the critically dismissed musical Newsies in 1992, Christian Bale tried the genre again the next year with similar results in Swing Kids. Produced by Disney, this production presents a glossy version of Nazi Germany and positions the defiant teenagers rebelling against Hitler Youth as a bunch of good-looking hipster kids. That said, the production design is stunning and the swing-era dance numbers are well-choreographed and entertaining. The rousing dance sequences are helped by the attractive leads, especially sensitive-boy prototype Robert Sean Leonard, fresh from his Hollywood breakthrough in the audience favorite Dead Poets Society. With its emphasis on musical numbers over politics, this movie is best appreciated by teen audiences who won't be distracted by the historical inaccuracies or the smoothing over of political realities. The vague message here is that music can change the world, as demonstrated by a cultural revolution that sprang up from the sounds of American jazz music in the late '30s. Director Thomas Carter did well to avoid settings like Nazi Germany and to focus more on the dancing for his later efforts like Save the Last Dance. Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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