Annie (film)

Annie is a television film which first aired on ABC on November 7, 1999. Like both the original Broadway production, which it is based on, and the 1982 theatrical film, also based on it, it is based on the cartoon Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray. The main idea is that the principal character, Annie, intends to find her parents who had left her with a note at the orphanage 11 years ago when she was a baby. It was the directing debut of Rob Marshall.

Synopsis[]

In 1933, during the Great Depression in New York City, 11-year-old orphan Annie Bennett (Alicia Morton) was left on her own at an all girls orphanage when she was a baby. The only two things that she received from her parents was half a silver heart-shaped locket with a keyhole, and a note saying that they would come back for her. The orphanage is run by the tyrannical Agatha Hannigan (Kathy Bates), who starves the orphans, forces them to do slave labor, and even makes them suffer. In the middle of the night, after getting tired of waiting for her parents, Annie tries to escape to find them, but is caught by Miss Hannigan in the process. When Miss Hannigan gets distracted, Annie hides in the dirty laundry bin and she finally succeeds in running away. While out on her own, she befriends a dog, whom she names Sandy. But a policeman catches and returns her to the orphanage. When billionaire Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks (Victor Garber) decides to take in an orphan for Christmas, his secretary, Grace Farrell (Audra McDonald), chooses Annie. She is brought to his wealthy estate and bathe in a grand life.

Although at first uncomfortable with Annie, Daddy Warbucks is soon charmed by her. The three of them enjoy the city of New York that evening such as getting ice cream, purchasing some toys, and seeing a Broadway show. The evening ends with a carriage ride, where Annie is reunited with Sandy and Warbucks gladly welcomes the dog as he has always wanted a dog. Soon, he desperately wants to adopt her, but she still wants to find her parents, Annie explains the note and her locket, so he announces a $50,000 reward for anybody who can prove they are her parents on the radio. The orphans accidentally tell Miss Hannigan, her younger con artist brother, Rooster (Alan Cumming), and his dimwitted girlfriend, Lily St. Regis (Kristin Chenoweth). They cook up a scheme to get the reward by posing as Ralph and Shirley Mudge (Annie's "so called" parents) after which they will Make Anne "disappear" and they will keep the money and live a better life on "Easy Street". Before long, many other couples come to the Warbucks' house who claim to be her parents. Unfortunately, everybody there was only after the money as there were nothing but sob stories on the questionnaires, and not one person mentioned giving Annie a locket. Warbucks tells Annie the sad news, but she is sure they got lost and will come soon. As for the locket her parents gave her, it is untraceable, as many lockets were purchased the year Annie was born. Warbucks tells Annie how much she means to him, and after dancing with him, she tells him she would love to be his daughter if they don't find her parents. The house celebrates Christmas together, but the celebrations don't last long as Miss Hannigan and Rooster come as Annie's fake parents, and thanks to the fake birth certificate and I.D., they fool Warbucks into believing they are Annie's parents. The Mudges say that they we given a job on a farm in Canada which would not allow children so they left Anne at the orphanage until they earned enough money to come back for her. They are about to take Annie with them but after some insistence they let Annie stay at the house one more night and will come back in the morning. After toasting to Annie, she runs up to her room in tears and Grace comforts her.

The next day, Lily is left with the orphans after Miss Hannigan and Rooster leave, but she accidentally tells them the secret. They make her tell them what is going on, and she realizes that Rooster could leave her hanging as he has done before in the past. She and the orphans come to Daddy Warbucks' mansion where she demands her part in the cut while the orphans reveal the scheme. While fleeing from the orphans, Miss Hannigan and Rooster are intercepted upon the arrival of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with his Secret Service. He reads the papers that identifies Miss Hannigan, Rooster, and Lily. This enrages Miss Hannigan, who soon curses Annie for ruining her minions' chance to bring her back to the orphanage so she can punish her for escaping, only to be carted off to a psychiatric hospital for child abuse, followed by Rooster and Lily who are arrested and taken to jail. The orphans cheer that they are free from Miss Hannigan for good.

President Roosevelt then presents the evidence that Annie's parents are actually David and Margaret Bennett, and that they had died several years earlier which explains why they never returned for her. Although she is saddened by the fact, she is cheered up when Daddy Warbucks officially adopts her. President Roosevelt ensures a happy ending for all as he promises that each of the orphans will be adopted by a stable and happy family. Daddy Warbucks and Grace become engaged, and Annie lives happily with them and Sandy.

Cast[]

Alicia Morton as Annie, the protagonist of the film. She is biologically the daughter of David and Margaret Bennett. This was her first film role ever. She also appeared as Molly in a school play of Annie when she was 6.
Kathy Bates as Agatha Hannigan, the main antagonist of the film. She is the caretaker of the orphanage. She loves her job but hates children.
Victor Garber as Oliver Warbucks, the deuteragonist of the film. He is the billionaire.
Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, Daddy Warbucks' personal secretary. McDonald was the first African-American actress to play that part.
Alan Cumming as Rooster Hannigan, one of the secondary antagonists of the film. He is Miss Hannigan's brother.
Kristin Chenoweth as Lily St. Regis, another secondary antagonist of the film. She is Rooster's girlfriend, named after a hotel.
Ernie Sabella as Mr. Bundles, the laundry man who inadvertently rolls Annie out with the dirty laundry (unaware that she was hiding in it).
Chester and Chip as Sandy, the tritagonist. He is a stray dog that befriends Annie.
Sarah Hyland as Molly.
Andrea McArdle as the Star-to-Be, a character in a Broadway show that Daddy Warbucks takes Annie and Grace to.

Song list[]

Main article: Annie (soundtrack)

"Maybe"
"Hard Knock Life"
"Tomorrow"
"Little Girls"
"I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here"
"NYC"
"Easy Street"
"You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"
"Something Was Missing"
"I Don't Need Anything But You"

Reception[]

The program proved to be popular during its initial airing, with an estimated 26.3 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched Disney movie ever to air on ABC behind Cinderella (1997). This film was praised for its casting and (with a few exceptions) for being a little closer to the stage production than the 1982 film was.

Trivia[]

Some of the songs that appeared in the original Broadway production that didn't appear in the 1982 film adaption appeared here except for "we'd like to thank you, Herbert Hoover" and "a new deal for Christmas".
Andrea McArdle, who played the Star-to-Be in this film, played Annie in the original Broadway production.
In the 1982 film adaption, Miss Hannigan is a more sympathetic villain and an anti-heroine in the latter, while Rooster becomes the true antagonist. Instead of changing here, she is sent to a psychiatric hospital, however, Rooster and Lily are still arrested.
This is the first and so far, the only adaption to have Grace Farrell portrayed by an African-American actress as she was white in all previous and later ones.
In this adaption, Annie and Daddy Warbucks are both white, while Grace is African-American. In the 2014 adaption, it's vice-versa, and in the 1982 film adaptation, all three are white.
"NYC", which had been in the original Broadway production, took over for "Let's Go to the Movies", which had not, but rather, appeared in the 1982 film adaption, when it replaced "N/Y.C" .
Normally, Annie's hair is curly ( as it is in the comic strip) while in this version, it is straight {like it is in the stage musical), however, in one scene, it is curled.
Kristen Chenoweth and Victor Garber would later appear in another musical's Disney TV film adaptation, The Music Man.
Audra McDonald and Kristen Chenoweth were both Tony Award Winners for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a musical, for their respective roles in Carousel in 1994 and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1999.
Sarah Hyland (Molly) and Ernie Sabella (Mr. Bundles) both later appeared in supporting roles in The Lion Guard. Hyland voices Tiifu in the first season, while Sabella, as usual, voices Pumbaa.
Marissa Rago (Pepper) and Erin Adams (Tessie) spoke in a 2013 interview on The Tiara Talk Show about their fun experiences working on the film.
This adaptation's version of the song "Tomorrow", was used in Marvel film Deadpool 2 with Alicia Morton's singing voice through archive sound.
The song "A new deal for Christmas" from the Broadway production is absent in this version and the 1982 film version.
For some unknown reason, the film was removed from Disney+.