Annie (1999 film)

Plot

In 1933, during the Great Depression, 11-year-old Annie Bennett has been on her own at the NYC Municipal Orphanage Girls Annex ever since she was an infant. The only two things she has from her biological family are half a heart-shaped locket with a key hole and a note from her parents, which promises they would come back for her. The orphanage is run by the tyrannical Miss Agatha "Aggie" Hannigan, who starves the orphans and forces them to do child labor in order to help them gain work experience until she ultimately releases them by giving them various jobs in New York City once they reach adulthood. 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 Aggie in the process. When Aggie gets distracted, Annie hides in the dirty laundry bin and finally succeeds in running away.

While out on her own, Annie befriends a dog, whom she names Sandy, but police officer L.T. Ward catches her and returns her to the orphanage, where Aggie punishes Annie with extra chores. When billionaire Oliver Warbucks decides to take in an orphan for Christmas, his secretary Grace Farrell chooses Annie. Annie and Sandy are brought to his wealthy estate and bathe in a grand life.

Although at first uncomfortable with Annie, Warbucks is soon charmed by her. He desperately wants to adopt Annie, but she still wants to find her real parents, so he announces on the radio a $50,000 reward for anybody who can find or prove they are her parents. The orphans accidentally tell Aggie, causing her to hire her younger con artist brother, Rooster, and his dimwitted girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, to get the reward for her by posing as Ralph and Shirley Mudge; Rooster intends to kill Annie after they have collected her.

Lily is left with the orphans after Aggie and Rooster, disguised as Ralph and Shirley Mudge, leave, but she accidentally tells the secret. The orphans make her tell them what is going on, and she realizes that Rooster could leave her hanging as he has done before. She and the orphans arrive at Warbucks' mansion, where Lily demands her part in the cut while the orphans shout, "We love you, Miss Hannigan!" While fleeing from the orphans, Aggie and Rooster are intercepted upon the arrival of President Franklin D. Roosevelt along with his Secret Service. President Roosevelt reads the papers that identify Aggie, Rooster, and Lily, leading to Rooster and Lily getting arrested by the Secret Service. When Aggie claims that Rooster made her do it and begs Annie to tell them how good she was to her, she reminds her that she taught her never to lie. This enrages Aggie, who blames Annie for driving her to working with Rooster, so much that she goes insane and is carted off to a psychiatric hospital.

With Annie and her fellow orphans thrilled that Aggie is gone forever, President Roosevelt presents evidence that Annie's real parents were David and Margaret Bennett, who died when she was still a baby, which explains why they never returned for her. Although Annie is saddened that her parents are dead, she is cheered up with the knowledge that they did love her, while Warbucks officially adopts her. President Roosevelt ensures a happy ending for all as he promises that each of the other orphans will be adopted by a stable and happy family. Warbucks and Grace become engaged, and Annie lives happily with her new parents and Sandy.

Cast

• Alicia Morton as Annie Bennett-Warbucks, an optimistic 11-year old orphan, searching for her biological parents, then later gets adopted by Warbucks and Grace.
• Kathy Bates as Miss Agatha "Aggie" Hannigan, the cruel owner of the orphanage where Annie formerly lives, and Rooster's sister.
• Victor Garber as Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, a lonely billionaire businessman who opens his heart to Annie and becomes her adoptive father.
• Alan Cumming as Daniel Francis "Rooster" Hannigan, a known con-artist, and Aggie's brother
• Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, Personal Secretary (later wife) to Daddy Warbucks. She eventually falls in love with Daddy Warbucks and becomes Annie's adoptive mother.
• Kristin Chenoweth as Lily St. Regis, Rooster's girlfriend.
• Erin Adams as Tessie, the 8-year-old orphan with mood swings. Tessie goes from being happy one minute to worrisome the next.
• Sarah Hyland as Molly, the youngest of the orphans. Molly is 7 years old and has a cute doll. In the end, she also gets adopted by Oliver Warbucks and becomes the little sister of Annie.
• Lalaine as Katherine "Kate", the tomboyish Mexican-American orphan who is friends with Annie. Kate is a shy 11-year-old who wears glasses.
• Nanea Miyata as July, the oldest orphan at age 13. She is motherly to the other orphans and has a doll too.
• Marissa Rago as Pepper, the second oldest orphan at 12 years old. She is bossy and thinks that she's too old to be adopted.
• Danielle Wilson as Duffy, the loud and confident 10-year-old African American orphan with a talent for singing. She dreams of being famous.
• Brandi Monard as Mimi, the shy 8-year-old orphan who likes art and tea parties.
• Andrea McArdle as Star-To-Be (McArdle created the role of Annie in the stage musical)
• Dennis Howard as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President of the United States.
• Douglas Fisher as Drake
• Kurt Knudson as Justice Brandeis
• Ernie Sabella as Mr. Bundles, the laundry man.
• Chester and Chip as Sandy, a stray dog who Annie adopts.
• Vic Polizos as Lt. Ward (credited as "Beat Cop"), a police lieutenant who returns Annie to Aggie.

Musical numbers

Main article: Annie (1999 film soundtrack)

The film's soundtrack was released on November 2, 1999, by Sony Classical.

The songs in this version reflect those of the original 1977 production, but does not include "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover", "Tomorrow (Cabinet Reprise)", "Annie", or "New Deal for Christmas". However, it does include a reprise of "N.Y.C." and of "Little Girls" that takes place at the end of the film, rather than after the song itself.

1. "Overture"
2. "Maybe" - Annie
3. "It's the Hard Knock Life" - Annie and Orphans
4. "It's the Hard Knock Life" (Reprise) - Orphans
5. "Tomorrow" - Annie
6. "Little Girls" - Miss Hannigan
7. "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" - Grace, Annie, and Warbucks' Staff
8. "N.Y.C." - Warbucks, Grace, Annie, and Star-to-Be
9. "N.Y.C." (Reprise) - Warbucks
10. "Lullaby" - Warbucks
11. "Easy Street" - Rooster, Miss Hannigan, and Lily
12. "Maybe" (Reprise 1) - Annie
13. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" - Bert Healy and the Boylan Sisters
14. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" (Reprise) - Orphans
15. "Something Was Missing" - Warbucks
16. "I Don't Need Anything But You" - Warbucks and Annie
17. "Maybe" (Reprise 2) - Grace
18. "Tomorrow" (Reprise) - Grace
19. "Little Girls" (Reprise) - Miss Hannigan
20. "Finale: I Don't Need Anything But You" (Reprise) - Warbucks, Grace, and Annie

Production

ABC began work on the film following the success of Cinderella. Although the stage musical, Annie, had already been adapted as a film in 1982, the film was considered to be a critical and commercial failure. Zadan and Meron saw remaking the musical as an opportunity to rectify the previous adaptation's errors. They enlisted Cinderella's choreographer Rob Marshall to direct and made the orphans ethnically diverse. Zadan and Meron were both so impressed by Marshall's work throughout Cinderella (saying he acted like a director) that they both asked Marshall to direct and choreograph. At first he turned it down, saying, "I'm not a director, I'm a choreographer. I don't know why you're even offering me this movie." Then Zadan and Meron asked if he ever thought about directing a movie, to which he then said, "No. I don't know anything about film." After long discussions, Marshall finally agreed to direct it, but Disney executives didn't want him. They said, "Annie is too valuable a property. We're not gonna give it to a guy who's never directed a movie." Yet, because Zadan and Meron both really believed in him, they told the executives for weeks that they wouldn't produce it. They knew that since Cinderella was so successful, the last thing Disney wanted to do was make another musical not produced by them. So they kept calling, saying, "Let's go over a list of directors," but Zadan and Meron kept saying, "no," because they really wanted Rob Marshall to do it. Disney eventually conceded and allowed him to direct and choreograph. Filming began in June 1999 and took place entirely on location in Los Angeles.

When it came to casting Lily St. Regis, the network wanted Ginger Spice to play the part. Yet, it was Rob Marshall who successfully fought for Kristin Chenoweth despite her mainly being a Broadway name at the time.

McDonald recalled in a 2017 interview that there was a reshoot of the final scene that showed her character, a black woman, getting engaged to Daddy Warbucks; she suggested the reason for the reshoots was that Disney and ABC were "a little uncomfortable" having a black woman being engaged to a white man. However, the other members of the cast and crew were not happy about having to do the reshoot, and Garber intentionally performed the scene badly so that it couldn't make it into the final cut.

The dancers' costumes and the stage set of the Broadway section of "N.Y.C." are taken directly from the "Broadway Melody" ballet in Singin' in the Rain.

This was the second time Kathy Bates and Victor Garber starred alongside each other in a film. They had previously appeared in James Cameron's 1997 disaster epic film Titanic.

Release

Annie premiered as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC on November 7, 1999. After its premiere on ABC, the film aired on cable channels such as ABC Family, Starz, and the Hallmark Channel.

Home media

Annie was released on VHS on December 14, 1999 and on DVD on January 24, 2000 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The film has not been released on Blu-ray but was available to stream on Disney+ for a limited time.

Reception

Critical response

This film received positive reviews from critics, with praise going toward its casting and for being closer to the stage production than the 1982 film.

Ratings

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). It was also the second most-watched program during the week of its premiere, behind the television series E.R. on NBC.

Accolades

References

References

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2. (February 12, 1999). "Impossible? 'Cinderella' Producers Hope Valentine's Day Rebroadcast Hits Big".
3. (2017). "Twenty-First Century Musicals: From Stage to Screen". Routledge.
4. "Awards Chatter: Craig Zadan and Neil Meron - 'The Wiz Live!' on Apple Podcasts".
5. (July 8, 1999). "Filming begins on all-new "Annie"". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
6. (March 26, 2012). "A Conversation with Rob Marshall".
7. Bitette, Nicole. (July 26, 2017). "'Annie' star Audra McDonald says studio was 'uncomfortable' with a black woman marrying Daddy Warbucks". [[New York Daily News]].
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10. De Moraes, Lisa. (November 9, 1999). "For 'Annie,' Not Such a Hard-Knock Life on ABC". [[The Washington Post]].
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20. "Annie". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].
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25. "21st Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org.
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