The musical Annie was successful from its opening night on Broadway back in 1977 and has since spawned two Broadway revivals with the last one opening in just 2012. There’s certainly something about the optimism and pure childish fun of this classic that many fall straight in love with. The show has also of course had two popular film adaptations, with a third to be released on 19th December this year, and I’m going to take a quick look at the films made so far and expectations for the upcoming release.
First I’ll start by quickly explaining the story for those who’ve yet to watch the films. At the beginning of the show the title character Annie is living in an orphanage under the evil rule of Miss Hannigan. She hates it there and often tries to escape, so when the assistant to a Billionaire comes looking for an orphan to take in for a couple of weeks Annie makes sure that she is chosen. She then meets the man himself, Oliver Warbucks, who she later comes to know as ‘Daddy’ Warbucks. At first he is reluctant to get to know her but over time they become friends. After some time, he asks her if he can adopt her, but she refuses saying that she must find her real parents and so he launches a nationwide campaign to help her find them. Miss Hannigan and her, just as treacherous, brother Rooster then have the plan to disguise themselves and pretend they are her parents in order to gain the reward money. They realise that they will be taken seriously since they have the other half of a locket she was given as a child stored away within the orphanage files. They return this locket to her and Warbucks and are, as presumed, believed and allowed to take Annie but once Annie realises who they really are it’s too late and she must rely on ‘Daddy’ Warbucks and the other girls from the orphanage to rescue her.
The first motion picture version of this story was released in 1982. It starred Carol Burnett, Aileen Quinn and Tim Curry and featured some of the most popular recordings of the songs from the show. It also featured new songs, such as ‘Dumb Dog’ and ‘Let’s go to the Movies’, which were written specifically for this film. It is many people’s favourite adaptation, being the one they remember from their childhood. The film has some great dance sequences and a distinctive character to it which really exuberates the character of the original show. While this film may seem old fashioned when compared to today’s movie industry, for me it will always bring back memories of watching it growing up and if someone were to ask about the story in general I would probably think first and foremost of this adaptation.
The second film based on the show was released in 1999. Featuring Alicia Morton, Kathy Bates, Victor Garber and Alan Cumming this film feels slightly more up to date than the previous one. It is a little truer to the original musical in terms of the songs used, featuring ‘NYC’, a song which was cut from the other picture. The director of the film Rob Marshall is also known for having directed the acclaimed motion picture adaptation of the musical Chicago and the film version of another musical, Nine, and I think that his passion for directing film adaptations of musicals shines through in this movie. There is a clear theatricality to the direction and at times it feels like the show is being acted out on a stage rather than on film. However, while this film has some great performances, in particular ‘Easy Street’, a song I felt was very well handled in this production, my own experiences of watching the earlier adaptation as a child, means that I will always have a more emotional connection with it.
The latest version of this story to be released as a film is by far the furthest from the original. While the others follow the story mostly, with just a few cuts and additions here and there, this film adapts the whole concept to be set in modern day New York. The character of Annie, played by Quvenzhané Wallis, is still an orphan but the billionaire who adopts her is in this version is called Will Stacks and is played by Jamie Foxx. The film is being produced by Jay Z and Will Smith amongst others and, in order to bring the story back to life, the decision was made to modernise it. Many fans are still unsure about this production choice but hopefully they will have kept the heart and soul of the original story. This film features some great actors and is based on a great story so it has the potential to be really good. It just depends if fans are willing to accept a new take on the story that they are so familiar with.
We’ll have to wait and see how the latest film turns out, but I can definitely recommend watching the other two adaptations before then since the story is an absolute classic and a childhood favourite to many!
Images from: https://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/43/MPW-21787, http://circleboxblog.com/wp-content/uploads/evo_movie_posters_oan/annie-2.jpg
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