Themes: Rags To Riches, Orphans, Authority Figures
Main Cast: Alicia Morton, Victor Garber, Kathy Bates, Alan Cumming
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
This made-for-TV adaptation of the hit Broadway musical (which was, in turn, based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray) stars Alicia Morton as Annie, who lives in an orphanage run by the ill-tempered Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates). Like the rest of the children, Annie doesn't like the orphanage and hates Miss Hannigan, so she's excited when famous and eccentric billionaire Daddy Warbucks (Victor Garber) picks Annie as the lucky orphan who gets to spend Christmas at his mansion. Warbucks is charmed by Annie's spunk and good spirits and is eager to adopt her, but Annie is convinced that one day her real parents will come back to claim her. Eager to make her happy, Warbucks offers a sizable cash reward to whomever can find Annie's mother and father; Miss Hannigan, seeing the possibility of an easy payday, concocts a scheme by which her brother Rooster (Alan Cumming) and his floozy girlfriend Lily (Kristin Chenoweth) will pose as Annie's long-lost folks. Andrea McArdle, who originated the role of Annie on Broadway, has a supporting role as the Star-to-Be. The musical was previously filmed in 1982, with John Huston in the director's chair. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This made-for-TV version of Annie is much better than the 1982 big-screen feature, and a highly effective stage-to-screen transfer. While it significantly alters some elements of the play (e.g., omitting most of the sections dealing with FDR and the New Deal, cutting several songs), the changes work well in context. Director Rob Marshall uses his resources very skillfully; he must work within the confines of a television budget (albeit a generous one) and schedule, but manages to make the production numbers exciting and to give the film a distinctive visual look. His work on "Tomorrow," the show's signature tune, is especially good. In his hands the song is quietly but determinedly optimistic, rather than overpoweringly anthemic, as it could be under another director. Marshall's cast is uniformly excellent. Alicia Morton is a treasure, genuine and real and playing her scenes with a beguiling sincerity. Victor Garber hits all the right notes; his transition from initial no-nonsense efficiency to warmth and caring is handled with aplomb, and his performance of "Something Was Missing" is lovely. Audra McDonald, her role built up substantially, is in especially fine form (and exceptional voice), and Kathy Bates is a hoot -- and not bad vocally, either. Thoroughly engaging, Annie is one of the few musicals to effectively make the transition to TV. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
11-year-old orphan Annie (Alicia Morton) was left at a girls' orphanage when she was a baby with a locket and a note from her parents saying they'll come back for her. The orphanage is run by the heartless Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates). Tired of waiting for her parents, Annie tries to escape to find them, but is caught by Miss Hannigan. When billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Victor Garber) decides to take in an orphan for Christmas, his assistant, Grace Farrell (Audra McDonald), chooses Annie. She is brought to his wealthy estate and luxuriates in a grand life.
Although at first uncomfortable with the child, Warbucks is soon charmed by Annie. Warbucks wants to adopt her, but she still wants to find her real parents, so he announces on the radio a $50,000 reward for anybody who can prove they're Annie's parents. Miss Hannigan, her crooked brother Rooster (Alan Cumming), and his dim-witted girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Kristin Chenoweth) scheme to get the reward by posing as Annie's parents.[1] But they are soon found out when President Roosevelt arrives with proof that Annie's parents had, in fact, died several years earlier, which was why they never returned for her. Rooster and Lily are arrested, Hannigan is sent to an asylum having gone insane, Warbucks and Grace become engaged, and Annie gets to live happily ever after with her new parents: Oliver and Grace.
Nominations for:Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Made for Television Movie; Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie; Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Kathy Bates); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Kristin Chenoweth)
Young Star Award Best Young Actress/Performance in a Miniseries/Made-For-TV Film (Alicia Morton) (Won)
Golden Globe Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (Kathy Bates) (nominated
Differences between the film and its 1977 and 1982 counterparts
Includes a subplot involving Sandy, who goes missing in the original musical.
Miss Hannigan poses as Annie's mother instead of Lily St. Regis.
The White House "Tomorrow" reprise was replaced by a scene involving Grace Farrell and Annie after she finds out that the long-deceased Bennetts were her real parents and the Mudges were really Miss Hannigan and her brother, Rooster. In the 1982 movie, it is only mentioned by Miss Hannigan (before the "Easy Street" number) that Annie's real parents were killed in a fire; their last name was never mentioned
Mr. Bundles is chasing Miss Hannigan in this version, while she chased him in the 1982 film.
In this version, Miss Hannigan is really taken to a psychiatric hospital at the end of the television movie. This does not occur in the stage play or 1982 film.
The 1977 version presents moral complexities that are simplified in the 1999 movie, such as Miss Hannigan being a somewhat sympathetic villain in 1977 and 1982 but instead being an entirely unscrupulous villain in 1999.
Annie's hair is straight and auburn rather than curly and red.
The character "Punjab" does not appear in this film.
The character "The Asp" appears in this version briefly, running a Chinese takeout restaurant.
At the climax of the 1982 film, Miss Hannigan tries to save Annie from Rooster but he beats her down in order to catch Annie. She later is shown as a showgirl at Annie's party dating Punjab (originally played by Geoffrey Holder).
This version is more comical compared to 1982 version's slightly darker tone.
The director, Rob Marshall, said he wanted to make this movie as an allegory for the AIDS crisis.
In this version, Warbucks asks Grace to marry him at the end of the movie. In the 1982 film, they only kiss.
In this version, The songs "Sign", "We Got Annie", "Let's Go To The Movies" were not sung as they were in the 1982 version.
In this version, Instead of taking Annie to the movies (as in the 1982 version), Grace and Warbucks take Annie on a tour of NYC, and later attend a Broadway show.
Production notes
This was Walt Disney Pictures and Columbia Pictures' first film collaboration. 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.
