Annie is a 1999 made-for-television musical-comedy film from The Wonderful World of Disney based on the 1977 stage musical Annie and its 1982 film adaptation, which themselves were based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The film was released on DVD on May 30, 2000. This version earned two Emmy Awards and a 1999 George Foster Peabody Award.

Plot

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 sleazy girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Kristin Chenoweth) scheme to get the reward by posing as Annie's parents. But they are soon found out. Rooster and Lily are arrested, Hannigan is sent to an asylum after having gone crazy, and Annie gets to live happily ever after with her new adopted family.

Cast

• Alicia Morton as Annie Bennett Warbucks
• Victor Garber as Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks
• Kathy Bates as Miss Agatha "Aggie" Hannigan
• Alan Cumming as Daniel Francis "Rooster" Hannigan / Danny the Dip
• Kristin Chenoweth as Sadie Algonquin / Phyllis DeFilcher / Lily St. Regis
• Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell

Orphans

• Sarah Hyland as Molly
• Erin Adams as Tessie
• Lalaine as Kate
• Marina Franklin as Theresa
• Nanea Miyata as July
• Marissa Rago as Pepper
• Danelle Wilson as Duffy

Cameos

• Andrea McArdle as Star-to-Be
• Ernie Sabella as Mr. Bundles

Musical numbers

1. "Overture / Main Titles" - Instrumental
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 Company
8. "NYC" - Oliver, Grace, Annie, and Star-to-Be
9. "NYC (Reprise) / Lullaby" - Oliver
10. "Easy Street" - Rooster, Miss Hannigan, and Lily
11. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" (Radio Version) - Bert Healy and the Boylan Sisters
12. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" (Cast Version) - Orphans
13. "Something Was Missing" - Oliver
14. "I Don't Need Anything But You" - Oliver and Annie
15. "Maybe / Tomorrow" (Reprise) - Grace
16. "Little Girls" (Reprise) - Miss Hannigan
17. "Finale / I Don't Need Anything But You" - Oliver, Grace, and Annie

Awards and nominations

• American Choreography Award — Rob Marshall (Won)
• American Comedy Award — Kathy Bates (Won)
• Costume Designers Guild Awards — Excellence in Costume Design for Television - Period/Fantasy (Shay Cunliffe) (Won)
• Emmy Awards

Outstanding Choreography (Rob Marshall) (Won)

Outstanding Music Direction (Paul Bogaev) (Won)

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)

• 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 1999 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.
• Daddy Warbucks knows Annie is coming to stay at the mansion in the television movie, but in the 1977 movie
• 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.
• Audra McDonald was the first African American actress to play the role of Grace.
• Miss Hannigan is chasing Mr. Bundles in this version, while he chased her in the original version (?).
• In this version, Miss Hannigan is taken to a mental institution at the end and she is not in the original version.
• The 1977 version presents moral complexities that are simplified in the 1999 movie, such as Miss Hannigan being a somewhat sympathetic villain in 1977 but 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.
• In the 1977 version, at the climax of the 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).

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.

References

External links