Annie (1999 film)

Annie is a 1999 American made-for-television musical-comedy-drama film from "The Wonderful World of Disney", adapted from the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin, and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on the 1924 "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip by Harold Gray. 
It was directed by Rob Marshall, written by Irene Mecchi, and produced by Walt Disney Television, Columbia TriStar Television, Storyline Entertainment, and Chris Montan Productions. "Annie" marks the first film collaboration between The Walt Disney Company and Columbia Pictures since Columbia distributed Disney's "Silly Symphony" film series as well as the "Mickey Mouse" cartoon series from 1929 to 1932. It stars Kathy Bates, Alan Cumming, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Victor Garber, Andrea McArdle, and introduces Alicia Morton as the titular character and Lalaine as Kate.
"Annie" premiered on ABC November 7, 1999. The program proved to be popular during its initial airing, with an estimated 26.3 million viewers, making it the second-most watched Disney film ever to air on ABC behind "Cinderella" (1997). This version earned two Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award.
Plot.
In 1933, during the Great Depression, 11-year-old orphan Annie Bennett was left on her own at the Hudson Street Home For Girls when she was an infant. The only two things that she received from her family was half a heart-shaped locket with a key hole, and a note from her parents saying that they would come back for her. The orphanage is run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan, 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, Annie befriends a dog, whom she names Sandy. But a policeman catches her and returns her back to the orphanage. When billionaire Oliver "Daddy" 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, Daddy Warbucks is soon charmed by her. He desperately wants to adopt Annie, but Annie still wants to find her real parents, so he announces on the radio a $50,000 reward for anybody who can prove they are her biological parents. The orphans accidentally tell Miss Hannigan, and her younger con artist brother Rooster, and his dimwitted girlfriend Lily St. Regis cook up a scheme to get the reward by posing as Ralph and Shirley Mudge (Annie's "so called" parents).
Lily is left with the orphans after Miss Hannigan and Rooster leave, but Lily 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 in the past. She and the orphans come to Warbucks' mansion where Lily 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. The President 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 her 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.
President Roosevelt then presents the evidence to Annie that her real parents are actually David and Margaret Bennett, but sadly they both had died several years earlier which explains why they never returned for her. Although Annie is saddened that her real parents are dead, she is cheered up when Daddy Warbucks officially adopts her. The President 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 her new parents and Sandy.
Cast.
Main Cast:
The Orphans:
Recurring Cast:
Musical numbers.
The film's soundtrack was released on November 2, 1999, by Walt Disney Records.
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.
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 making the orphans ethnically diverse. Zadan and Meron were both so impressed by Rob's work throughout "Cinderella" (saying he acted like a director), that when The Wonderful World of Disney came to them about doing a TV version of "Annie", they both went to Rob 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. I don’t know anything about film.” When Rob Marshall finally agreed to direct it, Disney executives didn’t want him to do the film. 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 in response “Then we won’t produce it.” They knew at the time that since "Cinderella" was so huge, the last thing Disney wanted to do was another musical not produced by them. So they kept calling saying “Let’s go over a list of directors”, but Zadan & Meron said no because they really wanted Rob Marshall to do it. So Disney eventually conceded and allowed him to direct and choreograph.
McDonald recalled in a 2017 interview that there was a reshoot of the final scene that showed her character, a black woman, not engaging with Daddy Warbucks; she suggested the reason for the reshoots was Disney and ABC were "a little uncomfortable" having a black woman engage with the 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 hit film Titanic.
Release.
"Annie" premiered during "The Wonderful World of Disney" on ABC November 7, 1999. After its premiere on ABC, "Annie" has aired on cable channels such as ABC Family, Starz, and the Hallmark Channel.
Home media.
"Annie" was released on VHS December 14, 1999, and DVD January 24, 2000, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The film has not been released on Blu-ray, but can be viewed on Disney's streaming video platform, Disney+
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).
Awards and nominations.
Wins
Nominations