Annie (1999 film)
Encyclopedia
Annie is a 1999 American made-for-television musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...

-comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 from The Wonderful World of Disney, based on the 1977 stage musical Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...

and its 1982 film adaptation
Annie (film)
Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...

, which themselves were based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan Annie
Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...

comic strip by Harold Gray.

The film stars Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...

, Victor Garber
Victor Garber
Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...

, Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...

, Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...

, Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...

, Lalaine
Lalaine
Lalaine Vergara-Paras , also known as Lalaine, is an American actress, singer-songwriter and spokesperson. She is perhaps best known for her role as Miranda Sanchez in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, which aired from 2001 to 2004. She has been pursuing a music career since 2009...

, and introducing Alicia Morton
Alicia Morton
Alicia Morton is an American actress and singer.-Biography:Morton started singing when she was 18 months old. When she was 6, she played Molly in Annie at her school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was 7 when she landed the part of young Cosette in Broadway's Les Misérables in 1996. Costar Ricky...

 as Annie.

The film aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 on November 7, 1999 and was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 on May 30, 2000. This version earned two Emmy Awards and a 1999 George Foster Peabody Award.

Plot

Eleven-year-old orphan Annie (Alicia Morton
Alicia Morton
Alicia Morton is an American actress and singer.-Biography:Morton started singing when she was 18 months old. When she was 6, she played Molly in Annie at her school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was 7 when she landed the part of young Cosette in Broadway's Les Misérables in 1996. Costar Ricky...

) was left at a girls' orphanage when she was a baby with half a locket shaped like a heart with a key hole and a note from her parents saying they'll come back for her. The orphanage is run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...

) who starves the orphans and makes them suffer. Tired of waiting for her parents, Annie tries to escape to find them, but is caught by Miss Hannigan. Annie finally succeeds in running away, and makes friends with a dog, that she names Sandy. But a policeman catches her and brings her back to the orphanage. When billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Victor Garber
Victor Garber
Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...

) decides to take in an orphan for Christmas, his secretary, Grace Farrell (Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...

), chooses Annie. She is brought to her wealthy estate and bathes 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 she announces on the radio a $50,000 reward for anybody who can prove they're Annie's parents. The orphans tell Miss Hannigan, and her crooked brother Rooster (Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...

), and his dimwitted girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...

) 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 Ms. Hannigan and Rooster leave, but Lily accidentally tells the secret. The orphans make her tell them what is going on, and Lily realizes that Rooster could leave her hanging as he has done before. Lily and the orphans come to Warbucks' house and they are soon found out when President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 (Dennis Howard
Dennis Howard
Dennis Howard is an American politician from Oklahoma that served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture under former Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating. Concurrent with his service as Secretary, Howard served as the Oklahoma Commissioner of Agriculture...

) arrives with his Secret Service and evidence that Annie's parents are really David and Margaret Bennett and had in fact died several years earlier which was why they never returned for her. Rooster and Lily are arrested by the Secret Service, Miss Hannigan goes insane and is sent to an asylum, Warbucks and Grace become engaged, and Annie lives happily with her new parents.

Cast

  • Alicia Morton
    Alicia Morton
    Alicia Morton is an American actress and singer.-Biography:Morton started singing when she was 18 months old. When she was 6, she played Molly in Annie at her school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was 7 when she landed the part of young Cosette in Broadway's Les Misérables in 1996. Costar Ricky...

     as Annie Bennett Warbucks
  • Victor Garber
    Victor Garber
    Victor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...

     as Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks
  • Kathy Bates
    Kathy Bates
    Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...

     as Miss Agatha "Aggie" Hannigan
  • Alan Cumming
    Alan Cumming
    Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...

     as Daniel Francis "Rooster" Hannigan/Danny the Dip
  • Audra McDonald
    Audra McDonald
    Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...

     as Grace Farrell
  • Kristin Chenoweth
    Kristin Chenoweth
    Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...

     as Lily St. Regis/Sadie Algonquin/Phyllis the Filcher.
  • Erin Adams as Tessie
  • Sarah Hyland
    Sarah Hyland
    Sarah Jane Hyland is an American actress, currently starring as Haley Dunphy on the ABC comedy Modern Family.-Life and career:...

     as Molly
  • Lalaine
    Lalaine
    Lalaine Vergara-Paras , also known as Lalaine, is an American actress, singer-songwriter and spokesperson. She is perhaps best known for her role as Miranda Sanchez in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, which aired from 2001 to 2004. She has been pursuing a music career since 2009...

     as Kate
  • Nanea Miyata as July
  • Marissa Rago as Pepper
  • Danielle Wilson as Duffy
  • Andrea McArdle
    Andrea McArdle
    Andrea McArdle is an American singer and actress best known for playing Annie in the Broadway musical Annie, as well as for her alto range and strong vocal belt.-Career:She was born in Philadelphia...

     as Star-To-Be
  • Dennis Howard
    Dennis Howard
    Dennis Howard is an American politician from Oklahoma that served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture under former Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating. Concurrent with his service as Secretary, Howard served as the Oklahoma Commissioner of Agriculture...

     as Franklin D. Roosevelt
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

  • Douglas Fisher as Drake
  • Kurt Knudson as Justice Brandeis

Musical numbers

The CD of the 1999 television movie was released on November 2, 1999 by Sony.

The songs in the 1999 film reflect those of the 1977 show, but does not include a reprise of "Easy Street", "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover", the cabinet reprise of "Tomorrow", or "Annie". But this version does include a reprise of "N.Y.C." and a reprise of "Little Girls" that takes place at the end of the film, rather than after "Little Girls".
  1. "Overture"
  2. "Maybe" - Annie
  3. "Hard-Knock Life" - Annie and Orphans
  4. "Hard-Knock Life" (Reprise) - Orphans
  5. "Tomorrow
    Tomorrow (1977 song)
    "Tomorrow" is a song from the musical Annie, with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, published in 1977.-Production history in the musical:...

    " - Annie
  6. "Little Girls" - Miss Hannigan
  7. "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" - Grace, Annie, and Warbucks' Staff
  8. "N.Y.C." - Oliver, Grace, Annie, and Star-to-Be
  9. "N.Y.C." (Reprise) - Oliver
  10. "Lullaby" - Oliver
  11. "Maybe" (Reprise 1) - Annie
  12. "Easy Street" - Rooster, Miss Hannigan, and Lily
  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" - Oliver
  16. "I Don't Need Anything But You" - Oliver 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) - Oliver, Grace, and Annie

Awards and nominations

Won for:
  • American Choreography Award — Rob Marshall
    Rob Marshall
    Rob Marshall is an American theater director, film director and choreographer. He is a six-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe nominee and four-time Emmy winner whose most noted work is the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chicago.-Life and career:Marshall was...

  • American Comedy Award — Kathy Bates
    Kathy Bates
    Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...

  • Costume Designers Guild Awards — Excellence in Costume Design for Television - Period/Fantasy (Shay Cunliffe)
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography
    Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography
    This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.-Award winners:1950s* 1955 June Taylor – The Jackie Gleason Show* 1956 Tony Charmoli – Your Hit Parade* 1959 Hermes Pan – An Evening with Fred Astaire1970s...

     - Paul Bogaev and Rob Marshall
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction
  • Young Star Award Best Young Actress/Performance in a Miniseries/Made-For-TV Film - Alicia Morton

Nominations for:
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film - Kathy Bates
    Kathy Bates
    Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...

  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie - Kathy Bates
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie
    Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie
    This is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie, which is awarded since 1992. The category was originally called Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special.-1980s:*1980: The Miracle Worker...

  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Kathy Bates)
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Rob Marshall
    Rob Marshall
    Rob Marshall is an American theater director, film director and choreographer. He is a six-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe nominee and four-time Emmy winner whose most noted work is the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture winner Chicago.-Life and career:Marshall was...

    )
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
    Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
    This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special.-2000s:-2010s:- External links :*, Information Please Database, Pearson PLC...

  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie

Comparison to 1977 musical
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...

 and 1982 film
Annie (film)
Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...

 

  • 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 are really Miss Hannigan and her brother, Rooster. In the 1982 film, 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. Rooster is also shown to be forging a document when the orphans make their first escape attempt to warn Annie in the 1982 movie.
  • Audra McDonald
    Audra McDonald
    Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...

     was the first African-American actress to play the role of Grace.
  • In this version, Miss Hannigan is taken to a psychiatric hospital
    Psychiatric hospital
    Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...

     at the end. 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 fiery 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
    Geoffrey Holder
    Geoffrey Richard Holder is a Trinidadian actor, choreographer, director, dancer, painter, costume designer, singer and voice-over artist.-Early life:...

    ).
  • This version is more comical as 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 which implies that they are dating. Grace is wearing a sparkling ring on her left hand which could also suggest they are engaged.
  • In this version, the songs "Dumb Dog/Sandy", "Sign", "We Got Annie", "Let's Go to the Movies," were not used 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—all while singing "NYC".
  • Unlike the 1982 film, Miss Hannigan and Rooster's Irish family lineage is referenced strongly during their performance of "Easy Street".

Production notes

This was Walt Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 and Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

' 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
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...

.

After its premiere on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

, Annie has aired on cable channels such as ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

, Starz, & Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...

. Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

 also plans to air the film sometime in the future.

See also

  • Annie Jr. - School and amateur productions of Annie.
  • Annie
    Annie (film)
    Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...

    - The 1982 film adaptation.
  • Annie
    Annie (musical)
    Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...

    - The musical in which the films are based on.
  • Little Orphan Annie
    Little Orphan Annie
    Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York Daily News...

    - The Harold Gray comic strip from which the whole Annie universe is based.
  • Annie: A Royal Adventure!
    Annie: A Royal Adventure!
    Annie 2: A Royal Adventure! is a TV sequel to Annie . It was released in the United States in 1995 and internationally in 1996, and is approximately 93 minutes long...

    - The sequel to the original 1982 film.
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