Annie

1982

Directed by John Huston

Quick synopsis… Based on the Depression-era comic strip “Little Orphan Annie,” this adaptation of the smash Broadway musical follows America’s favorite urchin as she captures Daddy Warbucks’s heart with her optimism — and dodges the treacherous orphanage matron.

• Who’s singing along?
• Anyone else?
• Come on, it can’t just be me.
• I don’t understand why so many kids find Annie to be intimidating.
• I mean, I get that she’s tough, considering she’s been raised by this Hannigan lady.
• Who is a horrible human being, by the way.
• If you’re interested in some of my thoughts about her, feel free to go back to this old post I wrote.
• Though I’m sure I’ll accidentally rehash some of those thoughts.
• Honestly, though, I don’t think Annie would be all that intimidating.
• I feel like she’d be the most likely to be bullied by the bigger kids in the orphanage.
• She’s uncharacteristically optimistic amidst the backdrop of the Great Depression.
• She’s the only kid who gets to wear a red sweater among a sea of orphans who are rocking various shades of gray.
• Annie sticks out like a sore thumb and in a place like that, your best bet is to probably blend in as much as possible.
• But I guess sticking out helps out in the long run when she gets chosen by Miss Ferrell, the personal assistant of one Oliver Warbucks, billionaire tycoon, to come and spend a week at the mansion.
• I guess this was just an image thing…
• Warbucks has to look like he’s still in touch with regular folks, right?
• So why not temporarily bring in a poor little orphan and treat her like a princess for a week, just to send her back to that abusive hovel she’s been used to her entire life.
• Seems cruel to me…
• Good thing Warbucks and his staff of a few dozen dancing butlers and housemaids fall in love with the kid so he can try and adopt her later on.
• Oh… but wait… Annie doesn’t want to be adopted.
• Because she’s convinced that her real parents are still out there somewhere and that they’re certain to come back for her once they get on their feet.
• See? Optimistic…
• But that kind of thinking is foolish.
• Annie was left on Hannigan’s doorstep as a baby.
• She’s 10 years old at this point.
• If that kid’s parents haven’t gotten settled enough to the point where they can properly take care of their child in the last 10 years, it ain’t gonna happen.
• Accept Warbucks’ offer of adoption and wear a tiara for the rest of your days!
• When Annie first arrives at the Warbucks estate, I’m glad they spell out just how friggin’ patriotic this guy is.
• And they do that by describing what he’s having for dinner: various foods identified by the state from which they originate.
• This dude loves America.
• Anyway, because Warbucks eventually also loves Annie, he’s willing to put up a $50,000 reward for Annie’s parents to come and get her.
• I guess that’s a good guarantee that you’ll be able to get back on your feet during these trying times.
• Since Hannigan has the other half of a broken locket as “proof” of parentage, her brother and his girlfriend are able to pose as Annie’s folks.
• It’s a pretty great scheme.
• And they would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those pesky kids at the orphanage who overheard their plot and went to warn Warbucks.
• Oh, and Hannigan also has a change of heart when she grows a conscience and realizes Rooster is going to kill Annie once they cash that check from Warbucks.
• Grow up, Hannigan! What did you think he was gonna do with that kid once he got the money?
• As if he wouldn’t do the same thing to her if she got in the way of his money.
• And because of this change of heart, Miss Hannigan gets to hang out with all the good guys at the end of the movie at Warbucks’ backyard circus.
• I still don’t think that’s right.
• She should be in jail.
• Not riding an elephant and flirting with Punjab.
• All right… Did you sing along with all the songs?
• I did… and I may have annoyed my neighbors.
• No… I couldn’t have annoyed them. I have the voice of an angel.

If musicals aren’t your thing, be sure to come back next week for a movie about a guy who’s just about the luckiest person to come out of Alabama in the last century. I mean, it’s fiction… but… whatever. It’s still a great movie. Until then, remember, you’re never fully dressed without a smile.