Taking a Look at the Three 'Annie' Movies, What Worked and What Didn't

While the musical Annie may have originated as a stage production in 1977, it is likely that most audiences recognize Annie through its movie portrayals in 1982, 1999, and 2014.  Each of these adaptations has its own strengths and weaknesses to examine.

The first Annie movie from 1982 remains a cultural icon for being the first movie to introduce audiences to the hit musical, and for its phenomenal cast.  With actors like Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, and Bernadette Peters (just to name a few) it’s hard to go wrong.  However, upon a recent re-watch of this film, it’s evident that it hasn't aged quite well. 

First, let's talk about the Bolsheviks.  Shortly after Annie arrives at Mr. Warbucks’ mansion, the Bolsheviks try to bomb the house.  Then, Punjab (who we’ll get to in a bit) manages to throw the bomb out of the house before it explodes.  Annie is clearly very confused about what just happened, and Grace explains to her that the Bolsheviks hate Mr. Warbucks because apparently “He is proof that the American system works”.  Also, in a much later scene, Warbucks literally says that the only things he loves are money, power, and capitalism.  There are plenty of cringey political motifs sprinkled throughout the movie that make it difficult to watch today. 

The 1982 adaptation is also riddled with racist undertones, most notably with the character of Punjab.  Punjab’s role in the film is solely to be the magical, mysterious Indian man with supernatural healing powers.  We see Punjab make objects levitate, control a barking dog, fix a broken leg, and much more using only his mystical mind.  There are no other actors of color in the movie, and it’s disheartening that the only actor of color is depicted as a wizardly enigma. 

One last aspect of the 1982 classic to consider is how murderous it is for a kid’s movie.  The last few minutes of the movie revolve around a chase scene where Rooster chases Annie up a raised drawbridge because he wants to literally murder her.  During this scene, Miss Hannigan chases after Rooster to try to save Annie, but he hits her over the head and knocks her out.  How are kids not traumatized by this?

Perhaps a more kid-friendly version of Annie is the Disney TV movie that came out in 1999.  Similar to the 1982 version, this cast is pretty immaculate.  Kristen Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Kathy Bates, and Audra McDonald are pretty hard to compete with.  This version uses political undertones in a much more lighthearted and humorous way and leaves audiences scratching their heads much less.  Punjab is also non-existent in this film, which leaves the movie much less room for errors regarding racist depictions. 

While Rooster still does allude to killing Annie in this version, Rooster and Miss Hannigan are caught before the audience can watch the murder attempt go down, and nobody becomes unconscious after being whacked over the head. 

Some may argue that Carol Burnett’s absence as Miss Hannigan in the 1999 movie makes this version inferior to the 1982 movie.  While I can agree that Carol Burnett might be the more iconic Miss Hannigan, Kathy Bates is owed a lot of credit for not trying to mimic Burnett.  Carol Burnett’s approach to Miss Hannigan portrays her as a negligent, aloof, lustful, drunk woman, whereas Kathy Bates' approach to the character is more grouchy, stern, and exhausted. 

Considering that the 1999 movie was made for Disney, there is no way Kathy Bates could have given the same lustful and drunken performance as Burnett, so it isn’t fair to compare the two.  Kathy Bates breathes a new life to the character and is to be applauded for her own interpretation of the iconic role. 

Now, let's look at the most recent Annie from 2014.  This movie utilizes a more modern take and does a nice job including actors of color, but unfortunately fails to capture the Annie “charm” held by the first two movies.  The 2014 movie portrays Annie as a foster child instead of an orphan, which on one hand could be seen as a positive representation of children in a non-traditional living environment, but also seems to diminish the plot.  I think that it’s good for children in foster care to have representation, but this would have been more beneficially executed in a new movie entirely different from Annie. 

The modernization of the 2014 Annie is a bit distracting.  The way the characters use social media and technology seems like the creators were trying too hard to make it more relatable to today’s world, but in reality, it just draws audiences out of the story because they are reminded that they’re watching a modernization of a story that was meant to take place in the 1920s. 

Additionally, the soundtrack is far too “pop” and auto-tuned for a traditional thespian's liking.  However, when you cast big screen names like Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx instead of trained singers, this is to be expected. 

Since Miss Hannigan seems to be the most talked-about character in Annie (next to Annie, of course), let's look at Cameron Diaz’s portrayal.  Cameron Diaz falls victim to what Kathy Bates cleverly avoided.  Diaz appears to attempt to mimic Burnett, which is a slippery slope to failure if you’re not actually Carol Burnett yourself. 

On a positive note, at least there is no possibility of Annie getting murdered in the 2014 movie.  Instead, she might just end up back in the foster care system.  For this reason alone, the 2014 version may be the most suitable for kids.

All things considered, I personally choose the 1999 Annie over the two others.  This version remains true to the original story while being less murderous and racist than its predecessor.  It doesn't go over the top with its forcibly updated plot and garish technological advances.  However, each version has its own strong suits that stand out in different ways to individual audience members. 

While each Annie movie has its drawbacks, there is also a lot to like in each of them.