Annie (1982 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Annie (1982 film)
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Huston
Produced by	Ray Stark
Screenplay by	Carol Sobieski
Starring	Albert Finney Carol Burnett Bernadette Peters Ann Reinking Tim Curry Geoffrey Holder Edward Herrmann Aileen Quinn
Music by	Charles Strouse
Cinematography	Richard Moore
Editing by	Michael A. Stevenson
Studio	Rastar
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	May 21, 1982 (1982-05-21)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Money made	$57.1 million

Annie is a popular American musical film from 1982. It tells the heartwarming story of a young orphan girl. The movie is based on a famous 1977 Broadway musical. That musical was inspired by the classic Little Orphan Annie comic strip.

The film was directed by John Huston and written by Carol Sobieski. It features a talented cast including Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, and Aileen Quinn as Annie. This was Aileen Quinn's very first movie role.

The story takes place in 1933, during a tough time called the Great Depression. Annie, an orphan from New York City, gets a chance to live with a very rich man, Oliver Warbucks. The movie was filmed in New Jersey in 1981. It was released by Columbia Pictures on May 21, 1982. Annie was nominated for two Academy Awards for its art direction and music. Many other versions of Annie have been made since, including TV movies in 1995 and 1999, a film in 2014, and a live TV show in 2021.

The Story of Annie: A Young Orphan's Journey

In 1933, during the Great Depression, a young orphan named Annie lives in the Hudson Street Orphanage in New York City. A strict and unkind woman named Agatha Hannigan runs the orphanage. She makes the orphans clean the building every day. Annie has only half of a special locket. She hopes her parents, who left her as a baby, will return with the other half. One night, Annie sneaks out with help from Mr. Bundles, the laundry man. She finds a stray dog and names him Sandy. However, a policeman brings her back to the orphanage.

Grace Farrell, who works for the billionaire Oliver Warbucks, visits the orphanage. She wants to invite an orphan to live with Warbucks for a week. This is to help improve his public image. Annie is chosen, and she and Sandy travel to Warbucks' huge mansion. There, they meet his many servants and two bodyguards, Punjab and the Asp. Warbucks is not sure about Annie at first. But he soon becomes charmed by her and lets her stay.

Warbucks takes Annie and Grace to Radio City Music Hall to watch a movie. He starts to feel a lot of affection for Annie. Grace encourages him to adopt Annie. He then meets with Miss Hannigan and convinces her to sign the adoption papers.

Warbucks tells Annie his plans and even offers her a new locket. But Annie gently declines. She explains about her broken locket. She still hopes her real parents will return with the other half. Warbucks goes on a radio show and offers a large reward to find Annie's parents. This causes many people to pretend to be her parents. To escape the chaos, Warbucks flies Annie to the White House in Washington, D.C.. He introduces her to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. President Roosevelt shares his plan to help people in need. He asks Warbucks to lead this effort. Annie encourages Warbucks to help. When they return home, Annie is sad. Grace tells her that none of the people claiming to be her parents knew about the locket.

Miss Hannigan's tricky brother, Rooster, and his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, visit her. They plan to pretend to be Annie's parents to get the reward money. The three search the orphans' belongings. Miss Hannigan reveals that Annie's real parents died in a fire when Annie was a baby. Miss Hannigan herself has the other half of the locket. Annie's friends overhear their conversation. They try to sneak out to warn Warbucks, but they are caught and locked away.

Rooster and Lily successfully trick Warbucks. Annie's departure from the mansion is sad. Minutes after they leave, Annie is taken by the felons. But her friends manage to reach Warbucks and tell him the truth. Shocked, he calls the police, starting a city-wide search.

Annie cleverly convinces the felons to pull over. She escapes and destroys Warbucks' check. An angry Rooster chases Annie up a raised drawbridge, trying to harm her. Realizing Rooster's true intentions, Miss Hannigan tries to stop him. But he pushes her aside and continues climbing. Punjab rescues Annie from Rooster. He reunites her with Warbucks and Grace. Rooster and Lily are arrested. Annie is officially adopted by Grace and Warbucks.

At a party, attended by the orphans, a changed Miss Hannigan, and the Roosevelts, Warbucks gives Annie a new locket. They share a loving embrace.

Meet the Characters: Who Played Whom?

• Aileen Quinn as Annie Warbucks, a 10-year-old orphan girl. Aileen was chosen from 9,000 girls who auditioned.
• Albert Finney as Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks, a very rich businessman who adopts Annie.
• Carol Burnett as Miss Agatha "Aggy" Hannigan, the strict owner of the all-girls orphanage. She made the orphans work hard.
• Ann Reinking as Grace Farrell, Warbucks' kind personal secretary.
• Tim Curry as Daniel Francis "Rooster" Hannigan, Miss Hannigan's tricky younger brother who liked to scheme.
• Bernadette Peters as Lily St. Regis, a small-time thief and Rooster's girlfriend.
• Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. He is shown in a wheelchair.
• Lois de Banzie as Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States.
• Geoffrey Holder as Punjab, Warbucks' bodyguard who wears a turban.
• Roger Minami as The Asp, Warbucks' chauffeur and bodyguard who teaches Annie karate.
• Toni Ann Gisondi as Molly, a six-year-old orphan.
• Rosanne Sorrentino as Pepper, a 14-year-old orphan who starts bossy but becomes kinder.
• Lara Berk as Tessie, an eight-year-old orphan who often says, "Oh my goodness!"
• April Lerman as Kate, a thirteen-year-old orphan who helps care for the younger children.
• Robin Ignico as Duffy, an eleven-year-old orphan and Pepper's best friend.
• Lucie Stewart as July, a nine-year-old orphan who is usually quiet.
• Peter Marshall as Bert Healy, a famous radio show host.
• Loni Ackerman, Murphy Cross, and Nancy Sinclair as the Boylan Sisters, who sing on the Bert Healy Show.
• Larry Hankin as the man from the dog pound.
• Irving Metzman as Mr. Bundles, a laundry truck driver who helps Annie.
• Ken Swofford as Weasel, a police officer who chases Annie when she escapes.
• I. M. Hobson as Drake, Warbucks' head butler who is allergic to dogs.
• Colleen Zenk and Pamela Blair as Cecille and Annette, Warbucks' French maids.
• Lu Leonard as Mrs. Pugh, Warbucks' cook.
• Mavis Ray as Mrs. Greer, Warbucks' housekeeper.
• Bingo the dog as Sandy, the stray dog who becomes Annie's pet.

Director John Huston also had a small voice role on a radio program. Ray Bolger played a foley artist at a Bert Healy radio event.

Behind the Scenes: Making the Movie

After the stage musical became popular in 1977, the creators asked for money for the film rights. Columbia Pictures bought the rights to the Broadway musical. Film producer Ray Stark wanted John Huston to direct the film. This was Huston's first musical movie in his long career. The film was a very big project for Columbia Pictures.

Writing the Screenplay

Carol Sobieski wrote the movie's script. She made some big changes from the stage musical. For example, in the musical, the bad guys are caught at Warbucks' mansion. In the movie, Annie is taken away on the eve of the Fourth of July. This leads to a city-wide search and an exciting ending on a bridge. Punjab and The Asp, Warbucks' bodyguards from the original comic strip, were included in the film.

The movie also changed Miss Hannigan's ending. In the film, she tries to save Annie from her brother Rooster. In the stage musical, Miss Hannigan is usually shown as knowing Rooster's bad plans and is arrested with him.

The film added five new songs: "Dumb Dog", "Sandy", "Let's Go to the Movies", "Sign", and "We Got Annie". It also removed some songs from the original musical.

Filming Locations and Sets

Wilson Hall, at Monmouth University campus, New Jersey, was used as the exteriors of Oliver Warbucks's mansion.

The NX Bridge over the Passaic River in New Jersey where the climax was filmed.

Filming for Annie took place in 1981 over six weeks. Many scenes were shot at Monmouth College (now Monmouth University) in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Two mansions on the campus, including Shadow Lawn Mansion, were used for Warbucks' home. The NX Bridge, an old railroad bridge over the Passaic River in Newark, was used for one of the exciting final scenes.

Many of the street scenes were filmed at Warner Bros. Burbank Studios in Burbank, California. The Production designer Dale Hennesy transformed an old street set. He added real New York fire escapes and other details to make it look like New York City. After Hennesy passed away during filming, the set was renamed "Hennesy Street" in his honor.

The song "Easy Street" was originally planned to be a very big musical number. A special outdoor street set was built for it. However, after filming, the scene was thought to be too much. So, it was re-shot indoors in a style that matched the original stage musical better.

The Music of Annie: Songs from the Film

Annie is the soundtrack album for the 1982 film. It features all the songs from the movie.

All lyrics written by Martin Charnin, all music composed by Charles Strouse.

When Annie First Came Out

Annie first opened in a few theaters on May 21, 1982. It then became available in many more theaters on June 18, 1982.

Recognitions and Awards for Annie

The film Annie received nominations for two Academy Awards: one for Best Art Direction and another for Best Original Score.

At the 40th Golden Globe Awards, Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn were both nominated for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Aileen Quinn also received a nomination for New Star of the Year.

The film also won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Motion Picture Actress for Aileen Quinn.

Watching Annie at Home

Annie was released on VHS, Betamax, and CED Videodisc in November 1982. It was re-released several times over the years. A widescreen LaserDisc version was also available. The film first came out on DVD in a widescreen edition in December 2000.

A "Special Anniversary Edition" DVD was released in January 2004. In October 2012, a "sing-along edition" was released on Blu-ray to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary. More recently, in October 2022, the film was released on 4K Blu-ray.

Annie on Television

Annie first aired on national television on February 24, 1986, as part of the NBC Monday Night Movie. The TV version was shorter than the original film to fit the broadcast time.

More Annie Stories: Sequels and Remakes

The story of Annie has been told in many different ways over the years.

Comic Book Adventures

Marvel Comics created a comic book version of the film. It was published in Marvel Super Special #23 in 1982. This adaptation was also available as a special Annie Treasury Edition and a limited series.

Indian Film Inspirations

• The 1983 Malayalam movie Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku was inspired by the Annie story.
• The 1993 Hindi film King Uncle, starring Jackie Shroff and Shah Rukh Khan, was also loosely based on this film.

Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995)

A made-for-television sequel, Annie: A Royal Adventure!, aired on ABC on November 18, 1995. It starred Ashley Johnson as Annie. In this film, Warbucks, Annie, a scientist, and another orphan travel to England. Warbucks is to be knighted by the King. However, Annie and her friend get caught up in a plan by a villain to cause trouble at Buckingham Palace.

Annie (1999)

Another made-for-TV movie version was broadcast on ABC on November 7, 1999. It starred Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan and Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks. Alicia Morton played Annie. This version was produced by The Walt Disney Company and Columbia TriStar Television. It was well-received and won two Emmy Awards. This film was closer to the original stage musical than the 1982 movie.

Annie (2014 Film)

Will Smith announced plans for a modern remake of the 1982 film in 2011. Jay-Z joined the project in 2012 to write new songs. Will Gluck directed the film, and Quvenzhané Wallis was cast as Annie. The movie was released on December 19, 2014.