Annie

I have to say, I am an avid Annie fan. I first saw the 1982 version, like most people and I loved it. I then saw the stage musical twice and loved that too. There were a lot of differences in the stories on the stage and on the film. Then I saw the 1999 version and I thought that it was great, about as great as the 1982 one but with better actors. I now have both film versions on video and I have seen both many times and I can honestly say that in my opinion the 1999 one is far better. The 1982 one is bigger, with more action and generally a larger production, but that is to be expected as the 1999 one was only a TV movie and with a much smaller budget. I like Alicia Morton a lot more as I think she is perfect for the part. Aileen Quinn was good for the spunky, tough side of Annie but she wasn't really very sweet and was not at all good vocally. One thing that has stood out for me with the 1999 version is the music and orchestration - I have never really noticed the quality of the music (not the vocals, the orchestra) in anything before this. Basically I love the 1999 version as I think it captures the story wonderfully. The 1982 version as also very good but they tailed off the original story too much and made too Hollywood-y for me, so I recommend the 1999 version overall.

first i must say that i grew up with the 1982 annie. i never knew anything else. yet, i just realized that the version i always saw was edited for TV, which totally cut out easy street. i didn't know what to expect, and besides...tim curry scarred me for life as rooster when he chased annie up that bridge..to a little girl, that's scary! so, i watched the 1999 annie on abc, wondering if i was going to be scarred again. just the opposite. i 'm not a big fan of cuteness, but this movie was endearingly sweet. kathy bates was awesome with her interpretation of miss hannigan, and kristin chenoweth is just wonderful as the ditsy lily. the only thing i wasn't into was how warbucks did a complete 180 in his affections for annie. but when alan cumming came on the screen as rooster...this was the first time i'd really paid attention to a role of his (besides circle of friends). i'd watched him on talk shows all week- i just had a strange feeling. when he broke out into the first line of easy street...oh man. i was smitten right then and there. their interpretation of that song is to die for!! i had a loop of him singing one line in my head for 36 hrs...no joke. i had to go get the cd...he wouldn't leave my mind!! and he's so much less scary than tim curry. don't get me wrong, tim is a fabulous actor, but i rented the full version of the 1982 annie and... uh uh. no way. it had a nicer political feel and not such a tied up ending, but the 1999 version has heart and FABULOUS performances. i will forever be grateful for rob marshall (director) begging alan to do it...

First of all I really like both the 1982 version and the 1999 version- the reason why I do prefer the 1982 version is because that in particular is a childhood favourite. I do admit there was a time when I didn't really like this, but now considering that it was a TV remake, and that it is a lot more faithful to the stage play, it is not as bad as I initially thought. True it is too short, and despite her truly beautiful voice I just wasn't sure about Audra MacDonald as Grace. For my tastebuds, it was a tad sugary sweet at times for my liking. However, it does look lovely, and the music is marvellous, and the same with the 1982 version. The performances are great too. I really loved Aileen Quinn,(and I wish people would stop making horrible comments about her) but Alicia Morton is closer than what Annie is like in the stage show, in terms of age, and while both girls were wonderful, Morton has got the better voice. Annie's friends were well done too, but the scene stealer has to be Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, just like the wonderful Carol Burnett. There were times when she was absolutely hilarious, and Victor Garber while just lacking the gruffness of Albert Finney was a delight as Daddy Warbucks. Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth were fine as Rooster and Lily, and I also much enjoyed the portrayals of Tim Curry(who is my favourite actor of all time and vastly underrated as an actor) and Bernadette Peters. This version is closer to the stage musical, and has a real Christmas feel to it. The problem I had with the 1982 version were John Huston's direction, and I know they changed the ending, but to be fair, the 1982 version is NOT the first musical adaptation to take liberties with the stage musical, how about My Fair Lady and Oklahoma! Overall, seeing this again recently proved my initial opinion of it wrong. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The 1982 movie version of Annie was one of my favorite movies as a child. I have heard people criticize it many times calling it an overblown turkey, I do admit at times it does seem that way when I watch it now, especially since I am 22 years old now, but there is no comparison to this new TV version, while the 82 version may have been overblown, this new version is just plain dull and lifeless, I know they were trying to tone it down, but that doesn't mean you have to take all the personality out of it, this movie has neither wit nor humor. Aileen Quinn had spunk and energy, and a better singing voice than the Annie in this movie, when I saw her as a child I wanted to be just like her, the girl in this version didn't do anything for me. The other orphans in this movie are like cardboard cutouts they have absolutely no personality, you couldn't tell the difference between Molly and Pepper. The Hard Knock Life number which I absolutely love in the 82 version, is just flat out boring here, they just scrub the floor for 3 minutes while singing it. There is absolutely no character development in this version. Victor Garber is probably a fine actor but he is given nothing to work with in his role as Daddy Warbucks. I prefer Albert Finney in the 82 version. Warbucks meets Annie sings NYC with her and then wants to adopt her after 3 minutes. You never feel any bond between them. What is this movie trying to say? that when you first meet someone the way to form a bond is to perform a musical number together, and then they will want to adopt you immediately? I mean there should be some realism. Kathy Bates as Hannigan is okay, but cannot be compared to Carol Burnett who was hilarious in the 82 version, I don't think her performance was over the top at all. Alan Cummings was wonderful with what little he had to do, but I definitely like Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters better, they were sleazier and more villainous. The ending in this version was downright awful, they had Miss Hannigan pretending to be Annie's mother, instead of Lily. I mean they made the Annie and Grace into idiots in this movie, like they wouldn't be able to recognize her. Then they had Lily bring the cops in, like anyone would be that stupid, besides that FDR shows up with the cops, like he had nothing else to do, it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen!

I heard great things about this version but was very disappointed. Definitely stick with the 1982 movie version.

This spectacular new version of Annie is something nobody should miss. Songs like "Maybe" "Tomorrow" and "NYC" are just too good. This is what you call Movie Magic. Because I can't believe how amazing this movie is. It's even better then the orginal and half of that goes to little Alicia Morton who plays Annie in this irresistible remake of the all time classic!