Annie

This adaption of "Annie" is an excellent piece of film making. The casting,

direction, writing, choreography all come together in perfect balance to entertain people of all ages.

My only wish is that budget and time constraints would have allowed for the

entire original story and score to remain in tact. The Hooverville / "We'd Like to Thank You Mr. Hoover" sequence in the original stage musical was perfect in

showing the effects of the depression, as well as giving us the introduction to Sandy. I only hope that future TV musicals allow the time for the full production, much like the 1993 version of "Gypsy" starring Bette Midler.

I've noticed that some people have commented about the multi-racial casting

and how secretary Grace would never have been a black woman. Historically,

this is most likely correct, but again let's keep in mind that this is musical theatre and for people to just start singing with invisible musicians isn't very realistic either. I'm glad to see that Audra MacDonald was cast because she has the

perfect acting skills, personality and voice to play Grace. Even though many of these stories are traditionally "white", the ability to cast multi-ethnic roles only enriches the piece and is completely appropriate in our modern society.

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

A lot of the reviews are saying that this tv version of Annie was a remake of the 1982 film of the same name. This is simply not true. This version of Annie is a remake of the stage musical. If you have ever seen the stage musical you will realize that it is extremely different than the 1982 film.

That being said, those who have fallen in love with the earlier film will most likely not like this version. Those who are true to the stage musical will probably enjoy it. Falling in the latter category, I like this version better.

To me, Alicia Morton was superior to Aileen Quinn in every way, but most noticeably voice quality. Alicia has a great voice for the part. And I personally wasn't bothered by the fact that she had straight hair as opposed to curly. The rest of the orphans did great too.

Kathy Bates was also a standout. As much as I love Carol Burnett, I thought Kathy Bates did a fantastic job as Ms. Hannigan and Alan Cumming was a nice surprise as Rooster.

One last thing to remember is that since this was for tv, their budget was a lot smaller than a feature film. Taking that into consideration, I think Rob Marshall did a commendable job updating the play Annie for a new generation to view.

The story is presented well thanks to superb acting, especially from the convincing Alan Cumming as 'Rooster' Hannigan. (You'd never think it seeing him in the film, but he's actually got a strong Scottish accent).

The songs are well-choreographed and the orchestration is marvellous. The ultimate song is one left from the 1982 version: 'N.Y.C.' where all the atmosphere is captured in one shot.

The only real fault is that Kathy Bates isn't very gin-soaked or ahteable even as Miss Hannigan.

This film was made for TV, and yet you wouldn't think it. Granted some of the sets have a studio feel to them, in particular the mansion, you forget about this as the dancing and story sweep away your imagination.

The best advice I can give you on watching this film is to not, as I have done here, continuously compare and contrast this to the 1982 version, as this will deter you from enjoying the full effect of a movie that captures the Broadway atmosphere.

All who value a good musical with fantastic orchestration are gonna like this movie!

This movie was excellent!! I can't believe how some people can actually claim the 1982 version was better. This version followed the REAL plot closely. I would like to point out to the ignorant type that the 1982 version is NOT the original Annie. Annie was a Broadway play and the 1982 version absolutely ruined the heart of the play. This version wasn't perfect, but definately much better.

Beginning with Alicia Morton: She is a sensational Annie. A beautiful voice and she's way more toned down than Aileen Quinn was. She seemed to have a much better grasp on the character. Victor Garbor was also an amazing Oliver Warbucks. Albert Finney had his moments, but he had no heart or feeling until Annie did something about it. That's ridiculous. Mrs. Hannigan is not a drunk or whore or whatever Carol Burnette decided to do. Kathy Bates seemed like a human. She wasn't violent with the kids and it seemed at some points as if she even cared about them somewhat. Audra MacDonald was terrific as Grace. She had a georgeous voice and wasn't a complete loser like the Grace in the movie.

I noticed how in the 1982 version, Annie never sings "Tomorrow" in the actual movie until she's in the whitehouse. That's the biggest song she sings!! How can you take it out? Also, they add in the stupid "Dumb Dog" song along with "We Got Annie" and "Let's Go To The Movies" and that song Mrs. Hannigan sings with Oliver Warbucks. The recent version added in the ORIGINAL song "NYC", which is a favorite of mine. They did however take out "You Won't Be An Orphan For Long", "We'd Like To Thank You Herbert Hoover", "Annie", and "We're Getting a New Deal for Christmas." Nonetheless, I was very happy to see "Something was Missing" back in. I thought Oliver should sing a song to Annie always.

The ending of the recent version was a bit different however. I was glad that they toned down the big old party at the end, though. What's up with the horses and fireworks and stuff? And then Mrs. Hannigan turns nice? Yeah, right... she woulda been arrested anyway. I did not really like how Lily St. Regis didn't participate in the scam. That to me seemed a bit odd. But, it wasn't terrible. Also, in the original stage version, there is almost no romance between Warbucks and Grace. That's where "Annie Warbucks", the stage sequel, comes into play. So both films were at fault there.

Either way, I think those who think the recent version wasn't as good as the original know absolutely nothing about the stage version. Also, I'll repeat, the 1982 version is NOT the original.