Annie, uma Aventura Real

It hardly needs to be said, but mark this as the type of sequel/TV movie that is whipped up to revive a beloved character or franchise, but which very pointedly sticks them in odd circumstances, just for fun. After all, why not? It's safe to say that the very premise of 'Annie: A royal adventure' is rather far-fetched, but by the same token, the only intent here is family-friendly entertainment. None of the cast from this picture's 1982 predecessor have returned, nor is this a musical - but as there's no pressure to remain especially faithful to a preexisting story, everyone involved here is allowed to just have a good time. To that end, the writing is definitely simplified such that young children could enjoy it, but there's still sufficient cleverness here to make it reasonably appealing to older viewers, too. 'A royal adventure' isn't wholly essential, perhaps, but it's pretty decent!

Outlandish as the story is, Trish Soodik's screenplay is rather solid. Though geared for kids, the scene writing and dialogue is penned with wit and good humor that earns some smiles and laughs. (Even if the title character's catchphrase - "leaping lizards!" - is repeated a hair too often.) The narrative is complete and cohesive, and suitably smart that one can recognize some nice little touches to keep one engaged. Compared to what we would want of more adult-oriented fare the characters are perhaps underwritten in general, and largely reduced to a single personality trait, but it's fine for a feature of this nature. Annie alone feels duly well-rounded, buzzing with precocious energy and determination; good thing she's the protagonist!

Gratifyingly, whatever strength there is in 'A royal adventure,' the cast do a terrific job of drawing it out, guided by capable direction from Ian Toynton. Even those portraying secondary supporting characters, like Jayne Ashbourne, Perry Benson, and Camilla Belle impress with what material they're given. Joan Collins is clearly eating up the opportunity to play such a deliciously dramatic dame as Lady Hogbottom, and it's an unexpected pleasure to watch her - and Crispin Bonham-Carter, too, as he revels in chewing scenery as Rupert Hogbottom. Established stage actors as they are, it's a joy to see George Hearn and even more so Ian McDiarmid turning their skills toward realizing roles that are much sillier than their norm. Above all, it's an outright delight to see Ashley Johnson, then only 12 years old, take on the part of Annie. She has very well demonstrated her abilities in a number of capacities throughout her career, and even as a child actor she showed adept range, nuance, and poise to take on a lead role. To revisit her work at such a tender age, knowing well some of what she has done since, is just a blast.

Top it all off with excellent costume design, hair and makeup work, and filming locations, and to be honest this is really quite fun overall. The chief fault of the 1982 film was that when someone wasn't singing or dancing the title kind of dragged, and on a lesser note, the more nonsensical inclusions contrasted poorly with the intended sincerity. As this TV movie takes on these characters without any major care for heartfelt genuineness, and dispensing (almost) entirely with musical inclinations, balance never enters into the equation - so it can be what it wants without any fetters. By all means, the wildly fanciful tenor of 'A royal adventure' may be a bit much for some viewers; there's no disputing that the kitsch and boiled-down simplicity of the family-friendly writing rides a fine line. Yet that writing is stronger than I'd have given it credit for, sights unseen, and the cast go a long way in making up the difference. Most recommendable for fans of those involved, this is hardly going to appeal to all comers, but if you're open to the type of picture 'Annie: A royal adventure' represents, this is a surprisingly worthwhile movie!

The main actress is no Aileen Quinn, but she gets the job done in an average sort of way. It's not a musical, but there is a reprise of "Tomorrow" though I don't think it's sung by the actors themselves. I'd say the actress who played Molly and Joan Collins were the best actors in the entire thing. The story is a basic kid adventure story with surprisingly little predictability. The good news is that it's hardly ever slow so almost anyone can sit through it. If you're a die-hard original Annie fan, however, you'll probably be disappointed with the entire thing. It doesn't feel "Annie. An example of the movie: "He showed me how to change an unimportant element so that the substance can no longer be used for evil purposes."

The Aileen Quinn version was one of my favourite movies when I was 10, and still is to some extent. The remake with Kathy Bates was very good, but just lacked the charm of the original. Now this TV movie, is good, but it isn't great. In fact, I have mixed feelings for this-I liked some bits, and disliked others. The acting was a mixed bag. Ashley Johnson gives a spirited performance as Annie, however if you compare her to Aileen Quinn and Alicia Morton she may be too old, and I think because of that, she lacked the innocence that both girls gave to their performances. I liked the actresses of Hannah and Molly(Camilla Belle is adorable), but not Carol Cleveland as Miss Hannigan. You don't see her very much, and compared to Carol Burnett and Kathy Bates, she isn't the Miss Hannigan we grow to love, with the love of gin, and control, and I felt both were absent here. George Hearn doesn't do too bad a job as Daddy Warbucks, and Joan Collins, looking as fabulous as she did in the 50s-60s, has a ball playing an otherwise pantomime character. I didn't care very much of the supporting characters though. The main flaw with the film was the plot. It was fast moving but it was also predictable and a little too silly at times, especially the scenes with Murphy and Rupert. I wasn't crazy about the music either. And the script is weak a vast majority of the time. In conclusion, an acceptable movie. Is it the worst movie ever? No far from it! That dishonour goes to Home Alone 4, which made me vomit when I saw what they did to two comedic near-masterpieces, and an adequate second sequel. 5/10, but that doesn't mean I hate it at all. I've just seen better. Bethany Cox

Bad script, terrible production value, a ridiculously cheesy ending, and one token singing of Tomorrow that doesn't really even fit the moment. Save your money.

This is not canon. I refuse to believe this is canon to the original 1982 Annie movie. I have never been more let down by a sequel in my life. What's so bad about it you ask?

Excellent question.

Atrocious writing, some of the laziest writing I've ever seen and doesn't even make sense as a sequel to Annie. The characters are nothing like the originals at all, they didn't even try to make them look or act similar at all.

Horrible directing, like if you think the Star Wars prequels have bad dialogue, wait til you watch this one. Also garbage cinematography, not even visually appealing in the slightest.

An absurd amount of cliches, mainly in the plot. If you want a movie where you can predict literally everything and also by the way Annie is a literal CRIME FIGHTER now, yeah I guess if that's your thing, watch it.

I could go further. It's not good. Not good by any sense of the word. I regret the day I laid eyes upon the thumbnail on Netflix and clicked "watch". The movie is so bad that it actually hurt my mental health. All I could think about for several days was the awful experience that was watching "Annie: A Royal Adventure". It haunted my thoughts day and night, I became an insomniac and had to start taking up to 10 mg of melatonin every night. I'm restless, tired, and depressed. I started seeing a therapist recently, he told me that I need to stop thinking about it so much and to not focus all my rage on it all the time, but I can't. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much melatonin I take, no matter how much media I consume at once to block out all possible thoughts of this movie, it still haunts my mind, constantly, like it's my own shadow. I don't know what to do anymore. I keep seeing visions of the bad guys popping roofies into my milk (which is an actual scene in the movie I'm not kidding) and the so called "Annie" singing tomorrow at the end of the film completely unprompted. Seriously, it was the most jarring, out of place musical number I've ever seen. I would rather watch the Human Centipede 1, 2, and 3 than watch even just that musical number again. There is nothing I can do to stop the visions, they have infiltrated even my sleep. It's all I see, and I don't know what to do.

If you are listening, I beg you, please do not watch it, do not put yourself though what I have experienced for the last 5 years. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. If you do watch it, which I highly advise you don't, I pray that you are spared by God from the evil that will inevitably befall you. Stay away from "Annie: A Royal Adventure" at all costs.