Annie

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!

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.

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.

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...

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.