The criticisms for Annie have been unfair I feel, then again maybe there's some bias as it was one of my absolute favourites as a kid and still is. There have been worse musicals before and since, as well as better admittedly(Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, West Side Story), High School Musical movies anyone, as well as The Wiz, Mame and A Chorus Line for examples? As for Aileen Quinn, she isn't ginger! She was wearing a wig, plus Annie has red hair! And she was about 10 years old, when she did this movie, and in my opinion she had a fantastic singing voice for her age, and she is an appealing and spunky actress. Albert Finney is just wonderful as Daddy Warbucks, with his gruff voice, and his slow transformation from stern to heartfelt.. it was totally believable. The locket scene was very moving. Broadway diva Ann Reinking was a lovely Grace Farrell(just look at her dancing in "We Got Annie"), and I liked her voice very much. Sometimes though, it was hidden over the highest voices especially in "I'm think i'm Gonna Like It Here". But to be fair, the arrangements are always done to the abilities of the singers. Bernadette Peters and Tim Curry had a little less to do, but they were excellent in their villainous roles, and their rendition of "Easy Street" was wonderful. Carol Burnett was fantastic in this movie, making Miss Hannigan as nasty as humanly possible, and performance-wise steals the film. The dialogue is very witty and warm-hearted throughout and Burnett has the best lines, she sings and acts the heck out of "Little Girls". The servants did well too, though I don't know any of their names, though Geoffrey Holder was a delight as Punjab. The orphans are delightful, especially Toni Ann Gisondi as Molly, she was so cute, who put rare energy into "Hard Knock Life", and "Without a smile." I was really impressed with the performances. The songs are just marvellous, even the ones added to the movie(especially "Sign"), except for "Dumb Dog", very forgettable and pointless. I have seen the stage play,(my sister Kathryn played Molly) and enjoyed it as well, though the movie should stand on its own and that's what people seem to not take into account. The 1999 film was good if too short and sugary sweet, but while this may seem like blasphemy I've always considered this the better film, more faithful doesn't always mean better you know. The wonderful title song "Tommorow!" played over the title credits, and there was a reprise in the white house, which is one of my favourite scenes. But it showed in her face that Aileen Quinn preferred "Maybe." "Let's Go to the movies" surprisingly worked on its own merits. It looked lovely with some nice movie star references, and the production values in the entire film are fabulous, glitzy and evocative. But the best element of the movie along with Burnett and the songs was the choreography by the immensely talented Arlene Phillips. I disagree that it was overblown, as a matter of fact it worked amazingly well. The only real criticisms I have with Annie, is that I agree that John Huston was the wrong director, I felt his heart wasn't really in it and his inexperience in the musical genre did show somewhat and while nail-biting the climax was a little contrived, but the performances, songs and choreography completely overshadowed them. Fantastic. 9/10 Bethany Cox
