Annie: A Royal Adventure!

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

Not even worth watching this tacky spoiler ruins everything about 'Annie'. The characters seem almost cheapened by the poorly written storyline and they low quality feeling to the production. It was very clearly made for TV, yet if I found it on my television, I would flick it straight over. The children in the film do an alright job, yet the adults acting is unbelievable and so the movie fails to really draw you in. This film lacked the music/dance numbers thats made the original brilliant and truly does take the shine of the Annie we all love. Johnson, as Annie is at times annoying and over acted..you cannot convince yourself that she truly is Annie. The differences in character appearance continued to irritate me throughout the duration of the film. Sad to say this sequel was a total flop.

this movie does not compare to the original, and it is one of the worst movies ever made, but i give it a 3 because of how unintentionally funny it is, for instance, when Annie says "it sure is big" and Michael says, enthusiastically, "it appears to be a stoner missile, used to wipe out entire villages!". Annie's hair looks really fake and Sandy doesn't even look like Sandy from the original movie. Ian McDiarmid (the emperor from star wars) must not have been getting any acting jobs back then. If any you tube poop makers are viewing this page, i greatly recommend using it for your you tube poops. Unfortunately it's hard to find on DVD but you can probably get it on amazon.