Little Orphan Annie

***Little Orphan Annie*** is a 1982 American animated musical comedy-drama produced by Walt Disney Productions based on the comic strip of the same name created by Harold Gray and the 1977 Broadway musical *Annie* by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan. Directed by John Huston and Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Carol Sobieski, the film stars the voices of Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, Geoffrey Holder, Edward Herrmann, Phil Harris and Aileen Quinn as the title character. It's the first film adaptation of the musical. Set during the Great Depression in 1933, the film tells the story of Annie, an orphan from New York City who is taken in by America's richest billionaire, Oliver Warbucks.

Released by Buena Vista Distribution on May 21, 1982, *Little Orphan Annie* received mixed reviews from film critics and grossed $57 million on a $35 million budget. The film was nominated for an Academy Award and Best Song Score and its Adaptation. In their first film collaboration, Disney and Columbia Pictures produced a made-for-television live-action remake film in 1999. Walt Disney Pictures released a live-action remake on December 19, 2014.

## Plot

In 1933, during the Great Depression, a young orphan named Annie is living in the Hudson Street Orphanage in New York City. It is run by Agatha Hannigan, a cruel alcoholic who forces the orphans to clean the building daily. With half of a locket as her only possession, she remains optimistic that her parents, who left her on the doorstep as a baby, will return for her. Annie sneaks out with help from laundry man, Mr. Bundles, befriending a gang of anthropomorphic stray dogs led by the carefree Sandy. However, a police officer returns Annie to the orphanage.

Grace Farrell, secretary to billionaire Oliver Warbucks, arrives to invite an orphan to live with Warbucks for a week, to improve his public image. Annie is chosen and she and Sandy travel to Warbucks' mansion, meeting his many servants and two bodyguards, Punjab and the Asp. Warbucks, at first dismissive of Annie due to her being female, is charmed into letting her stay. He takes Annie and Grace to Radio City Music Hall to watch a movie, *Camille*, and Warbucks begins to develop affection for Annie. Grace and Sandy urge him to adopt Annie and he meets with Miss Hannigan, convincing her to sign the adoption papers.

Warbucks reveals his plans to Annie, even offering her a new locket, but she declines. She explains the purpose of her broken locket and her hope that her parents will return with the other half. Warbucks and Sandy appear on Bert Healy's radio show and offers $50,000 to find Annie's parents. This causes mass hysteria with many would-be parents appearing to claim the money. To escape the madness, Warbucks flies Annie to the White House in Washington D.C., introducing her to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Roosevelt informs them of his plan to introduce a social welfare program to help America's impoverished and asks Warbucks to head it; Annie encourages him to help. Upon returning home, Annie is disheartened when Grace reveals none of the potential parents knew about the locket.

Hannigan is visited by her con artist brother Rooster and his dimwitted girlfriend, Lily St. Regis; they plot to pose as Annie's parents to gain the reward. The trio search the orphans' belongings and Hannigan reveals Annie's parents were killed in a fire; she possesses the other half of the locket. Sandy and his gang overhear the conversation and try sneaking out, but are discovered and locked away. Rooster and Lily succeed with the ruse, and Annie's departure from Warbucks is sombre. Annie is kidnapped minutes after leaving, but Sandy and his gang escape and reach Warbucks and tell him the truth; he informs the police, beginning a city-wide search.

Annie convinces the felons to pull over, only to escape and destroy Warbucks' cheque. Rooster chases Annie up a bridge in an effort to kill her; when Hannigan realizes his intentions, she desperately tries to stop him, but Rooster easily knocks her out and continues climbing. Sandy rescues Annie and reunites her with Warbucks and Grace. Roosevelt arrives and reads the papers that identifies Hannigan, Rooster, and Lily. This enrages Hannigan, who soon curses Annie and Sandy for ruining her minions' chance to bring her back to her so she can punish her for escaping, only to be arrested and carted off to a psychiatric hospital for child abuse, followed by Rooster and Lily who are arrested and taken to jail.

Roosevelt then presents the evidence to Annie that her real parents are actually David and Margaret Bennett, but sadly they both had died several years earlier which explains why they never returned for her. Although Annie is saddened that her real parents are dead, she is cheered up when Warbucks officially adopts her.

At a party which the orphans, Sandy and his gang, and the Roosevelts attend, Warbucks gives Annie the new locket as they embrace.