Annie (1982)

***Annie*** is a 1982 American musical comedy-drama film directed by John Huston and screenplay by Carol Sobieski. It is based on the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan, which in turn is based on the *Little Orphan Annie* comic strip created by Harold Gray.

## Storyline

### Plot

An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett), Annie (Aileen Quinn) believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks (Albert Finney) decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.

### Genres

* Musical
* Comedy
* Children's film
* Drama
* Comedy music
* Comedy drama
* Musical Drama

### Motion Picture Rating

* **Atp** (Argentina)
* **G** (Australia)
* **Livre** (Brazil)
* **G** (Canada) (British Columbia)
* **S** (Finland)
* **Tous publics** (France)
* **I** (Hong Kong)
* **L** (Iceland)
* **U** (India)
* **G** (Ireland)
* **T** (Italy)
* **G** (Japan)
* **U** (Malaysia)
* **AL** (Netherlands)
* **A** (Norway) (VOD)
* **5** (Norway) (1992, cinema rating)
* **7** (Norway) (1982, cinema rating)
* **Apt** (Peru)
* **PG** (Philippines) (self-applied)
* **M/6** (Portugal)
* **PG** (Singapore)
* **12** (South Korea) (2001, DVD rating)
* **All** (South Korea) (1986)
* **A** (Spain) (ICAA)
* **7** (Sweden)
* **G** (Turkey)
* **U** (UK)
* **PG** (USA)

## Images

UK VHS cover (1987)UK VHS coverUK VHS coverUK VHS cover (1999)UK VHS cover (2002)UK VHS cover (2003)UK DVD cover (2000)UK DVD cover (2004)UK DVD cover (2010)UK DVD cover (2018)UK Blu-Ray cover (2012)
## Cast and Crew

### Writing Credits

* Carol Sobieski (screenplay)
* Thomas Meehan (book)
* Martin Charnin (play)

### Cast

* Albert Finney - Daddy Warbucks
* Carol Burnett - Miss Hannigan
* Ann Reinking - Grace Farrell
* Tim Curry - Rooster
* Bernadette Peters - Lily
* Aileen Quinn - Annie
* Geoffrey Holder - Punjab
* Roger Minami - Asp
* Toni Ann Gisondi - Molly
* Rosanne Sorrentino - Pepper
* Lara Berk - Tessie
* April Lerman - Kate
* Robin Ignico - Duffy
* Lucie Stewart - July
* Edward Herrmann - FDR
* Lois De Banzie - Eleanor Roosevelt (as Lois de Banzie)
* Peter Marshall - Bert Healy
* Loni Ackerman - Boylan Sister
* Murphy Cross - Boylan Sister
* Nancy Sinclair - Boylan Sister
* I.M. Hobson - Drake
* Lu Leonard - Mrs. Pugh
* Mavis Ray - Mrs. Greer
* Pamela Blair - Annette (as Pam Blair)
* Colleen Zenk - Celette
* Victor Griffin - Saunders
* Jerome Collamore - Frick (as Jerome Callamore)
* Jon Richards - Frack
* Wayne Cilento - Photographer
* Ken Swofford - Weasel
* Larry Hankin - Pound Man
* Irving Metzman - Mr. Bundles
* Angela Martin - Mrs. McKracky
* Kurtis Sanders - Spike (as Kurtis Epper Sanders)

### Producers

* Joe Layton (executive producer)
* Carol Sobieski (associate producer)
* Ray Stark

## Details

### Release Dates

* May 17, 1982 (USA) (New York City, New York) (premiere)
* May 19, 1982 (USA) (Los Angeles, California)
* May 21, 1982 (USA) (limited)
* June 18, 1982 (USA)
* July 7, 1982 (UK)
* July 9, 1982 (Ireland)
* September 10, 1982 (Italy)
* October 7, 1982 (Hong Kong)
* October 27, 1982 (France)
* December 1, 1982 (Austria)
* December 4, 1982 (Japan)
* December 16, 1982 (Australia)
* December 16, 1982 (Argentina)
* December 16, 1982 (Netherlands)
* December 16, 1982 (Uruguay)
* December 16, 1982 (West Germany)
* December 17, 1982 (Denmark)
* December 17, 1982 (Spain) (Madrid)
* December 17, 1982 (Mexico)
* December 17, 1982 (Portugal)
* December 18, 1982 (Sweden)
* December 22, 1982 (Colombia)
* December 25, 2002 (Brazil)
* December 25, 2002 (Finland)
* February 15, 1983 (India)
* December 19, 1986 (South Korea)
* February 12, 1987 (Hungary)
* December 12, 2000 (Singapore) (DVD premiere)
* January 11, 2001 (Germany) (DVD premiere)
* January 15, 2001 (Greece) (DVD premiere)
* January 1, 2002 (Canada) (DVD premiere)
* December 10, 2012 (USA) (New York City, New York, release)
* October 4, 2017 (Philippines) (internet)

### Home Media Release Dates

* 1987 (UK) (VHS)
* November 4, 1991 (UK) (VHS)
* October 11, 1993 (UK) (VHS) (re-release)
* March 22, 1999 (UK) (VHS) (re-release)
* August 5, 2002 (UK) (VHS) (re-release)
* October 6, 2003 (UK) (VHS) (re-release)

## Reception

### Box office

*Annie* grossed $5.3 million in its first wide weekend, ranking number 5 at the US box office. The film grossed $57 million in the United States and Canada against a budget of $35 million, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 1982. However, due to its high cost, it failed to make a profit for Columbia Pictures upon release.

### Critical response

The film has a 6.6 rating on IMDb and a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Company Credits

### Production Companies

* Columbia Pictures
* Rastar Films

### Distributors

* Columbia Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
* Columbia-EMI-Warner (1982) (UK) (theatrical)
* Columbia-Fox (1981) (Greece) (theatrical)
* Fox Columbia Film Distributors (1982) (Australia) (theatrical)
* Warner Bros. (1982) (Norway) (theatrical)
* Warner-Columbia Film (1982) (Sweden) (theatrical)
* Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1982) (West Germany) (theatrical)
* Warner-Columbia Films (1982) (Argentina) (through, theatrical)
* Columbia Pictures of Argentina (1982) (Argentina) (through Warner-Columbia Films, theatrical)
* Columbia (1982) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
* Columbia Films of India (1983) (India) (theatrical)
* RCA/Columbia-Hoyts Home Video (1983) (Australia) (video)
* Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
* Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
* Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
* Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
* RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (Blu-ray, DVD)
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray, DVD)
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (30th Anniversary Sing-Along Edition, Blu-ray, DVD)
* Cinema Club (1999) (UK) (VHS)

## Technical Specs

### Runtime

* 126 mins
* 127 mins (USA)

### Aspect Ratio

* 2.39:1
* 2.20:1 (70 mm prints)
* 1.78:1 (Small Widescreen prints)
* 1.33:1 (4:3 pan & scan prints)

## Trivia

* Apparently, Aileen Quinn became the youngest Golden Raspberry winner in history, having won a Worst Supporting Actress Razzie for this role.
* Columbia Pictures was worried that the film would get a G rating, so the writers added the word "damn" with God's name before it in to push the rating up to PG.
* This adaptation deviates much from the broadway musical, and takes much of its influence from the original comic, incorporating characters and plot points that the musical didn't use.
* Eventually, when Toni Ann Gisondi had a daughter in 2000, she named her after her own *Annie* character.
* Edward Herrmann and Geoffrey Holder both passed away in 2014.
* The film takes place from June to July 4, 1933.
* At the time of her death on February 10, 2014, Shirley Temple was the last surviving film star mentioned in the song "Let's Go to the Movies".
* This is Aileen Quinn's theatrical movie debut.
* Ray Stark said of this movie, "This is the film I want on my tombstone." In his negative review of this movie, Time Magazine's Richard Corliss wrote "Funeral services are being held at a theater near you." Stark died on January 17, 2004, four days after Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a pan-and-scan DVD of this movie in Region 1. A widescreen version was released in 2000.
* Peter Marshall received a "special appearance" credit.
* The closing credits declare that this movie was "Originally Presented on the New York Stage by Mike Nichols".
* Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks is seen using a phone in his car at the end of the movie but the first car phone did not come out until 1946 and "Annie" is set in 1933.
* Amanda Peterson's debut.
* Two actors in this movie appeared in the James Bond film franchise. Geoffrey Holder played Baron Samedi in *Live and Let Die* (1973). Albert Finney played Kincaid in *Skyfall* (2012).
* Meredith Salenger's debut.
* Tina Caspary's debut.

## Connections

### Followed by

* *Annie: A Royal Adventure!* (TV Movie 1995)

### Remade as

* *Annie* (2014) - The second remake of Annie since the one made by the Walt Disney Company in 1999

### Version of

* *Annie* (2014) - The film is based on the same musical.

### References

* *Little Caesar* (1931) - Daddy Warbucks says that Miss Hannigan is "Dancing in [her] shanties/ with some old geezer/ called Little Caesar."
* *The Little Colonel* (1935) - Annie and Warbucks' staircase dance in the finale echoes the one in this.

### Referenced in

* *Family Ties: Oops* (TV Episode 1982) - Cindy mentions going to see the movie
* *A Christmas Story* (1983) - When Grover Gill is bullying the kids, he says, "Alright, who's next?" in exactly the same way that Annie did when fighting the boys over the dog Sandy. This is tie-in with the "Little Orphan Annie" radio subplot in A Christmas Story.
* *Oliver & Company* (1988) - Jenny's dress that she wears at the end of the film resembles the dress that the title character wears in Annie.
* *Cheers: Veggie-Boyd* (TV Episode 1990) - When Woody says "tractor" at the end, Lilith starts singing "Tomorrow" from the musical, reacting to a post-hypnotic suggestion planted by Frasier.
* *Tiny Toon Adventures: Whale's Tales* (TV Episode 1990) - The octopus pirate says, "Would you rather they do the theme from 'Annie'?"
* *The Golden Girls: Even Grandmas Get the Blues* (TV Episode 1991) - The film is mentioned by name.
* *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: I, Stank Horse* (TV Episode 1996) - Carlton sings "Tomorrow"
* *Friends: The One Where Monica and Richard Are Just Friends* (TV Episode 1997) - Video seen in video rental store
* *You've Got Mail* (1998) - Mentioned in dialogue.
* *Like Mike* (2002)
* *Austin Powers in Goldmember* (2002)
* *Scrubs: My Tormented Mentor* (TV Episode 2004) - In a flashback, young Todd listens to the "Annie" soundtrack.
* *Shrek 2* (2004) - Donkey sings, "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow." Before passing out.
* *Smallville: Fade* (TV Episode 2006) - Lois refers to Graham Garrett as "Daddy Warbucks."
* *Smallville: Static* (TV Episode 2006) - Jimmy refers to Lionel as "Devious Daddy Warbucks."
* *Smallville: Noir* (TV Episode 2007) - Jimmy refers to Lionel as "Daddy Warbucks."
* *Igor* (2008) - Eva dresses up and preforms skits
* *Smallville: Plastique* (TV Episode 2008) - Lois refers to Bette as "Little Orphan Annie."
* *House M.D.: Emancipation* (TV Episode 2008) - House refers to an orphaned 16 year old patient as Annie.
* *Will & Grace: Sweatshop Annie & The Annoying Baby Shower* (TV Episode 2018) - Title reference + the kids from Jack's drama group are supposed to be rehearsing Annie.
* *The Simpsons: Lisa Gets the Blues* (TV Episode 2018) - Bullies dress up Bart like little orphan Annie, and he sings part of "Tomorrow."

### Features

* *Camille* (1936) - Annie, Daddy Warbucks, Grace, Punjab and Sandy go to see the film at the Radio City Music Hall.