User reviews

I came on here expecting to see an 8 or something in the 7s, but a 6.6??? This is a solid classic.

This movie is the best constantly sing the songs from the movie. it will always be a classic.

Annie is a family favourite for a good reason. The songs are catchy and memorable. You and your family will be singing and humming them everywhere you go. The entire movie is well done but it gets the most interesting at the ending. The character development of Annie's adopted dad is heartwarming.

One of the best musicals ever and one of the best films of the early 80's. One of the greatest classics ever, full of good songs, good actors and a great story. Highly recommend.

A memorable adaption of the Broadway play. Hands Down, the best Annie. The set designs are classic, the casting is impeccable, the costumes, the talent! There is at least one additional song that fits in seamlessly. Aileen Quinn as Annie is iconic. An inspirational timeless and, so far, unsurpassable production. Annie '82' is perfect

This was the first movie I remember watching I cried I was 7 years old I saw this movie at the new Beverly cinema in Los Angeles California. My parents thought it would teach me to enjoy life I did learn a life lesson that everybody does not have a golden spoon. I wish I had a sister and maybe I might adopt a child someday. The music was very good and it sticks in my head all these years later.Take your kids to see it or rent it. The end of the movie is very scary for very young children. The movie is very different from the play it is more evolved. They should make a follow up as Annie grows up. I hope you enjoy watching the movie as much as I did from LORNE.

"Annie" is the epitome of a family film in every way. From it's very catchy musical numbers to it's strong heart shown by it's talented cast, this film will make your heart sing even if you are in a bad mood. This film has some obvious faults, as it does not need to be two hours long and some plot devices seem to be thrown in to push the story along, but all-in-all, I had a blast watching it. For the type of film that it is, it's dialogue and lyrics are all well-written and it is very well-produced. "Annie" is the type of kid that you wish you could have been friends with growing up, due to her sheer likability. "Annie" is one of the most enjoyable musicals I have seen. For anyone ho has not seen it, it definitely earns a recommendation from me.

I have read a previous comment that says that the only good singing parts are when Carol Burnett sings, and I think that's baloney. The purity of a child's voice still cuts you to the soul (if you have one) and I can still remember the goose-bumps I got from miss Quinn's singing the first time I saw it in the theatre. Carol Burnett is great in this film, and she deserves much praise, but above and beyond that - if you want a movie that you and your kids can watch that won't leave them screaming obscenities (or being just plain rude) at daycare on monday, then this is a good film for you to SIT DOWN WITH THEM and watch.

The original Broadway show was a popular hit because it conveyed innocence and warmth. The film version didn't do well at the box office because it lacks these important qualities.

Part of the problem is John Huston's direction. It is obvious the veteran director's heart was not in this film. He sabotages musical numbers by handling them in a cold, plodding manner. For instance, one doesn't feel for the orphans' plight when they sing "It's a Hard Knock Life" because Huston has them doing acrobatics that detract from the lyrics.

Then there is the mishandling of the songs. As a previous commentator has noted, some wonderful tunes like "We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover" and "N.Y.C." have been scrapped in favor of dreary tunes like "Dumb Dog" and "Let's Go to the Movies." These new songs contribute nothing to the scenario. The remaining original Broadway songs are hampered by inferior renditions and Huston's misdirection.

The scenario is unnecessarily coarsened. The nasty orphanage head Agatha Hannigan (Carol Burnett) is transformed from the blustery harridan of Broadway to an alcoholic vamp. This type of character has no place in a family musical. Neither do orphans and maids who flash their underwear during musical numbers.

As the orphaned title character, Aileen Quinn tries hard but her acting is artificial, so one cannot feel for her. Albert Finney as Oliver Warbucks seems gruff and uptight even when expressing love toward Annie. Ann Reinking seems too cool to convey maternal warmth as Warbucks's secretary Grace Farrell and her husky singing voice is completely inappropriate. Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters as the villains Rooster Hannigan and Lily St. Regis and Geoffrey Holder as Punjab are largely wasted.

No wonder Disney decided to make their own TV version of ANNIE in 1999. Anyone who doesn't have the opportunity to see a stage production should watch the Disney version, which is truncated but captures the original show's charm and simplicity. In the meantime, it is an injustice that Columbia has decided to put the misbegotten film version on DVD while ignoring its real treasures like TWENTIETH CENTURY.

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

I loved this film as a child and will always hold fond nostalgia for it. You definitely have to watch this from the point of view as a child (with so many "family" films out today, I know this might be hard, when their goal has been to entertain everyone). I loved all the performances in it from Albert Finney to Carol Burnett and Tim Curry. My most favorite Huston film is The Misfits, but don't expect that from this film, which I think alot of people are doing. As most directors age, they tend to get "soft" in their filmmaking as their hunger is replaced with complacency, but this film isn't as bad as some people describe it. It's a musical, it was made in the 80's, and it's primarily for kids. Compared to other movies made in that time period, this one is actually quite good. And although I've only seen parts of the newer one made by Disney, this one seems alot more mature and crafted, and not so candy-coated.

Oh Boy, is that Annie kid annoying or what! Leaping Lizzards what a waste of talent...

I didn't feel at all for this kid in her quest to find her real parents. The story is dull and unimaginative, the movie is way too long for it's own good, and lacks a good finale. When I was young (about 5) I thought it was really good, but it shows what a small kid knows...

Great actors like Finney, Burnett and Curry are completely wasted in this very disappointing movie. The only thing it has going for itself are a couple of good songs (tomorrow is an undeniable classic) and the fine acting by the older actors. Everything else smells. 3/10.

"It was pretty good. It was cute and there were good songs." Magnolia, age 6

ANNIE

You know what... I was expecting this film to be terrible. The whole thing just sounds awful to me... but it's actually very enjoyable.

I am not a huge musical fan... I don't mind them but musicals are never my first choice. Although I am a big Oliver fan.

Annie was a nice film about a little orphan who is in a horrible orphanage and tried to get away to find her real parents. One day a lady comes to the orphanage and takes Annie for 1 week to live in a huge mansion with a billionaire... he is only allowing this for his image as it makes everyone think he cares.

Now as you can expect from any musical (except Sweeney Todd), the acting was not that good. Especially by Annie. But the bad acting didn't ruin the movie. The songs were very catchy and there were obviously a couple of very famous songs too.

The cast was quite impressive...Albert Finney was quite funny in the movie playing the billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. I also thought that Carol Burnett was very funny as the evil woman running the orphanage. The best role though has to go to Tim Curry. He plays a great character and as always does a fantastic job. The surprise appearance was from Geoffrey Holder... I mainly know him from Live and Let Die (One of my favourite Bond films) where he plays Baron Samedi... in Annie he plays Punjab. Not his best role, but still quite good.

I will give this film 7 out of 10.

Even though the acting was not up to scratch, i can still see why this film is locked into a lot of peoples hearts. Very entertaining.

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I find it appalling and ridiculous that the Disney movie got a higher rating than this and that this movie got a 6! that is just plain stupid. "Annie" is a classic, inspirational story. It still is one of my favorite movies, and one of my favorites as a child (well, when I was younger, I'm 14 now). Aileen Quinney (sp.) did an amazing job, she has a beautiful voice and brings such a prescense to the songs she sings. Hannigan and Rooster and his wife whose name I can't remember right now had me cracking up that entire song, they bring a hilarious scene, where Hannigan is clearly drunk, and bring the screen to life with a song that's supposed to be sinister (you will find that I am referring to "Easy Street" but I don't want to give too much away). Hannigan was also my main problem with the Disney version, Kathy bates was too strange, Burnett did a much better job, bates was just too strict and serious, while Burnett was more out there and brought some charisma to the part. Oh and I loved Daddy Warbucks, he was a great addition to this movie as well as Grace.

All in all, Annie is beautiful movie that is worth a watch. Please, do not listen to these idiots who tell you it sucked and Quinney can't sing, because she can. Just enjoy the movie, it's great and I promise will become a family classic.

Little Orphan Annie as a comic strip ran for 86 years from 1924 to 2010 until 1968 under its original creator Harold Gray. Quite a bit is left out when you read a list of Annie's adventures in that period. But the film Annie captures the essence of what she was about. One thing though she never grew up staying a plucky and resourceful orphan with her benefactor Daddy Warbucks the Howard Hughes of the funny papers who had endless money.

Young Aileen Quinn is our Annie and Daddy Warbucks is Albert Finney. The film is an adaption of the Broadway Musical that ran for six years and 2377 performances. It hadn't even finished it's Broadway run when the film came out. The film plot concerns Daddy Warbucks inviting a selected orphan out to the fabulous Warbucks estate and Annie gets to be the lucky girl. She gets to him with her innocent charm and plucky attitude.

But the mean woman who runs the orphanage who is played with delicious panache by Carol Burnett wants to exploit the situation to her own advantage. Burnett enlists her conman brother Tim Curry and his wife Bernadette Peters. What they do and how Annie triumphs over all is for you to see the film.

I'm not sure John Huston was the right choice to direct this, but Busby Berkeley was not available. Probably with a musical or two under his belt Huston might have made a classic. As it is it's not a bad film, just not a great one.

In fact this adaption of a cartoon was really perfected by Warren Beatty when he created his Dick Tracy film. That's how you adapt a cartoon as a cartoon to film with live actors.

Still Annie got a couple of Oscar nominations for adapted musical score and Art&Set Direction. I wish Burnett had been given recognition when she's on the film really takes off.

A good musical with a good adaption for family viewing.

The original Annie film is a giant pile of sentimental crap...and I love every second of it. Unlike the 2014 remake (No, Cameron Diaz! No!), it captures the Broadway show by letting the scenes play out naturally, on a big scale, with lots of cast members and tons of fun choreography. And it's all just plain fun; funny (getting rid of bomb), well-toned (Burnett is wonderfully awful), bubbly (singing with President), and affecting (I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING!).

The cast listing for this film is missing a principal dancer who played the part of the Gardener and who appears in several sequences, has a short speaking line, and had a solo dance in the original release.

His name was Russell Chambers and was with the Joffery Ballet in NYC for a number of years and was the principal dancer in the Broadway production of DANCE.

Mr. Chambers later suffered an Achilles's tendon injury and retired from active dancing but formed a ballet school / company in Randolph Massachusetts with his life partner Ken Aubert. Mr. Chambers passed away in the early 1990's.

I hope someone will correct his error and give Mr. Chambers the credit he deserves.

I am surprised to see how many people actually enjoyed this horrible slice of cinema. Now, I have not been an "Annie" fan for long-- I saw my first production of it in the summer of '99, and I was so thrilled with it, I rented the movie right away. I was appalled almost right away. Here are my top 10 reasons for hating this movie: 10. "The Hard-Knock Life" sequence-- it looked like they were on a playground, not in an orphanage. 9. Toni Ann Gisondi-- I hated her as Molly. Just not cute enough. 8. The new arrangements of many of the songs. I especially disliked "I Don't Need Anything But You" and "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here." 7. Ann Reinking-- Grace is supposed to be a soprano. Hello? 6. Punjab-- Okay, so he was a character in the comic strip, but there was absolutely no reason for him to be in this movie. 5. Carol Burnett-- What in the hell was that performance about? I love her in everything I've ever seen her in, except this. She was way too over the top, even for Miss Hannigan, and that's saying a lot considering it's already an over the top character. 4. The added songs. Personally, I disliked all of them, but one in particular comes to mind-- "Dumb Dog." 3. Annie hanging off a drawbridge-- don't even get me started. 2. Aileen Quinn-- vocally, she was halfway decent I suppose, but had all the charm and charisma of a rock, and all the acting skills necessary for portraying a wooden board. 1. The omission of "Tomorrow." Sure, they sang it over the opening credits, and sang the White House version, but it never really was a crucial part to the storyline, as in the play. "Tomorrow" is the best song of the whole show, and we, the audience, couldn't listen to it all because John Huston didn't like it. Personally, I preferred the Disney version of the film much better. Although it was shortened, it was much truer to the original story with a much more talented cast to tell that story.

I've had the pleasure of catching this on Starz Kids channel a couple of times recently, and could not help crying every time. Aileen Quinn as Annie is simply adorable. Tim Curry and Carol Burnett make a wonderfully funny and evil team, along with Bernadette Peters as Curry's sultry love interest. Albert Finney makes a fine lovable grouch and Ann Reinking rounds out the principal cast as the warm, lovely mother figure. I can't believe the reviews I've seen knocking John Huston's only musical effort. The songs are great, the chemistry between the actors seems natural, and the film is wholesome. An ideal choice for a family movie night. Huston was legendary for bringing out the best in his actors with minimal interference, and I think it shows once again in this film. The creator of the Razzies, John J.B. Wilson, should have been gelded for allowing sweet little Quinn to receive a nomination for this performance, let alone a win. Shame on you, Wilson!

Annie was a fun musical. I remember watching it when my mom when I was little. The songs are catchy and Annie/the actress playing Annie was a very likable kid who was a lot of fun to watch and sing and dance along with. I watched it again just two days ago and it obviously doesn't look as cool now that it is so many years old, and it just wasn't as much fun watching as an adult, but this movie obviously isn't for adults so much as it is for kids or at least adults watching the movie with their kids. The songs are still catchy and I'd love for my little girl to end up watching and liking it as much as I did. Worth seeing for sure!

I really thought that this was going to be a can't miss, super box office hit that would revitalize the movie musical.

However, this movie falls under the category of "What Were They Thinking?" I can't speak for anyone else, but when I here the words, "Light hearted, musical comedy", I never think of John Huston. This was by far the biggest mistake of this movie. Huston had no idea of how to film this movie.

Carol Sobieski took Thomas Meehan's funny, charming musical and gutted it. Someone should have told her that when you're writing a musical comedy, it's important to have some comedy in the script.

Casting - I was disappointed in Carol Burnett. Perhaps it was the writing, or the direction, but I felt as though I were watching an exaggeration of one of her characters from her show, instead of something new and interesting. Albert Finney was fine, although, he's no singer. Ann Reinking is a lovely dancer, but terribly bland in this part. I will not comment on Aileen Quinn, other than to say I think they could have done better than her. In general, there is no chemistry between any of the actors in this movie.

Overall, this movie is awful. The shorter TV version with Kathy Bates and Victor Garber is far better than this mess.

2 out of 10