Annie: I Could Do That, Not
Annie, Columbia Pictures (1982)
By R. J. F.
I loved the movie Annie so much as a kid that I used to sing “Tomorrow” to myself when I couldn’t sleep, even though I didn’t know all of the lyrics, and even though it didn’t help lull me to sleep at all. I also had a Little Orphan Annie doll that I would carry around with me everywhere. She eventually got so dirty and worn that my mom had to throw her away, kind of like what happened to the character of Annie from the movie, Annie. When I was that small, I could grasp that Annie was an orphan, that her parents had somehow died, and that she was seen as a throwaway person because she was parentless. What I didn’t know was that the story took place during the Great Depression, and I had no idea how much people struggled during that time. Nevertheless, my young mind loved the movie.
Watching Annie as a kid made me wish that I was the character of Annie, but the role was filled by Aileen Quinn, and I was slightly jealous of this child actress. Not that I wished death on my parents, I just liked the idea of singing and dancing around a palatial home, and of being whisked away into another time and place. I was fascinated with the story of this little girl getting a chance opportunity to live in a giant mansion, having people dress her in the most fancy clothes available and waiting on her hand and foot, jumping into an indoor swimming pool, and basically the whole elaborate lifestyle that Daddy Warbucks and his money could provide for her. My younger self was more extroverted than I am today, and I imagined myself being able to play the role of Annie. Her song and dance number “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” was the perfect introduction to how she would be treated while staying with Warbucks and his seemingly live-in secretary, Grace, played by Ann Reinking. I believed that I could pull off this musical number. How I wished I was a child star!
Furthermore, I was always fascinated with Daddy Warbucks, played by Albert Finney. I remember thinking he was really old in the movie, but age gets skewed when you’re a kid. Maybe it was his shaved head, which made my young mind think he was completely bald, which I attributed to old men. Warbucks is truly a reluctant good guy. I always have a giggle at this grumpy old man whose life is turned upside down and then right-side up by this red-haired orphan. Annie teaches him to have fun, to not take everything so seriously, and to love. His hardened, business-only heart begins to slowly melt the more this little girl gets enmeshed into his life. In fact, when he believes that Annie will be removed from his life forever, the audience gets to see just how much he began to think of Annie as his own child. It’s a fun transformation for the character.
As I got older, I really gravitated towards Miss Hannigan, played by the amazingly funny Carol Burnett. She’s a burnt out headmistress of an underfunded orphanage that is filled to the brim with ungrateful and disrespectful brats, in her opinion. Her number “Little Girls” is hilarious as she boozes her way around the orphanage singing about the dim existence of having to take care of these orphan girls. During this song, the girls are driving her crazy with their childish antics, but their treatment of her is totally earned because she’s a snarky bitch that rules with an iron fist. I always laugh when this scene happens because Burnett is wonderful at playing drunk and annoyed, as well as displaying superb physical comedy. Again, I always felt like I could play this role.
Burnett’s physical comedy is also made apparent when Miss Hannigan’s brother, Rooster, played by the absolute gem, Tim Curry, shows up. Is there anything this guy couldn’t do? As Rooster, he was both mesmerizing and terrifying. Rooster rolls into town looking for money, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get some. His character starts off as a small-time scoundrel and scam artist, accompanied by his girlfriend, Lily, played by the sultry Bernadette Peters, but ends up being a monster in the end. During the song “Easy Street”, Hannigan desperately tries to keep up with her brother and his girlfriend, but is easily left behind as they ecstatically bump and gyrate their way around the orphanage at the thought of making some easy money off of Annie’s situation. Burnett stumbles across the set, is run into various door jambs, and even accidentally kicks in the wall as she is trying to mimic Lily’s dancing. Oh how I “teehee” at this scene.
Every good movie needs some suspense and a character to thoroughly dislike. Rooster is the ultimate villain and easily checks off those boxes. When his scam looks like it’s not going to pay off, he goes haywire. I mean, only a psycho would chase a child, an orphan no less, up a lifted train track bridge to try to drop her off of the top because he was so enraged by her behavior. On the plus side of this encounter, the audience sees a redeeming quality in Miss Hannigan when she tries to protect Annie from her insane brother. It’s a scene that is seared into my memory because it was so scary as a child to witness this. I will always remember the red lights on the bridge illuminating Annie’s face and her complete look of terror as Rooster catches up to her and is dangling her by her wrists. Don’t worry, though, Rooster gets busted in the end. Man, some images really stick with you from childhood all the way to adulthood.
I guess this is why Annie is such a fantastic film. Part of this lasting impression is the fact that it takes place in a non-modern era, an era that, at this point, is almost 90 years in the past. Movies like this usually age somewhat gracefully, except for the racist tropes in the characters of Punjab and Asp, but, sadly, these stereotypes were prevalent in the timeframe that Annie takes place, and in the 80s when the movie was made. Stereotypes aside, this is a fun family film for most audiences. Annie will always have a special place in my heart because, as a little girl, it made my imagination soar with the possibility of singing and dancing my way through life. Watching it as an adult, I realize that it would be a stretch for me to fulfill the role of Miss Hannigan, even though I love that role, but it would be fun just to try. Hopefully, Annie will live on for many more years in the hearts of anyone who is a dreamer.
