Why Is ANNIE Blonde?- Page 2

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 5:18pm

"Aren't we still dealing with bare floors at that point?"


Okay, that made me spit up. LOL.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 5:34pm

Not even ready for hard wood yet.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 6:53am

Nobody has actual red hair, except Ronald McDonald.

And Bozo.

I think she was always more of a "strawberry blonde." Even back in the '30s.

Updated On: 6/20/13 at 06:53 AM

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 7:14am

Yes, the pink is clearly in the skin tone, since it is a different color than the white surrounding it. From that image, it does not look like a halftone to create the pink; the color is quite solid.

The ad from the same time makes the color scheme very clear. It has a very different shade of pink for the skin tone and probably was done CMYK. I can't see how the window card would look so smooth with an even paler pink if they did it with red dots.

And even the color limitations or variety doesn't negate my other point. Red hair against red lettering against a red dress wouldn't stand out. Orange wouldn't be much better. Yellow is clearly a different color that defines her face better than red or orange would. It's a design choice. Updated On: 6/20/13 at 07:14 AM

[D2]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 7:46am

Thank you for posting those, Besty.

I remember in the original comic strip she had blondish hair, and being kind of surprised when I saw the show in '77 that they'd given her red hair.

So if the message boards had existed back then, the topic would have been THEY CHANGED HER HAIR TO RED!?! HUH!?!



Also: back in the day, a 3-color job was considerably less expensive than a 4-color job. I'm pretty much out of that industry now and don't know ( or care ) what current printing prices are.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:08am

Uhhh... There is a HUGE difference between the hair color in trentsketch's image and Besty's image. Strawberry blonde? Ok, fine. But that's platinum blonde.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:20am

It's yellow. It's not platinum anything.

This is a comic book character who never had red hair in any (official) image. The pure yellow was used in the past, too. Look it up.

If they gave her red hair she would look like Ronald McDonald.

EDIT: You should google around and see some of the costumes where they used an actual red wig. It just looks wrong. (Not like the comic strip.)

Updated On: 6/20/13 at 09:20 AM

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:24am

Besty, you seem to be knowledgeable in this so I have to ask. Any idea who would have been responsible for switching the hair color to the iconic red, way back when it premiered, which we see in every single stage production now? Would it have been the original creative team or someone on the design team?

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:25am

I think part of the problem is that she was always described as a redhead (probably first on the radio), but she was never depicted that way in print, at least not with actual red.


She was "orange haired" at most, and usually more toward "yellow haired."

[Craig]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:34am

She was, indeed, never a red head in the comics.

That being said - I imagine one reason to have her go "red" on stage is that it makes her stand out more. Just like color of clothing is considered when trying to make a character stand out from a larger crowd so the audience can maintain focus. In a sea of blondes and brunettes - red hair stands out.

Also - there's the "stereotype" of red haired women being fiesty - which Annie is.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:43am

I'm sure there were perhaps even more practical reasons that had to do with the way color comics were printed in the '30s. If she wore a red dress and had red hair, she would blend together as a big red blob with white eyes and pink skin. The orange/yellow hair gives her more definition and makes the character stand out more in each of the panels.

She was still described as a redhead, though.

On her 1930s radio show, the original theme song began with:

Who's the little chatterbox?
The one with pretty auburn locks?
Whom do you see?
It's Little Orphan Annie.


Sample 1936 radio program

Updated On: 6/20/13 at 09:43 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 9:44am

I think they should change the title from ANNIE to ANQUISHA.

Lol Carlos!

[ullabelt]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 10:23am

Just out of interest does anyone mention her hair colour in the text? 'Ten year old red head' is in the movie, is it in the show?

Obviously within the show she is always a redhead as its iconic but I wondered.

[eperkins]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 10:52am

I can't see how the window card would look so smooth with an even paler pink if they did it with red dots.

I think I did say that IF they did it in 3 color the pink would have been done with red dots. The smoothness would depend on how fine the screen is. The dots could be so small that you would need a magnifying glass to see them. But I agree that the poster was probably CMYK.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 10:59am

Did she become a redhead because of McArdle?

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 11:02am

>Just out of interest does anyone mention her hair colour in the text? 'Ten year old red head' is in the movie, is it in the show?<

Yes, there's the scene in the orphanage when Grace comes to pick out an orphan to spend the holidays at the Warbucks mansion. While Annie is trying to get Grace to select her without Hannigan noticing, Annie indicates her hair color, and Grace says "Mr. Warbucks prefers red-headed children." Apart from that scene, I'm not sure her hair color is mentioned again.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 11:04am

I thought there was somewhere else in there, besides Daddy's ginger fetish dialogue.

[artscallion]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 11:07am

I wonder if Daddy Warbuck's matches his lack of drapes with a little carpet removal.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 12:07pm

Did she become a redhead because of McArdle?

I'm sure they tested many wigs/hair colors on McArdle.

I think it was just the difference (and it's a big one) between seeing a live person as Annie, "the plucky little redhead," vs. seeing Annie as a two-dimensional cartoon with flat, basic colors, in a comic strip.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 3:06pm

Annie looks more Hannigan than Annie.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 3:08pm

Seriously. I've ALWAYS said with her slouched over like that, the only thing missing is a cigarette in her mouth and a bottle in her hand.

If someone can photoshop that, it would be amazing.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 3:20pm

Annie has cankles at 12. It is INDEED a hard knock life.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 3:28pm

That's why she wants a dog so bad, so that side by side she'll finally be the pretty one.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 3:45pm

I thought of this commercial immediately:



RCA Commercial

Updated On: 6/20/13 at 03:45 PM

[SweetLips]

Posted: 6/21/13 at 4:29am

Perhaps there was ANOTHER Annie who had a 'hard knock life'[and an early demise] to be reincarnated as Miss hANNIgan-and that's why she's so mean and nasty[Twilight Zone theme underscore]to the new Annie ?