Do you prefer the 80s, late 90s or 2014 Annie?

[FilmandTheatreFan]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 7:17pm

For me it's the 99 version. I think the writer irine mecchi does a fantastic job of taking elements from the show and making then fresh at the same time. And I actually think rob marshall does well directing.  I actually feel bad for the 2014 version. I think they should have gone with emma thompsons script. What a writer she is. The 82 version I'm not a fan off. Feels very outdated now and it's honestly at some points very dark and feels out of place. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 7:24pm

I grew up with the 1999 version, then saw the 2012 Lapine revival on Broadway. Liked both.

[FilmandTheatreFan]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 7:28pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "I grew up with the 1999 version, then saw the 2012 Lapine revival on Broadway. Liked both."

I sadly never saw that production as I live in Scotland. I however recently saw the wonderful late Paul ogrady in Edinburgh. What a talent and a great loss

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 7:30pm

I prefer 1999. I didn’t watch until 2012 as a high school senior actually but it felt a bit more entertaining especially the cast and the Christmas setting. Still hard to believe it was made in response to the success Disney/ABC had with Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

[JoeW4]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 7:31pm

I actually enjoy all 3 in their own way (though I admit I haven't had the courage to revisit the 2014 one to re-evaluate my opinion lol)

But the 1999 version has my heart!

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 7:56pm

I love the 1999 TV movie. The cast is incredible, the design elements are top notch and I love the creative decisions to not lean too much into the standard Annie tropes (like the standard curly red hair) and instead capture the spirit of the show in their own way.

I directed a production of Annie a few years ago and when questioned why our Annie didn't wear a ghastly clown looking wig (my words), I pointed them to this TV movie

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 8:04pm

Are we allowed to prefer the 1977 original best?

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 8:09pm

The 1999 TV version was the first one I saw and still very much consider it to be the definitive screen adaptation of Annie. Unlike the 1982 movie, it was directed by a guy who clearly knew his way around musicals very well. Although I actually never saw the 2014 iteration.

In fact, when producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron went to Rob Marshall about directing and choreographing the TV version, he at first turned it down. He said "I'm not a director, I'm a choreographer. I don't know why you're even offering me this movie." Then Zadan & Meron asked if he ever thought about directing a movie, which he then said "No. I don't know anything about film." After long discussions, Rob finally agreed to direct it, but Disney executives didn't want him. They said "Annie is too valuable a property. We're not gonna give it to a guy who's never directed a movie." Yet, because Zadan and Meron both really believed in him, they told the executives in response for weeks that they won't produce it. They knew at the time that since Cinderella was so huge, the last thing Disney wanted to do was another musical not produced by them. So they kept calling saying "Let's go over a list of directors," but Zadan & Meron kept going "no" because they really wanted Rob Marshall to do it. Disney eventually conceded and allowed him to direct and choreograph.

Imagine how different things would've been if Rob didn't get to direct Annie.

[BentleyB]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 8:13pm

I saw the OBC of Annie when it opened.  Of all the filmed versions, the 1999 holds true to the stage show and had the same excitement and warmth.  It is the only one I will repeat watch.  The 1982 film should be cut up and made into guitar picks. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 8:30pm

I've very partial to the 1982 version, since I saw it in theater back then when I was 12, and it had that big cinematic feel that I was very into at the time (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.). Until I saw the recent live version on TV, I had no idea the changes that had been made from the original musical, but, since it was my first introduction to it, that's the version that I'll always prefer. It's definitely a movie musical that was formative in my future interest in musical theatre.

Updated On: 5/2/23 at 08:30 PM

[inception]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 10:03pm

The '82 version is the only one I've ever seen, since I was in elementary school - about grade 2 - at the time it was released on VHS & BetaMax.  Home video was such a novelty, but I guess with few films available that were aimed at children.  So for the days where we got to watch a movie as a reward  it was the one film we got to see a number of times. As a child, I didn't know it wasn't any good.

I enjoyed the Carol Burnett tribute on NBC this week with Bernadette Peters, Jane Lynch & others doing numbers from that film.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 8:27am

It's the 1999 one for me. The heartbreaking, reprise of Tomorrow by Audra McDonald as Grace seals it for me. Such a beautiful moment.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 8:37am

Definitely the 1982 movie! 

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 9:34am

FilmandTheatreFan said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "I grew up with the 1999 version, then saw the 2012 Lapine revival on Broadway. Liked both."

I sadly never saw that production as I live in Scotland. I however recently saw the wonderful late Paul ogrady in Edinburgh. What a talent and a great loss"

I’m in Fort William so getting to Edinburgh is a bit of a headache but I genuinely considered it for Paul. Absolutely heartbroken about his death, my husband and I have been watching old specials of his since his death. 

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 9:46am

I grew up with the 1982 movie and I wore out that soundtrack as a little kid. So many moments resonated with me, like when Annie said "Santa Claus what's that? Who's he?" And when the huge line of people showed up at Warbucks' house pretending to be Annie's parents and Ann Reinking said "I never knew there were so many dishonest people in New York."  Ugh and the scene at the end with Annie hanging off the bridge---utterly terrifying as a 6 year old. 

There was so much joy in the movie too, especially with the orphans singing You're Never Fully Dressed and having fun with the radio program, and the entire choreographed "I think I'm gonna Like It here" song, plus Carol Burnett putting her foot through a wall. 

Later I was horrified to see how much the movie departed from the original stage version, as I almost always prefer the original stage version of things, but in this case, much like Grease, I far prefer the movie to the stage show. 

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 10:13am

I grew up with the '82 version, so it has my heart. Plus I love Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters, Ann Reinking, et al., in those roles. Carol's "Little Girls" is perfection.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 10:21am

1999 all the way for me! I also really loved the 2012 Lapine revival (an unpopular opinion, I know).

[joevitus]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 5:10pm

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "The 1999 TV version was the first one I saw and still very much consider it to be the definitive screen adaptation of Annie. Unlike the 1982 movie, it was directed by a guy who clearly knew his way around musicals very well. Although I actually never saw the 2014 iteration.

In fact, when producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron went to Rob Marshall about directing and choreographing the TV version, he at first turned it down. He said "I'm not a director, I'm a choreographer. I don't know why you're even offering me this movie." Then Zadan & Meron asked if he ever thought about directing a movie, which he then said "No. I don't know anything about film." After long discussions, Rob finally agreed to direct it, but Disney executives didn't want him. They said "Annie is too valuable a property. We're not gonna give it to a guy who's never directed a movie." Yet, because Zadan and Meron both really believed in him, they told the executives in response for weeks that they won't produce it. They knew at the time that since Cinderella was so huge, the last thing Disney wanted to do was another musical not produced by them. So they kept calling saying "Let's go over a list of directors," but Zadan & Meron kept going "no" because they really wanted Rob Marshall to do it. Disney eventually conceded and allowed him to direct and choreograph.

Imagine how different things would've been if Rob didn't get to direct Annie."

The bad repercussion would have been that we wouldn't have such an exciting film version of Chicago. The good repercussions would have been that we would have been spared the yawnfest that is every other movie he's directed. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 5:18pm

Nothing will ever top Carol, Bernadette and Tim. 

Brilliance

 

 

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 5:21pm

^^ At least I didn’t think Mary Poppins Returns was that bad

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 5/3/23 at 6:55pm

One of the saving graces of the 1982 film…(pun most definitely intended)