Starring: Alicia Morton, Kathy Bates, Alan Cumming, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth Directed By: Rob Marshall Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: DVD Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC Label: Walt Disney Video Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Region Code: 1 Release Date: May 30, 2000 Running Time: 90 minutes Theatrical Release Date: November 07, 1999
Description: Disney makes this beloved musical more magical than ever with an all-new, feature-length production! Featuring an all-star cast and new choreography, this charming tale of an adorable orphan named Annie captures all the fun of the original, but adds an unmistakable Disney touch! For a young girl living a "hard-knock" life in a children's orphanage, things may seem pretty bad -- especially at Christmas. But feisty Annie carries a song in her heart and hope in her locket -- the only thing she has from her parents. One day, fed up with the dastardly Miss Hannigan (Academy Award(R)-winner Kathy Bates), Annie escapes the rundown orphanage determined to find her mom and dad. Her adventure takes her from the cold, mean streets of New York to the warm, comforting arms of bighearted billionaire Oliver Warbucks, with plenty of mischief and music in between! Filled with memorable songs and magical moments, Disney's ANNIE brings this heartwarming story to a whole new generation. And now you can relive the magic over and over again!
Compared to John Huston's plodding, overly busy 1982 theatrical release, this production as directed by Rob Marshall (Cabaret, among other shows) is quite conservative; few numbers leave the confines of their sets, giving it the feel of a stage production. It is also more faithful as a whole to the Broadway original, though at a running time of 90 minutes it leaves out most of the historical context of the FDR administration as well as some of Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin's familiar songs, and makes a few plot changes, some of which work and some of which don't. Because of the omissions, this probably isn't a definitive film translation of Annie, but it's well paced for a young audience, and would be an excellent introduction to get children interested in live theater. Annie was produced by the team behind the 1993 telecast of Gypsy with Bette Midler, as well as 1997's Brandy-Whitney Houston Cinderella, and there are plans for many others. As Broadway shows are too often represented on video by inferior big-screen translations, this trend toward good, solid small-screen productions is most welcome. --David Horiuchi
Weak Remake When I was a kid I loved the older Annie that was made in the 80's. This one is not even half the movie the other is if you ask me. However, there are more songs, so I'm sure some people like that. The downfalls of this movie is mainly the cast. The little girl playing annie is cute, has red hair (but straight!) and can sing but she cannot act well at all. She is quite stiff with her lines and the girl in the old one was much better at conveying emotion. Ms. Hannigan is also less mean and threatning. They tried to sugarcoat her "cruelty" to the girls when it wasn't even presented as that bad in the old one, and Carol Bernet was naturally hilarious as she always was in the old version. I also don't like the Mr. Warbucks in this version, because he isn't as distant and cold as the other one is. Annie is supposed to be so sweet she makes the stern, hard, even scrooge-like Mr. Warbucks melt and become a caring father figure. In this version he isn't as serious or rigid as I think he should be. As I said, the music is good, but for a better all around movie, get the first one.
The best ANNIE ever! This is the best Annie, ever! The original brodway production in a fun filled musical movie that charms both children and adults. This movie fallows the original classic story and has all the traditinal songs and senes. I love to dance and sing along to this movie virsion of the best classic browdway production, ever!
Fun for the whole family! This is a very kid friendly version of Annie. It's nice to find a movie the whole family can watch together and not be afraid something will be inappropriate. My 4- and 6-year-old can't get enough of this movie! I don't mind watching it either. The songs are all so catchy!
A kids review. I got this dvd form my 17 b day from my mom and love it. I also have the music cd to.
Great version of Annie! My kids and I love this DVD --great version of Annie -adorable story but just beautifully done!
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