A Tale of Two: Annie 1982 vs 2014 Characters

When I saw Annie (1982) originally, I knew it was a huge deal because so many people have talked about it. Tomorrow is always the song that I enjoyed But now let me compare the two. I will be going into the characters and how I felt about them, this is not a review per se though I may get into events of the film

Annie



Annie in 1982 was a throwaway child, and thus we don't see Annie as a fleshed out person. This is also taking place during the Great Depression and I am sure lots of children have been orphaned by their families. The fact is that Annie is just supposed to be a cutsied up girl, but she is tough and scrappy as well. What I liked about her character is that for the time, she still kept a positive outlook on line.

Annie in 2014 gives me an actual person and her backstory gives us more reason to care about her. I like how they give homage to the New Deal which felt like a nod to the original. I really enjoyed the fact that she was waiting for her parents, we definitely see her have ties to the community.

When comparing Aileen Quinn of 1982 to Quvenzhane Wallis of 2014, I have to side with Wallis of the 2014 version

Daddy Warbucks vs Will Stacks



Daddy Warbucks felt like he was supposed to be a Grinch character that turns around because Third Act. Yes, he does care about Annie but it's Grace that I feel is the one that really is the doorway into Warbucks' soul and Annie just comes along with her. It's like getting the cow and the calf is just straggling along with it and you get both or nothing

Will Stacks actually spends time with Annie and has a real bond with her and we're really rooting for their Father/Daughter connection because there is time invested. By the time Act III comes around, it's not just the Act III turnaround but a payoff and welll deserved

Albert Finney of 1982 vs Jamie Foxx of 2014, I will side with Jaime because he made more of an impression on me than Finney did 

Last but not least Miss Hannegin


Carol Burnett was definitely made to be darker and meaner, even abusive to the children. That was more in line with the times they were living in. Child beatings definitely happened in orphanages around the world because the children had to be disciplined. Today, it is far different and all the same. While there are no beatings (except of residents between each other and staff getting the hell kicked out of them at points) Hannigan was twisted, cruel and sadistic to the end. I truly wanted to get her to the Betty Ford Clinic thought it wouldn't be around for another 50 or so years. She definitely inspired fear and revulsion and was a well developed character played wonderfully

Cameron Diaz's Miss Hannigan was not the kind of person I thought she should be. I wanted her to be dark and mean but most likely she was softened as Diaz probably didn't want her character to come off as unlikeable. Her Act III conversion to reveal the mask was a guise to protect herself from hurt was more than likely something that does happen to many. I don't think that we should put into motion the thought that a good man that has a crush on you can change everything from bad to good.

From the tone of this you can probably guess that I'm going with Miss Hannigan from Annie 1982. Her 2014 counterpart just didn't bring enough to the role for me to care about her even after she was revealed to be a nice woman that was just overloaded with all those girls. 

So, when it comes to the characters and story, I like the 2014 update as it is not a reboot of the story. It tells a similar story and adds enough to make me actually care about Annie and the bonds she forms along the way.  While the 2014 version does pay homage by using lots of the songs to the original in the film, it seems like it's a film that happens to use a soundtrack from Annie, as opposed to the musical Annie. I actually like that because I feel that musical numbers risk taking us out of the movie even if they are plot significant. I like that it wasn't a spot for spot remake and dared to do something different

1982 Annie I give a 3 cute redheaded Aileen Quinns out of 5 Drunk Mrs. Hannegins

2014 Annie I give a strong 4 Wallises  out of 5 Jaimie Foxxes