Product 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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4188 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2000-05-30
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
Disney's 1999 TV production of the classic 1977 musical Annie is remarkable for its casting of stage actors rather than ratings trump cards. Tony winners Audra McDonald (Grace), Alan Cumming (Rooster), and Kristin Chenoweth (Lily) join four-time nominee Victor Garber (Daddy Warbucks) and Les Misérables veteran Alicia Morton (Annie) to tell the tale of the Depression-era orphan who gets a taste of the upper-crust life. Not surprisingly, they all turn in strong performances, and even Oscar-winner Kathy Bates acquits herself well in a singer's role, as the villainous Miss Hannigan. Perhaps best of all is the original title moppet, Andrea McArdle, making a sensational one-minute cameo as the Broadway Star-To-Be in "N.Y.C."

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

Customer Reviews

A beautiful new telling of the musical legend!
Many people pass off ANNIE as a children's musical, when in actuality it has one of the most sophisticated scores and the book is of a higher standard than of many other shows. It still holds a record of something like the 8th or 9th longest running show on Broadway, and it is a delight among theatre-goers.

This new Disney version stays faithful to the stage score and script, not like John Huston's rambling version back in 1981 (refer to my review for this), and it is a delight to watch. It has that 'theatrical-style' feel to it.

The esteemed cast, the bulk of which are seasoned Broadway performers, include Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Alan Cumming as Rooster, Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, Kristin Chenoweth as Lily St Regis, Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks and the lovely Alicia Morton as Annie. Making a cameo in the 'NYC' number as ''Star To Be'' is (oh happy day) the original Broadway Annie - Andrea McArdle.

The cast is sensational, and while I will not bring down the 1981 performers of Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Ann Reinking, they are far more believable in their interpretations.

You must buy this new version of the Broadway smash ANNIE!

Great family movie.
I was a little cynical when I first saw this movie as I'd seen the show done on stage and had been really disappointed with the last Annie produced in the 80's, but I was pleasantly surprised. I watched this with my four-year old daughter and she loved it. The acting was great. Kathy Bates, as usual, was wonderful. The little girl did a wonderful job as Annie and all the musical numbers were fun. This 1999 version lacked some of the stunts that made the previous movie unbelievable. It was sincere and stuck to the original play very well. My daughter loved it and after one viewing was mopping my kitchen floor singing "Hard Knock Life."

Almost as good as the original Broadway show...
This has been one of my favorite musicals ever since I saw the original Broadway show back in 1978. The Disney version of this classic show is much, much better than the overblown, overdone 1982 film because it is much more faithful to the stage production, even though there are a few minor plot changes.

I felt that the singing and acting was quite good. Alicia Morton was a great Annie, and Audra MacDonald played Grace Farrel, Oliver Warbucks secretary to a tee. Kathy Bates was as good of a Miss Hannigan as Carol Burnette was in the 1982 version of the film. The only person that I thought was miscast was Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks. In all honesty, Albert Finney played the role so much better, and with more warmth and compassion than Garber. One of the big highlights in the film (for me, anyway) is Andrea McArdle's (the orignal Annie) cameo in the "N.Y.C." number. Most of the key songs from the stage show are there. However, "We'd like to thank you Herbert Hoover", "Annie", and " A New Deal for Christmas" are missing. And I admit, that I missed them in this production. Check out the CD from the original show to hear these tunes. All in all, this version from Disney is quite enjoyable, and I do recommend it.