The latest incarnation of Annie is coming to theatres December 19th. My daughter and I got to see a preview screening last night and once again it did not disappoint. This new film is set in modern day New York where Annie(Quvenzhane Wallis) lives in a foster home with several other foster girls and of course the awful Ms. Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). The music has been brought into the modern age too. My daughter, who is slightly familiar with the traditional show, loved the new "pop" music. Daddy Warbucks has been transformed into Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx). I'm sure all kids will love this one and there were definitely some funny lines for the grown ups too.
My first introduction to Annie was as a little girl when my grandmother,who was born in 1910, would recite part of the original 1885 Little Orphant Annie poem to my sister and I, in an effort to tease us into memorizing the Lord Prayer. On the off chance you aren't in the know, here is the poem with the prayer section in red.
- Little Orphant Annie
- Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
- An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
- An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
- An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
- An' all us other children, when the supper-things is done,
- We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
- A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
- An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
- Ef you
- Don't
- Watch
- Out!
- Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
- An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
- His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
- An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
- An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
- An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
- But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--
- An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
- Ef you
- Don't
- Watch
- Out!
- An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
- An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
- An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
- She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
- An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
- They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
- An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
- An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
- Ef you
- Don't
- Watch
- Out!
- An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
- An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
- An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
- An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
- You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
- An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
- An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
- Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
- Ef you
- Don't
- Watch
- Out!
The poem written by James Whitcomb Riley was turned into the comic strip in 1924 by Harold Gray and ran until 2010. Film versions began in the silent era in 1918. The Musical Annie, that my generation is most familiar with, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan, debuted on Broadway in 1977.
Now that's what I call a long run! I think we'll be seeing Annie for generations to come.
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