Annie (Aileen Quinn)

(Amazon UK link)

The only reason we have the 1982 musical 'Annie' in our collection is that it came as a special offer combined with a different musical film. And although I am sure I had watched it at some point in the past, our DVD version sat on our shelves for at least a couple of years. Finally I watched it a few weeks ago with some friends, including children down to the age of four.

The children's mother remembered enjoying it very much in her childhood, and the rating was 'U' ('G' in the USA). While we vaguely remembered a tense moment at the end, we assumed this film would be entirely suitable for children of all ages.

The story is a classic, and the DVD was based on the broadway stage show, which was itself apparently based on a cartoon comic strip. The precocious orphan Annie (Aileen Quinn), who loves to sing, longs to be adopted. She is fostered for a week by a wealthy man, and turns his life upside down in many ways.

So we were rather shocked - given the rating - that there was some bad language (albeit minor) in the film. There was also some drunkenness (supposedly humorous, but rather extreme) and even some sexual references. We felt that the rating should have been at least PG, possibly even 12/PG-13.

While I don't mind musicals, I have to admit that I don’t particularly like the music in this film. In addition, I found Annie slightly annoying rather than adorable. Perhaps it was the old-fashioned style, despite having been made in the 1980s. The ending is melodramatic and rather predictable by the time it appears.

But still, it's a likeable film in some ways. I didn't give up in boredom but watched it to the end, and might even consider re-watching it again one day.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews