Editing Little Orphan Annie (section)

==Adaptations==

===Radio===

{{Main|Little Orphan Annie (radio series)}}
''[[Little Orphan Annie (radio)|Little Orphan Annie]]'' was adapted to a 15-minute radio show that debuted on [[WGN (AM)|WGN]] Chicago in 1930 and went national on [[NBC]]'s [[Blue Network]] beginning April 6, 1931.<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=Mitchell/> The show was one of the first comic strips adapted to radio, attracted about 6 million fans, and left the air in 1942.<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=Mitchell>{{cite book |author=Mitchell, Claudia A., and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh (Eds.) |year=2007 |title=Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia |publisher=Greenwood |page=402}}</ref> Radio historian [[Jim Harmon]] attributes the show's popularity in ''The Great Radio Heroes'' to the fact that it was the only radio show to deal with and appeal to young children.<ref name=Harmon>{{cite book |author=Harmon, Jim |year=2001 |title=The Great Radio Heroes |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-0850-4 |pages=82–5}}</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Orphanannie2.jpg|thumb|In this posed publicity photo for the radio show, Joe Corntassel (Allan Baruck) watches as Annie ([[Shirley Bell Cole|Shirley Bell]]) embraces Sandy.]] -->

===1930s films based on the comic strip===
Two film adaptations were released at the height of Annie's popularity in the 1930s. ''[[Little Orphan Annie (1932 film)|Little Orphan Annie]]'', the first adaptation, was produced by [[David O. Selznick]] for [[RKO]] in 1932 and starred [[Mitzi Green]] as Annie. The plot was simple: Warbucks leaves on business and Annie finds herself in the orphanage again. She pals around with a little boy named Mickey, and when he is adopted by a wealthy woman, she visits him in his new home. Warbucks returns and holds a Christmas party for all. The film opened on Christmas Eve 1932. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' panned it, and the New York ''Daily News'' was "slightly disappointed" with the film, thinking Green too "big and buxom" for the role.<ref name="Smith"/> [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] brought Ann Gillis to the role of Annie in their [[Little Orphan Annie (1938 film)|1938 film adaptation]], but this version was panned as well. One reviewer thought it "stupid and thoroughly boresome" and was uncomfortable with the "sugar-coated Pollyanna characterization" given Annie.<ref name="Smith"/>

Three years after the RKO release, Gray wrote a sequence for the strip that sent Annie to Hollywood. She is hired at low wages to play the stand-in and stunt double for the bratty child star Tootsie McSnoots. Young starlet Janey Spangles tips off Annie to the corrupt practices in Hollywood. Annie handles the information with maturity and has a good time with Janey while doing her job on the set. Annie doesn't become a star. As Bruce Smith remarks in ''The History of Little Orphan Annie'', "Gray was smart enough never to let [Annie] get too successful."<ref name="Smith">{{Cite book |author=Smith, Bruce |year=1982 |title=The History of Little Orphan Annie |publisher=Ballantine Books |pages=43–63 |isbn=0-345-30546-9}}</ref>

===Broadway===
[[File:Andrea McArdle Reid Shelton Annie 1977.JPG|thumb|180px|Members of the original Broadway cast for ''[[Annie (musical)|Annie]]'': Andrea McArdle as Annie, Reid Shelton as [[Daddy Warbucks]], and Sandy]]
In 1977, ''Little Orphan Annie'' was adapted to the [[musical theater|Broadway stage]] as ''[[Annie (musical)|Annie]]''. With music by [[Charles Strouse]], lyrics by [[Martin Charnin]] and book by [[Thomas Meehan (writer)|Thomas Meehan]], the original production ran from April 21, 1977, to January 2, 1983. The work has been staged internationally. The musical took considerable liberties with the original comic strip plot, the least of which being Oliver Warbucks supporting President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s agenda.

The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] Annies were [[Andrea McArdle]], [[Shelly Bruce]], [[Sarah Jessica Parker]], [[Allison Smith (actress)|Allison Smith]] and Alyson Kirk. Actresses who portrayed Miss Hannigan are [[Dorothy Loudon]], [[Alice Ghostley]], [[Betty Hutton]], [[Ruth Kobart]], [[Marcia Lewis]], [[June Havoc]], [[Nell Carter]] and [[Sally Struthers]]. Songs from the musical include "[[Tomorrow (1977 song)|Tomorrow]]" and "It's the Hard Knock Life". There is also a children's version of ''Annie'' called ''Annie Junior''. Two sequels to the musical, ''Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge'' (1989) and ''[[Annie Warbucks]]'' (1992-93), were written by the same creative team; neither show opened on Broadway. There were also many "bus & truck" tours of ''Little Orphan Annie'' throughout the United States during the success of the Broadway Shows.

===Film adaptations of the Broadway musical===
In addition to the two ''Annie'' films of the 1930s, there have been three film adaptations of the Broadway play. All have the same title. They are ''[[Annie (1982 film)|Annie]]'' (1982), ''[[Annie (1999 film)|Annie]] ''(1999, a made-for-television adaptation) and ''[[Annie (2014 film)|Annie]]'' (2014).

The 1982 version was directed by [[John Huston]] and starred [[Aileen Quinn]] as Annie, [[Albert Finney]] as Warbucks, [[Ann Reinking]] as his secretary Grace Farrell, and [[Carol Burnett]] as Miss Hannigan. The film departed from the Broadway production in several respects, most notably changing the climax of the story from Christmas to the Fourth of July. It also featured five new songs, "Dumb Dog", "Sandy", "Let's Go to the Movies", "Sign", and "We Got Annie", while cutting "We'd like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover", "N.Y.C", "You Won't Be an Orphan for Long", "Something Was Missing", "Annie", and "New Deal for Christmas". It received mixed critical reviews and, while becoming the 10th highest-grossing film of 1982, barely recouped its $50 million budget.

A direct-to-video film, ''[[Annie: A Royal Adventure!]]'' was released in 1996 as a sequel to the 1982 film. It features [[Ashley Johnson (actress)|Ashley Johnson]] as Annie and focuses on the adventures of Annie and her friends Hannah and Molly. It is set in England in 1943, about 10 years after the first film, when Annie and her friends Hannah and Molly sail to England after Daddy Warbucks is invited to receive a knighthood. None of the original 1982 cast appear and the film features no musical numbers apart from a reprise of "Tomorrow".

The animated ''Little Orphan Annie's A Very Animated Christmas'' was produced as a direct-to-video film in 1995.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crump |first1=William D. |title=Happy Holidays--Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film |date=2019 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=9781476672939 |page=171}}</ref>

The 1999 television film was produced for ''[[The Wonderful World of Disney]]''. It starred [[Victor Garber]], [[Alan Cumming]], [[Audra McDonald]] and [[Kristin Chenoweth]], with Oscar winner [[Kathy Bates]] as Miss Hannigan and newcomer [[Alicia Morton]] as Annie. While its plot stuck closer to the original Broadway production, it also omitted "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover", "Annie", "New Deal for Christmas", and a reprise of "Tomorrow." Generally favorably received, the production earned two [[Emmy Awards]] and [[George Foster Peabody Award]].

The 2014 film ''[[Annie (2014 film)|Annie]]'' was produced by [[Jay-Z]] and [[Will Smith]]. It starred [[Quvenzhané Wallis]] in the title role and [[Jamie Foxx]] in the role of Will Stacks (a role similar to Warbucks). The film follows the basic plot of the musical but is set in the present day and features new songs along re-mixed versions of older ones. It was released on December 19, 2014.