Annie (1999 Television Film) [Soundtrack]

Andrea McArdle, Alan Cumming, Victor Garber, Audra McDonald, Ernie Sabella, Martin Charnin, Kristin Chenoweth, Alicia Morton, Kathy Bates, Charles Strouse, Annie (Related Recordings) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 2011)
• Original Release Date: November 7, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Sony Classical
• ASIN: B00002MZ57
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,535 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #82 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > General AAS
  • #86 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The cast of Disney's 1999 television production of Annie reads like a who's who of Tony winners: Grace is played by Audra McDonald (Ragtime, Carousel, Master Class), Rooster is Alan Cumming (Cabaret), and Lily is Kristin Chenoweth (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown). Add Alicia Morton (Young Cosette in Broadway's Les Misérables) in the title role and Victor Garber (Sweeney Todd, Assassins) as Daddy Warbucks, and you have a cast that is refreshingly not driven by Hollywood box office, other than Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan.

Resumés aside, how is the soundtrack? Well, McDonald might be a touch operatic and Garber a little young, but these are minor quibbles with a cast that is effective throughout (even Bates). Morton might not be the belter Andrea McArdle was in the original cast, but she's very good, and if anything the difference makes her sound like the little girl she is. Perhaps the best moment is McArdle--still sounding great at the ripe old age of 35--making a brief cameo as the star-to-be in "N.Y.C." Longtime fans of the show will notice that, in order to fit a two-hour prime-time window, the production had to leave out most of the historical context of the FDR administration ("A New Deal for Christmas," "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover"), as well as some other familiar numbers ("You Won't Be an Orphan for Long," "Annie"). This soundtrack is thus best considered a souvenir of the television production or a complement to, rather than a replacement for, the original cast recording. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disney's Annie film is amazing!, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Annie (1999 Television Film) (Audio CD)

I thoroughly enjoyed the production of Annie after seeing it Sunday night. It is the best version of the show I have seen and heard. The cd and the new orchestrations are wonderful. Audra McDonald, Victor Garber and Alicia Morton are very talented singers and actors and were well cast. Alicia has a very sweet and beautiful voice and brings a sweetness and vulnerability to the role and songs I have never seen in an Annie before. Audra is great throughout, but my favorite part is when she sings the Tommorrow reprise. Garber's Something Was Missing was so touching, I thought more so than other Warbucks I have seen. I didn't know Kathy Bates could sing but she has a wonderful voice and plays a great Hannigan. Alan Cummings and Kristin Chenoweth are also great as Lily and Rooster and the orphans do well and bring good voices to their roles though they don't get much screen time. And of course Andrea McArdle's solo in NYC blew me away. Even down to the non-speaking roles this cast is flawless. This cd is a must for Annie fans! I doubt there will ever be another version of Annie done so beautifully.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, A Decent NEW Annie, June 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Annie (1999 Television Film) (Audio CD)

After being so incredibly disappointed in the Aileen Quinn/Carol Burnett version of "Annie," I was a bit skeptical when I heard that another version was coming out. I was a HUGE fan of the stage show and was fortunate enough to see the original cast on Broadway when I was 15. This new Disney "Annie" sticks very closely to the broadway show. Thankfully there is no Asp or Punjab. Miss Hannigan is not a drunken sleaze. How nice that the ridiculous song "Dumb Dog" was left out. Instead we got a great, wholesome, family "Annie." Alicia Morton was wonderful. As were Victor Garber and Audra McDonald. Kathy Bates played Hannigan just right. The highlight on the soundtrack, however, is the INCREDIBLE Andrea McArdle as star-to-be in NYC. How appropriate that she would sing Laurie Beechman's part from the original broadway cast. This soundtrack is missing a few of my favorites songs -- but all in all is fantastic. Thank you Disney for giving us "Annie" as Annie should be.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely smashing keepsake., November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Annie (1999 Television Film) (Audio CD)

I know there are those who will miss the big, iron-lunged Annies of recordings past who played to the second balcony; there are those who will bemoan the absence of the slurring, drunken Miss Hannigans sounding like Paul Lynde. But the rest of us can rejoice in the perfect, intimate, emotional portrayals on this fantastic recording. Every voice is spot-on; every rendition is a one-act play. This is the one for the record books.