Hey All!
I recently went to an advanced screening of the new film adaptation of the musical “Annie”. This film is a modern day retelling of “Annie.” It’s a movie about facing incredible odds – and doing it with a smile. This was my mantra growing up. I loved Annie when I was a kid for this reason. I literally had every toy they ever made for Annie and I even auditioned for the broadway musical. I wanted to be Annie because I connected with Annie on a much deeper and personal level as a child.
I grew up very poor in the housing projects in New York City. Amsterdam Houses and Dyckman houses is where I called home. It’s a pretty hard life to grow up in. There were plenty of times when having food was an issue and we literally only had the roof over our heads and amazing entertainment like Annie to keep our minds off our situation. If the picture above doesn’t say how run down it was, I don’t know what will. It was the epitome of a “Hard Knock Life”! Seeing a young girl going through the hardships of being an orphan and never giving up hope for a better tomorrow were all messages that resonated with me as a kid.
I would watch Annie every day as a kid and I would dress up as Annie as best as I could. You can see a picture of me singing my favorite Annie songs in the picture below.
I wrapped a red bow around my waist, because that apparently turned me into Annie since I didn’t have the red dress. I also have a roundish face and I had reddish blonde hair as a kid and I’ve always had a dog, so in my mind I could be Annie.
It wasn’t really about me relating to Annie because I thought I looked like her, I actually loved the meaning of the music of Annie, especially when I would sing those lyrics “The sun will come out.” It always reminded me that no matter how bad the day was or how tough our lives can be, there could always be a better tomorrow. Life can be both good and bad and you need to find the good even in a bad situation. My mom made sure to do that by working hard to make sure I had everything I needed and then some.
And she instilled the importance of a positive outlook on life by showing me films like Annie.
As you can see, for all these reasons the movie “Annie” has meant the world to me and I could not wait to see this modern day retelling of “Annie” and take my family to see it. It has the same loveable characters and themes surrounded by a fresh current story. Annie’s determination and positive spirit are at the core of this story, and remind us why this spunky character’s search for a family is loved by so many.
There’s a reason why Annie has entertained families for generations and I’m glad it’s back in some way to inspire generations of kids today. I do wish my mom lived out here in California as I would definitely love to take her to see it if she did. It’s something that we would definitely both enjoy remembering all that Annie meant for us back then and today.
Annie hits theaters December 19th!
For more info on the film visit www.Annie-movie.com or follow the film on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAnnieMovie and Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnieMovie.
This post is brought to you in partnership with SheKnows and Sony Pictures. All Opinions are my own.
Comments
I’m going to see it in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait. I saw the trailer in the theater and it looked good!
I can’t say that when I was younger I was really drawn to the musical/movie Annie, but I’ve seen the trailer a number of times now and I have to say this remake looks fantastic. Quvenzahné Wallis has such energy and enthusiasm for this role and I think that the film makers will have done the original justice with this remake.
I loved loved loved Annie when I was little I loved the music…and see where you are today. Hugs!
I’m glad that you were able to connect with something, that’s important! And being able to see it again now, how amazing. This looks like a great movie.