Annie - film review: America's favourite orphan is reborn

It’s possible that director Will Gluck got so much flak for casting black leads in this movie (Quvenzhané Wallis, Golden Globe nominated for her performance, and Jamie Foxx) that he decided to play it safe in every other way.

Strouse and Charnin’s Broadway musical (adapted for film twice before) is set in the depths of the Depression (1933) and offers an assault on non-caring capitalism, plus a thumbs-up for Big Government.

Orphan Annie (Wallis) is trapped in a children’s home with a child-hating, sharp-witted, harridan, Miss Hannigan. Her luck changes when she encounters Daddy Warbucks, a rich and ruthless man whose heart is softened by her optimism and genuine indifference to wealth. Annie is on a roll and ends up visiting the White House and inspiring Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Naturally, such a plot, transposed to the modern day, would incense neo-cons. So scratch that. Our heroine doesn’t get to visit Obama’s White House. Instead, a basically nice billionaire decides that political power is overrated and that charity is the way to go.

The desperation that fuelled Annie (along with her enemies) has been completely diluted this time around. Here, Annie’s foster-home bedroom is adorned with delightful fairy lights. And Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) isn’t in the least bit scary.

On the plus side, Wallis has an adorable, non-squeaky singing voice and, especially in a new number (Opportunity), gives off the same melancholy fizz as she did in her debut, Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Foxx, meanwhile, sings like a boy-band star, which is unsettling (it makes the friendship between Annie and the billionaire feel quasi-romantic) but works cinematically. We get the Annie we deserve. This one is sweet, funny and soulless. Kids will love it.