Mum's Monday: Annie (1982)

This is in memory of our cat Annie Hudson. We had her from Jan 2006 to Dec 2016. We bought her home from a cat rescue centre. Below is why this film is a fitting memorial to her.

Annie (played by Aileen Quinn) is an orphan and is living in the Hudson street – Home for Girls orphanage, in New York. Our family surname is Hudson and our cat came with the name Annie so I have called her orphan Annie on occasion due to where we got her from.

I am not saying the cats home was as bad as the orphanage in the film, the cats are looked after, cared for, and spoilt, and the people who work there make sure each individual cat gets loving home with owners who will treat them well, unlike in the film where Miss Hannigan (played by Carol Burnett) was intoxicated with drink most of the time and made a move on any unrelated man that came to the orphanage and had the girls doing chores like slaves.

In the film, Grace Farrell (played by Ann Reinking), who is the billionaire Mr. Warbucks (played by Albert Finney) assistant, went to the orphanage to bring back a child to stay with them for the week. Annie being her usual assertive self, managed to be the one chosen. Our cat wasn’t as assertive as her namesake in the film, in actual fact she was nervous and feisty with it. I have laughed and said “she is a feisty little madam; a chip of the old block; that’s my girl”. We chose her to give her a loving home, but for more than just a week. She quickly became part of our family, and stayed with us for ten good years, where she was spoiled rotten just like in the film where Annie was giving new clothes, our cat, Annie, received toys galore.

My three best scenes in the film is when 1) Annie is asked what she want to do first and she reels off a load of chores she thinks she is there to do, only to find out she is actually there as a guest. Annie’s actions when entering the household, and when she finds out the truth are realistic. 2) Mr. Warbucks decides to adopt Annie, but she still believes her parents will come for her so declines his surprise offer. Mr. Warbucks offers to help her find her parents. He ends up on the radio putting out a broadcast. He however, has a script to read and he reads the whole lot including the stage directions. Mr Warbucks was out of his comfort zone, and it was funny to see that unfold. 3) Annie’s dog, Sandy, catches an intruder who has tried to blow up Mr. Warbucks. There is chaos all around but Mr. Warbucks goes about his business as if nothing is happening. Mr. Warbuck’s obliviousness to the situation is true to the character. There have been several films that have shown a similar scene since, but this still holds up as being one of the best, purely because, unlike those other films, that scene is not used as a throwaway gag, but instead staying true to the character and film as a whole as the world continues spinning around them.

This film shows there is more to life than money and even if you have it you still may not know what you are doing (on the radio) and it shows you don’t have to be blood related to be a family. My cat Annie wasn’t human but she was still my little girl. R.I.P Annie Hudson X.