What filmmaking techniques does Annie use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Annie (1982): Symbolic Object, Set as Total World, Odd Couple Class Structure and Original Songs as Narrative.

John Huston directed Annie, released in 1982. CineCode also covers The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Moby Dick (1956).

What films are similar to Annie?

Films that share techniques with Annie include The Apartment (1960), Popeye (1980), Oliver! (1968), It Happened One Night (1934).

Musical · Comedy · Family

Annie

John Huston, 1982

In 1933, orphan Annie lives under the drunken Miss Hannigan, hoping her parents will come back for her. She spends a week with billionaire Oliver Warbucks, and he falls for her. Huston's only musical is worth watching for the huge studio sets built to make Depression-era New York.

2 Narrative 1 Cinematography 1 Sound

At a glance

Annie is a 1982 musical, comedy and family film directed by John Huston. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 sound), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Apartment uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Symbolic Object

Returning to the same physical object again and again until it means more than what it is. It moves the plot and also stands for the film's main ideas.

How this film uses it

Annie carries half of a locket and believes her parents will come back for the other half. She turns down a new locket from Warbucks because she wants to keep hers. The locket is also the clue that Hannigan's brother and his girlfriend try to fake.

Where to see it

Annie declines the new locket: she explains to Warbucks why she keeps the broken one.

Cinematography

Set as Total World

Building a set so complete, with its own weather, crowds, architecture and social rules, that it feels lived in. It reads as real until one deliberate slip shows that it was built.

How this film uses it

Production designer Dale Hennesy built street sets on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and added New York fire escapes. The city is a complete place with its own streets and weather. It feels like a lived-in movie New York that never existed outside a studio.

Where to see it

Annie's first escape: she sneaks out with Mr. Bundles, picks up a stray dog named Sandy and is brought back by Officer Weasel.

Narrative

Odd Couple Class Structure

Pairing characters from opposite social worlds who find each other strange. Their friction produces the comedy, and what they learn from each other produces the emotion.

How this film uses it

A billionaire who wants a better public image gets matched with an orphan who has nothing. At first he treats her as a chore, and she treats him as another adult who will let her down. They slowly figure out that each has what the other needs.

Where to see it

The Radio City Music Hall visit: after a day out with Annie, Warbucks decides to adopt her.

Sound

Original Songs as Narrative

Writing songs for the film that carry story, feeling or payoff. Characters burst into music or a theme song resolves the plot.

How this film uses it

The film adds 5 songs that were not in the stage show: Dumb Dog, Sandy, Let's Go to the Movies, Sign and We Got Annie. Several stage songs were cut, and Tomorrow was played down. The musical numbers had to serve a film that now includes a real kidnapping.

Where to see it

The rescue on the drawbridge: Annie escapes the kidnappers, and the film's changed story reaches its climax with Rooster chasing her onto a raised bridge.

Questions

Annie: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Annie use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Annie (1982): Symbolic Object, Set as Total World, Odd Couple Class Structure and Original Songs as Narrative.
Who directed Annie?: John Huston directed Annie, released in 1982. CineCode also covers The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Moby Dick (1956).
What films are similar to Annie?: Films that share techniques with Annie include The Apartment (1960), Popeye (1980), Oliver! (1968), It Happened One Night (1934).

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