Annie

When I was little, my grandparents had a VHS (of course, because DVDs and other such newfangled things didn't exist in the archaic years of my childhood) of Annie, and as my brother and sister will attest, I watched that movie at least three times every time we visited. I can't explain why, except maybe that I've always been a creature of habit, but it does say something that I am still obsessed with this movie (and, may I add, watching it right now).
I really don't know where to start with what I love about it. I know every single song by heart, and if I remember correctly, the first time Jeremy and I hung out for a night may also have been during a sing-a-thon my friend Sarah and I had as we went through the whole Annie catalogue. I think I also liked the fact that Aileen Quinn, who plays Annie, reminds me a lot of my sister. Plus, then there's the fashion; I distinctly remember being obsessed with the blue mary janes Annie wears in the scene where they get ready to go to the movies. And of course, I love the fact that this musical takes it to the extreme. Everything is a reason for a dance, including the part where Punjab apprehends a would be bomber of the Warbucks household and elegantly twirls across the balcony as he flings the bomb (complete with a sizzling fuse) across the lawn. How could you not love this??
Now that I am older, though, I am realizing that Miss Hannigan, the villainous orphanage matron who somehow manages to be forgiven at the end of the movie, is actually pretty cool and quite frankly maybe misunderstood. The woman is hilarious, and if you had to live with that many little girls, wouldn't you get a little edgy, too? I live with only ten teenage girls, and I still find myself identifying very closely with her.