I dare you. I dare you that when you feast your eyes on the first trailer for the upcoming Annie feature film, starring Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhané Wallis, that you don't crack a smile. That you don't gush over how adorable Wallis looks playing the titular role of the little lovable orphan that could. Or how great songs like "Tomorrow" and "Hard Knock Life" won't be hummed off-key today during your work day. I dare you.
Okay, I admit that I was drinking sour grape juice when it came to my attention that there was to be a reboot of the Annie franchise, thanks to the joint production efforts of Will Smith and Jay Z. We already had the 1982 film, which was based on the original Harold Gray comic Little Orphan Annie, and the 1977 musical, (not to mention a couple of made-for-TV remakes and musical revivals), but after seeing the dimpled youngest Academy Award nominee in history sing and dance around with Foxx, you bet this Will Gluck-directed remake is needed and looks charming to boot. Plus with Jay Z handling the soundtrack (of course he would...), consider this not your childhood's Annie. While I'm not so sure about Cameron Diaz stepping into the weaselly Miss Hannigan's shoes (because Carol Burnett owned that role for me), the solid and racially diverse cast (!), marked with Wallis' preciousness, and my love of musicals will have me front, line and center come December 19th when it is released.
Oh, and about that dare -- I caught you smiling didn't I?
