Annie (musical) - Pop Culture References

Pop Culture References

Annie's popularity is reflected in its numerous mentions in popular media. References to the show appear in films such as Austin Powers: Goldmember, where Dr. Evil and Mini-Me sendup Jay-Z's version of the song 'Hard Knock Life'; and in the 1994 John Waters black comedy Serial Mom, where a woman is bludgeoned to death with a leg of mutton by the titular serial killer while watching the 1982 film version and singing along. It is parodied in Reefer Madness, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt shows up as the deus ex machina at the end of the satirical musical to tell the assembled crowd, "A little orphan girl once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire, so I suppressed the urge to laugh in her face, but now, by gum, I think she may have been on to something!"

References in television series include:

• Pushing Daisies where Emerson referred to Chuck's father as "Daddy Dead-bucks" in the episode entitled "The Norwegians" (Season 2: Episode 10).
• Zoey 101, where Marc wants the school production changed to Annie;
• Full House, where Stephanie Tanner sings the song in several episodes
• The Family Guy episode "Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater" (1999), where the Griffin family inherits a luxury mansion, and the staff puts on a large-scale production number spoofing the song "I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here".
• The same song is also spoofed in the Drawn Together episode "Alzheimer's That Ends Well".
• In the first episode of Boston Legal, Alan Shore represents a black girl who was not hired as Annie in the national tour, and wins the case with the help of Al Sharpton.
• In the South Park episode "Ginger Kids", Eric Cartman and his group of Ginger Supremacists protest against Annie being played by a non-freckled, non-red-haired girl.
• In Yes, Dear, Dominic and his new friend Ronnie put on a show for the parents including "Hard Knock Life", to Jimmy's horror.
• In 30 Rock, Liz Lemon is discovered in her office after hours listening to music on her headset and singing "Maybe."
• Also in 30 Rock, S6E7, an unnamed, stereotypical aspiring actress/prostitute sings parts of "NYC" both in the beginning and end of the episode.
• The stop-motion comedy show Robot Chicken parodied Annie in episodes including "Maurice Was Caught" (2009).
• In "The Potter Puppet Pals", In the episode Neville's Birthday, Ron states that he is going to try out for the lead in Annie.
• "NCIS" When Abby finds out she was adopted, she refers to herself as 'Little Orphan Abby'

The song "Tomorrow" is sung in many media references, including by Joe's aunt in a scene in the movie You've Got Mail; in Dave, by Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver; by Lewis on The Drew Carey Show; by Jane Krakowski in the fourth season of Ally McBeal; in Roseanne, by Darlene and Becky; in Friends, by Chandler Bing, who has two copies of the Annie soundtrack (season eight's episode "The One With The Tea Leaves"); by Reese Witherspoon in Just Like Heaven; by Donkey in the CGI movies Shrek II (although he passes out halfway through the second line) and Shrek Forever After when he is pulling the witches' cart to Rumpelstiltskin with an unconscious Shrek inside after making the deal with Rumpelstiltskin; in a commercial for Lowe's Hardware promoting their next-day delivery; by the Royle Family in the episode "The Queen of Sheba" of the eponymous series; by contestant Teresa Cooper on an episode of Survivor: Africa; in a Duel Masters episode, it is recited by Shobu; by Marta in School Of Rock; in Like Mike, by a couple hoping to be Calvin's adoptive parents; and in Addams Family Values. In the Ugly Betty episode "Loss the Boss" the song can be heard playing in the bedroom of Justin Suarez after he was sent there for fighting in school. Pastiche versions of the song are sung in the Disney theme park attraction It's Tough to be a Bug! and in the Rooms To Go next-day delivery ad campaign. The long-running Broadway parody production of Forbidden Broadway took up "Tomorrow" as sung by an adult Annie ("I'm thirty years old . . . tomorrow") pleading for a sequel to the original musical.

The climax of the animated film Igor involved a giant robot portraying Annie.

Other prominent media references include the following:

• Rapper Jay-Z made heavy use of samples from the Broadway cast album's version of "It's the Hard-Knock Life" in his single "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)". In turn, Jay-Z's take was also parodied by Sudden Death with their song "Star Trek Life" from their album Die Laughing.
• The NFL Network produced two Super Bowl ads in 2004 and 2005 featuring "Tomorrow." A series of football celebrities who were retired or did not make it to that year's Super Bowl would sing the song, ending with the caption, "...Tomorrow, we're all undefeated again."
• Comedian Zach Galifianakis lip-synched to a recording of "Tomorrow" during his monologue on the March 12, 2011 episode of Saturday Night Live. He was dressed as Annie.