History Film / Annie2014

** Hannigan spends the majority of the movie protesting that she deserves better than her present lot, and treats her foster girls like maids.
** The woman who works in social services is disgusted by Annie, and won't even touch her hair tie full of money to pay for her background check.

** The foster parent inspector seems nonplussed by Hannigan's flirtation. Guy, on the other hand, seems offended at having to come into Harlem at all to talk to her, and is so disgusted by Hannigan that he literally blocks her from trying to kiss him when they make their deal.

* StealthPun: Daddy Warbucks' AdaptationNameChange is William Stacks, which means that he's informally known as [[spoiler:[[{{Fiction500}} Bill Stacks]]]].

-->'''Annie:''' [[spoiler:I can't read!]]

** Annie tells Grace about how Pepper punched a boy whom she liked in the face and now plays with him in the park. Later on, Grace punches Guy in the face and Pepper, of her own accord, clarifies that "It's not because she likes you."

** When Annie seeks to [[spoiler:get to know her "real parents" she asks them if they do things that were mentioned in the lyrics of "Maybe"]].

** Also, Creator/MichaelJFox appears as himself stumping for Stacks' political opponent.

** Cell phones. Due to most phones being smart phones, they prove instrumental in helping save Annie in the film's climax.

* DecompositeCharacter: The closest things we get to Rooster Hannigan are both [[spoiler:Guy]] and Annie's unnamed fake father. [[spoiler:Guy]] is the one who plots to send Annie away with phony parents for his own gain, and "Easy Street" is now sung by him and Hannigan. The latter is the one who poses as Annie's father (alongside her "mother"), and nearly succeeds in kidnapping her, as Rooster and Lily did.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Lou, the bodega owner. He has the dig on for Ms. Hannigan, and is persistent about it. He eventually wins her over.

* EvilDetectingDog: Like in the 1999 version, Sandy reacts to [[spoiler:Annie's hired "real parents"]] with aggression and fear.

** The little dog who eventually gets named Sandy has a nervous behavior she exhibits early in the film. Once when we see Annie trying to rescue her from bullies. Once in the pound. And [[RuleOfThree last]] when [[spoiler: Annie's "real parents" show up to pick her up from Stacks]].
* FosteringForProfit: Miss Hannigan, [[spoiler:at least at the beginning of the movie]]. When Annie suggests to Mr. Stacks that he could take her in as part of his publicity stunt, she mentions the stipend as further incentive, which he takes as an attempt at a ComicallySmallBribe.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Hannigan, after Guy [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness betrays her]] by hiring the fake parents himself and cutting her out of the deal. She ends up feeling really guilty over her part of the plan to have Annie's "real parents" come take her away, and enlists the girls to get her to Stacks so she can confess about Guy's plan]].

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Harold Grey, Stacks' rival in the election that drives his actions in the plot, is implied to be a philanthropist and all-around NiceGuy and undoubtedly has his own political campaign going on. [[spoiler:Since Stacks dropped out of the election, it can even be assumed that he ultimately won it.]]
* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Annie is supposedly reunited with her real parents, only to find out they're dupes. By the time she figures this out, she's locked in their car.]]

** Annie during "Tomorrow" imagines a lot of people as playing with happy children; the shot returns to show that most are carrying/working with something else.

** Foster kid Pepper. She is quite obviously dealing with attachment issues, and doesn't want to get close to anyone, so she distances people by being a hardcase.

** A quick gag after "I Don't Need Anything But You" has New Yorkers watching the Stacks and Annie story unfold on the news. A man comments, "If he keeps up singing and dancing like that, [[spoiler:there's no way he'd've won anyway]]."

* LethalChef: Played with. Annie is astonished that literally everything in Stacks' fridge is take out. She tries to ingratiate herself with him by telling him "I can make a meal out of any five ingredients you pick!" It looks at first like Annie is going to show off her "poor person ingenuity", but it comes out so disgusting that they both SpitTake on tasting it, but it works to get them talking. They get so into their conversation that they forget how gross the meal is and take another bite, only to SpitTake it again. Annie doesn't give up on trying to cook, though. She brings Stacks breakfast, but it's burnt toast and other stuff that is not as readily identifiable. This time, though, he gets off the hook by feeding it all to a willing Sandy.

* LighterAndSofter: The film is this compared to all other versions of Annie. While it does have a few grittier touches (e.g. the fact that Annie [[spoiler: can't read]] and the fact that her parents abandoned her at age four instead of as a baby), as a whole it has a more positive tone, the villains' actions are toned down, and unlike most versions, no one tries to kill (or even injure) Annie.

** [[spoiler:Stacks is randomly discovered by Annie to actually be bald partway through the film, wearing a very realistic wig. It's only ever alluded to once shortly afterwards. Warbucks, who Stacks is based on, was the world's richest bald man.]]

** Annie's report at school is about the New Deal policies. The musical and the [[Film/{{Annie1982}} 1982 film]] has UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt as a supporting character and he alludes to his future policies for the economy. In the stage version, it's Annie's optimism that inspires him to create the New Deal in the first place, while in the 1982 film Annie converts Warbucks from opposing it to supporting it.

** Citi Bike bike sharing service, used as part of Annie's hustle, in violation of their rules. You're supposed to put the bike back at a Citi Bike rack yourself and not let anyone else use it. But since Annie's the protagonist, you know she's a good girl and returns the borrowed bike like she's supposed to.

** Sandy: Sandy barks, growls and runs in circles when upset or afraid. She does it when the bullies corner her. She does it in the pound. And she does it again [[spoiler:when Annie's "real parents" come for her]].

* ScaryBlackMan: Averted with Nash, Will's driver and bodyguard. While he looks very intimidating and mentions being a former law enforcement officer he's a laid back NiceGuy who [[FriendToAllChildren takes a liking to Annie]].

** At the Guggenheim museum event, it's a formal black tie event. In the center of it is Annie, wearing an amazing red dress, and eating/playing with her food in the way you might expect a ten year old child to do when bored at such a to-do.

** Also Guy does this to [[spoiler:Hannigan]] by [[spoiler:hiring the fake parents himself, and cutting Hannigan out of the deal, leading to her HeelFaceTurn]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Several times throughout the movie.
** Pepper, the oldest foster kid, hides her feelings behind affected cynicism. But her real feelings come out early on, when she points out that she's almost thirteen, and almost nobody wants to adopt a teenager.
** Unlike other versions, this one depicts the bureaucracy around adoption. Just getting Annie to move in with Stacks ''temporarily'' involves lots of paperwork, and an eye is kept on Ms. Hannigan by social service workers. (Hannigan is still terrible, but the girls cover for her in front of the city inspectors because they'd rather not have to move to yet another home.)
** As mentioned elsewhere, the educational system has failed Annie. The movie starts with her in school giving an essay. [[spoiler: But she can't read and can only write a little besides her own name.]]
** A political analyst whose paycheck depends on his client winning might just do ''anything'' to make that happen.
** [[spoiler: Trying to kidnap a famous girl in New York City in a car in the age of smartphones and helicopters does not go very well at all.]]