Modern-day 'Annie' teaches the value of family

MANILA, Philippines - The modern-day retelling of the Broadway classic "Annie" is a feel-good movie for the whole family.

Set in the streets of New York in 2014, foster girl Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) hopes to see her parents again who left her as a baby with a note promising that they'd be back for her someday.

Her parents left a heart-shaped necklace, the other half with them, so that they would know her.

Annie lives with four other girls under the care of their foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) who keeps them in exchange for money from the government.

Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), who owns the largest largest cellular network in the world and who is running for mayor in New York, saves Annie when she is just about to get hit by a truck.

In the age of technology, the video of Stacks saving a girl's life goes viral around the internet and Stack's campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) sees this as an opportunity to use Annie for the campaign.

Stacks orders his VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) to invite Annie to have lunch with him.

Guy later on gets an idea for Stacks to let Annie live with him for a while as this would boost his mayoralty campaign.

"At the end of the day, it's about finding family - which is the only thing that any of us want. Annie thinks that if she finds her parents, that's what 'family' means and she'll be happy. On the other side of that coin, you have Will Stacks, who doesn't believe that he needs family - he believes he's fulfilled by work and money," Annie director Will Gluck said.

At the end of the film, 10-year-old Annie will leave a lesson about what matters most in life.

The iconic songs "Tomorrow," "It's the Hard-Knock Life," "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile," and "Maybe," along with three new songs "Who Am I?," "Opportunity," and "The City's Yours" gave life to the film.

Watch the trailer here:

"Annie" opens across the Philippines on Jan. 21 and is distributed by Columbia Pictures.