The Real-Life Inspiration Annie Is Based On

While each "Annie" film and production has slight changes from the other, Annie always remains an orphan throughout every remake or adaptation, likely because that's how the original creator of the character wrote it. Even though most people can trace the origins of the character to the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip that Harold Gray created, he was inspired by a 19th century poem titled "Little Orphant Annie" by Indiana-born poet James Whitcomb Riley (pictured).

Riley wrote the poem in 1885, and it was based on a real-life girl, who was somewhat of an orphan. This particular girl was named Mary Alice Smith and lived with Riley and his family in the mid 1800s. In his poem, he makes several observations about her. When she wasn't doing house duties, Mary Alice was telling Riley and his other siblings some interesting and spooky stories. The subject of her stories always referenced these goblins coming after them, per Buckeye Muse.

Most of the poem seems to explain that these fearful goblins are always on the hunt for children to take away if they don't perform certain chores. Per Poet and Poem, Mary Alice emphasizes that if children don't want a goblin coming after them, then they should listen to their parents and teachers.