It’s a hard knock life for Annie in the new official trailer for Will Gluck’s modern-day update of the classic comic and musical.

Beasts of the Southern Wild breakout Quvenzhané Wallis stars as the orphaned heroine who gets rescued from Miss Hannigan’s (Cameron Diaz) care to be used as political bait for Jamie Foxx’s wealthy Benjamin Stacks.

For those fond of John Huston’s 1982 classic, this new take on Annie might be a little bit of a shock. The costumes and sets are bright and over the top, “Tomorrow” sounds ever so slightly Auto-Tuned, and the current pop culture references seem to fly fast and furiously.

Quvenzhané Wallis sings! The 10-year-old who was last seen rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s A-list as an Oscar nominee for her big-screen debut in 2012’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is now starring in her first-ever musical, the upcoming reboot of “Annie.” And in the just-released exclusive trailer, we finally get to hear her belt out the classic tunes “Tomorrow” and “Hard Knock Life.”

We also get a first peek at the rest of the cast, including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks (a re-imagined version of Daddy Warbucks) and Cameron Diaz getting her mean on as Miss Hannigan.

Yes, the music of this “Annie” features all the familiar tunes, but with more of a hip-hop vibe. And while the 1977 Broadway musical and its 1982 film adaptation take place in the ’30s — when the original “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip was created — the Wallis version has been updated significantly.

ANNIE – Official Trailer

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This streetwise Annie, still as spunky as ever, sports a backpack and lives in Harlem. She immediately clues in to Stacks’s shady side, asking him, “So what’s the hustle?” Sandy the dog is a different breed. The gutsy little orphan fist bumps Stacks and draws chalk art on the sidewalk. And the dance moves borrow more from the club scene than the stage.

Daddy Warbucks is now Will Stacks, a Bloombergian candidate in the New York City mayoral race. “The more we’re seen together, the better it is for my campaign,” Stacks tells Annie. To that she says, “I bet if I moved in with you, you’d become president.”

Diaz chomps the scenery as Miss Hannigan — made famous in the 1982 film by Carol Burnett — part ditzy blonde, part a heartless wretch. But we don’t yet hear her belt out Hannigan’s showstopping solo tune, “Little Girls.” We also don’t get chance to listen to Foxx sing, but we know he’s plenty qualified (especially compared to Albert Finney in the original movie). Aside from his singing in “Ray” and “Dreamgirls,” Foxx is a two-time Grammy Award winner.

Despite the makeover, though, judging from the trailer, the basic orphan-melts-rich-guy’s-heart storyline remains in place. And, by the end of this clip, if you don’t get teary over Stacks’s soft spot for Annie, you’re as cold as Miss Hannigan

The movie is released in UK cinemas 6th February 2015

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