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''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray (1894–1968) and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924 in the New York ''Daily News.'' It ranked number one in popularity in a ''Fortune'' poll in 1937. The plot follows the wide-ranging adventures of Annie, her dog Sandy and her benefactor Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Secondary characters include Punjab, the Asp and Mr. Am. The strip attracted adult readers with political commentary that targeted (among other things) organized labor, the New Deal and communism. Following Gray's death in 1968, several artists drew the strip and, for a time, "classic" strips were reruns. ''Little Orphan Annie'' inspired a radio show in 1930, film adaptations by RKO in 1932 and Paramount in 1938 and a Broadway musical ''Annie'' in 1977 (which was separately adapted as a trio of films of the same name, one in 1982, one in 1999 and another in 2014). The strip's popularity declined over the years; it was running in only 20 newspapers when it was cancelled on June 13, 2010. ==Story== ''Little Orphan Annie'' displays literary kinship with the picaresque novel in its seemingly endless string of episodic and unrelated adventures in the life of a character who wanders like an innocent vagabond through a corrupt world. In Annie's first year, the picaresque pattern that characterizes her story is set, with the major players – Annie, Sandy and "Daddy" Warbucks – introduced within the strip's first several weeks. The story opens in a dreary, Dickensian orphanage where Annie is routinely abused by the cold, sarcastic matron, named Miss Asthma. One day, the wealthy but mean-spirited Mrs. Warbucks takes Annie into her home "on trial." She makes it clear that she does not like her, and tries to send her back to "the Home", but one of her society friends catches her, and she immediately changes her mind, to her disgust. Her husband Oliver, who returned from a business trip, develops an instant paternal affection for Annie and instructs her to address him as "Daddy." Originally, the Warbucks had a dog named One-Lung, who liked Annie. Their household staff also takes to Annie and they like her. However, the staff despises Mrs. Warbucks, the daughter of a ''nouveau riche'' plumber's assistant. Cold-hearted Mrs. Warbucks sends Annie back to "the Home" numerous times, and the staff hates her for that. "Daddy" (Oliver) keeps thinking of her as his "daughter". Mrs. Warbucks often argues with Oliver over how much he "mortifies her when company comes" and his affection for Annie. A very status-conscious woman, she feels that Oliver and Annie are ruining her socially. However, Oliver usually is able to put her in her place, especially when she criticizes Annie. After Mrs. Warbucks brings home another orphan, a snobby little boy (who has facial features similar to Mrs. Warbucks) named Selby Adelbert Piffleberry, she blatantly shows her favoritism by giving him Annie's old room and spiriting the girl to another part of the house. Annie, however, is not fooled in the least by Selby or his polished manners. In fact, she refers to Selby as SAP, his initials, intended as an insult (she called him SAP at a formal dinner to Mr. Warbucks' amusement and Mrs. Warbucks' dismay). She also knows full well the hatred that Mrs. Warbucks has for her. With that in mind, she makes short work of her enemy by thrashing him at various points. Oliver later realizes that Selby is a flunky to a crooked grafter named Count De Tour, who has his eyes on the Warbucks' fortune. He maneuvers his way into the house by telling Mrs. Warbucks what she wants to hear, with the ultimate intent of stealing Warbucks' fortune. He tries to achieve this aim by playing cards with Warbucks and cheating. With Annie's help, Warbucks outwits the crooked duo and they throw them out of the mansion. At the end, De Tour thrashes Selby for the defeat. The strip developed a series of formulas that ran over its course to facilitate a wide range of stories. The earlier strips relied on a formula by which Daddy Warbucks is called away on business and through a variety of contrivances, Annie is cast out of the Warbucks mansion, usually by her enemy, the nasty Mrs. Warbucks. Annie then wanders the countryside and has adventures meeting and helping new people in their daily struggles. Early stories dealt with political corruption, criminal gangs and corrupt institutions, which Annie would confront. Annie ultimately would encounter troubles with the villain, who would be vanquished by the returning Daddy Warbucks. Annie and Daddy would then be reunited, at which point, after several weeks, the formula would play out again. In the series, each strip represented a single day in the life of the characters. This device was dropped by the end of the '20s. By the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the formula was tweaked: Daddy Warbucks lost his fortune due to a corrupt rival and ultimately died from despair at the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Annie remained an orphan, and for several years had adventures that involved more internationally based enemies. The contemporary events taking place in Europe were reflected in the strips during the 1940s and World War II. Daddy Warbucks was reunited with Annie, as his death was changed to coma, from which he woke in 1945. By this time, the series enlarged its world with the addition of characters such as Asp and Punjab, bodyguards and servants to Annie and Daddy Warbucks. In globe-trotting adventures, the characters traveled around the world, with Annie having adventures on her own or with her adopted family. The series ended with a cliffhanger due to the abrupt nature of the strip's cancellation. Annie is presumed dead at sea, but is found by a wanted war criminal from the Baltic, who was hiding in South America. The criminal announces his intention to raise Annie as his own flesh and blood; he is reluctant to kill her and does not want to release her, for fear of revealing to the world that he is alive. The final strip shows a heartbroken Daddy Warbucks, shocked with grief, looking out a window as authorities tell him that they are declaring Annie legally dead. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Little Orphan Annie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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