Anastasia (1997)

Directors:

Don Bluth
Gary Goldman

Writers:

Susan Gauthier (screenplay) &
Bruce Graham (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Discover the Adventure Behind the Greatest Mystery of Our Time

Plot:

The only surviving child of the Russian Royal Family hooks up with two con men while the undead Rasputin seeks her death.

Plot Keywords:

Train Explosion | Ball | Russian Revolution | Paris France | Russia

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Meg Ryan	...	Anastasia (voice)
John Cusack	...	Dimitri (voice)
Kelsey Grammer	...	Vladimir (voice)
Christopher Lloyd	...	Rasputin (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Bartok (voice)
Bernadette Peters	...	Sophie (voice)
Kirsten Dunst	...	Young Anastasia (voice)
Angela Lansbury	...	The Dowager Empress Marie (voice)
Rick Jones	...	Czar Nicholas / Servant / Revolutionary Soldier / Ticket Agent (voice)
Andrea Martin	...	Phlegmenkoff / Old Woman (voice)
Glenn Walker Harris Jr.	...	Young Dimitri (voice) (as Glenn Walker Harris, Jr.)
Debra Mooney	...	Actress (voice)
Arthur Malet	...	Travelling Man / Major Domo (voice)
Charity James	...	Anastasia Impostor (voice)
Liz Callaway	...	Anastasia (singing voice)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

New Zealand:PG | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Hong Kong:I | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Mexico:A | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G (certificate #35550)

Filming Locations:

Fox Animation Studios - 2747 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The musical number "Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart)" includes cameos by various historical characters from the time, including Maurice Chevalier, Sigmund Freud, Charles Lindbergh, Josephine Baker, Claude Monet, Isadora Duncan, Auguste Rodin, and Gertude Stein.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Empress's original name was Dagmar, but she took the name Maria (Marie) Feodorovna when she married Alexander III. She was daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and sister of King Frederik VIII of Denmark and Queen Alexandra of England.

Quotes:

Dimitri: [singing] Paris holds the key to her past. / Yes, Princess, I've found / you at last. / No more pretend, / You'll be gone, / That's the end...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Anastasia' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Learn to Do It

Is Disney Overtaken by Ex-Members?

The story/legend of Princess Anastasia of Russia is an unlikely tale to be told in an animated musical. But it works, mainly because it doesn't confuse its main audience, children; but yet, at the same time, it provides enough entertainment for its older audience, adults.

"Anastasia" is based loosely on the same legendary tale as the 1956 motion picture starring Ingrid Bergman. Supposedly, as the legend goes, Russia's ruling Romanov family was murdered in the upheaval of revolution, and one child, Anastasia, escaped the carnage and survived to make a valid claim for the throne. Anastasia was the granddaughter of the Dowager Empress Marie (voiced, in this film, by Angela Lansbury), who herself escaped to Paris and now wearily rejects one imposter after another.

Meg Ryan provides the vocals for Anastasia. The film opens with her escaping from Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd); the only survivor is Anastasia and her grandmother. She spends years in a cruel orphanage, losing all memory of her earlier days. Then as a lithe and spirited teenager, she falls into the clutches of two con men named Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer). They both worked in the royal court and have insider knowledge; their scheme is to tutor an imposter until she can fool the Dowager Empress. The irony, which the movie makes much of, is that this impostor is, in fact, the real thing.

The only minor problem with "Anastasia" is how it tries to fill in the story with an overly-evil (and truly unbelievable) villian. The ending is more than ridiculous. If the entire tale was a "Sleeping Beauty"-type-story, it might be more believable, but right as we are led to believe this story is BASED on something somewhat true and based on true events, they throw in a living-dead-monster, Rasputin, to try and kill Anastasia. Good if the movie was a fantasy set up from the beginning, but it wasn't. It was a more serious 'toon turned into a fantasy one by the end.

The film's directors and producers (and former Disney artists) Don Bluth and Gary Goldman put together this film. Their film credits include "An American Tail" and "All Dogs Go to Heaven." No surprise, because the film, "Anastasia," like the other films, is darker than most fairy-tale-Disney-movies. It's more graphic, gritty and real, which is why the end is so disappointing.

In a time when CGI seems to be taking over the animation world, "Anastasia" is a good reminder that cartoon films can still be made good. A "Monsters, Inc.," it isn't, but it is definitely good.

I would give "Anastasia" a solid "4," but the end was ridiculous and predictable, and way out of turn for a film of its nature. It set itself up as a serious animated film, but then dropped everything and switched to fantasy. Its only blunder is this.

3/5 stars -

John Ulmer