Seen as one of
the best animations of the 90s that Disney didn’t produce, Anastasia has
ironically found its way into Disney’s archive now that the company owns Fox,
which originally owned the film.
Anastasia
features some of the best songs in animation, with tracks like "Once Upon
a December" and "Journey to the Past" still lingering in my
memory years later.
Forget the
historical accuracy—this movie isn’t trying to be a documentary. Focus instead
on the production. The animation is beautifully crafted and still holds up
well, even in 2020. The story of a princess facing challenges and triumphing is
similar to the classic Disney formula, and Anastasia does a decent job of
matching the Disney standard of that era.
This time,
though, the princess isn’t a toddler when she faces the curse.
The plot is set
in Russia and begins at a royal ball, where a young Anastasia Romanov bonds
with her grandmother before the older woman departs for a trip. Enter Grigori
Rasputin, the villain, who crashes the ball and places a curse on the Romanov
family. Once a royal adviser, Rasputin was exiled for treason and, in
retaliation, sold his soul for power to fuel the Russian Revolution.
As the Romanov family flees their home under attack, a 10-year-old servant boy named Dimitri helps Anastasia escape. Unfortunately, in the chaos, Anastasia becomes separated from her family. She falls, and her grandmother is devastated, unable to save her granddaughter.
Years later,
Anastasia, now grown and unable to remember her past, lives in an orphanage.
Her grandmother, still searching for her, offers a financial reward to anyone
who can reunite them. Dimitri, now older and working as a conman, sets out to
find someone resembling Anastasia to claim the reward. He crosses paths with
Anya, a young woman with a necklace inscribed with “Together in Paris.”
Believing her family is in Paris, Anya is determined to make her way there.
What follows is
a thrilling journey as Anya and Dimitri confront Rasputin and his sinister
plans.
The movie was
directed and produced by Don Bluth, a name worth highlighting. Bluth worked for
Disney as an animator for many years before branching out on his own. He
collaborated with Steven Spielberg to create classics like An American Tail and
The Land Before Time and later produced All Dogs Go to Heaven in 1989. After a
series of less successful projects, Bluth returned with this animated
masterpiece.
Does Anastasia
stand the test of time? For me, the incredible animation ensures it does. While
it didn’t make a huge splash at the box office, it performed well enough to
inspire a franchise, including direct-to-video sequels and stage musicals.
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