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Anastasia (1997)


Anastasia (1997)


8/10


Starring
Meg Ryan
John Cusack
Kelsey Grammer
Christopher Lloyd
Hank Azaria


Directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman


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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