Anastasia is an Academy Award nominated American animated feature musical film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman at Fox Animation Studios, and was released on November 14, 1997 by 20th Century Fox.
The idea for the film originates from Fox's 1956 live-action film version of the same name. Executives at Fox gave Bluth and Goldman the choice of creating an animated adaptation of either the 1956 film or the original play by Marcelle Maurette.
Plot
The year is 1916; in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Czar Nicholas II is throwing a grand ball to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule, while his mother, Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna (Angela Lansbury), gives her favorite granddaughter, 8-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia (Kirsten Dunst), a music box and a necklace reading "Together in Paris" which serves as its key. The ball is interrupted by the arrival of Grigori Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), a monk once trusted by the Russian Imperial Family, having since been cast out by Nicholas as a "traitor". He enacts his revenge through a demonic green reliquary; summoning a curse that sparks the Russian Revolution.
During the storming of the palace, Anastasia runs back to get her music box with Marie in tow. Separated from the rest of the royal family, a servant boy rushes them out of the palace through a secret door. Anastasia drops her music box in the panic, and the boy is clubbed by a soldier while covering their escape. As the two royals are running across a frozen river, Rasputin attempts to catch Anastasia when the thin ice breaks under him and he drowns. They eventually reach a moving train, but only Marie is able to get on, as Anastasia falls and is knocked unconscious, forcing Marie to leave her behind.
Ten years later, Russia is now under Communist rule. Marie, now residing in Paris, has offered a monetary reward for anyone who can return her beloved granddaughter to her. Two Russian conmen living in Saint Petersburg: Dimitri (John Cusack), a conniving young man; and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer), a former member of the Imperial Court, decide to find a young girl to pass off as Anastasia. Meanwhile, a young woman named Anya (Meg Ryan), who owns the "Together in Paris" necklace, has just left her orphanage and has decided to learn about her past, as she has suffered amnesia and has no recollection of the first eight years of her life. She then heads to Saint Petersburg, accompanied by "Pooka", a dog she just found. She soon encounters Dimitri and Vladimir, who are struck by her resemblance to the young Grand Duchess, and recruit her as their "fake" Anastasia. The two men teach Anya how to behave like Anastasia during the trip to Paris, where Anya and Dimitri realize a mutual attraction, and it is discovered that Dimitri possesses Anastasia's music box in his baggage.
Rasputin is revealed to be still alive, but trapped in limbo, unable to die because Anastasia had not been killed. His cowardly servant Bartok (Hank Azaria), an albino bat, unwittingly brings him his magical reliquary after his supposed "death" ten years ago, thus restoring his old powers. He summons a legion of demons to kill Anya and complete his revenge, resulting in two failed attempts on her life. Rasputin then realizes that the only way to kill Anya is to do it in person.
The trio eventually arrives in Paris and meet Sophie (Bernadette Peters), Marie's lady-in-waiting and first cousin, who is in charge of interviewing the Anastasia lookalikes; it has become apparent though that Marie, tired of heartbreak, has declared not to hold anymore interviews. Despite this, Sophie sees Anya as a favour to her old flame Vladimir. Anya plays her part well, but when Sophie asks how she escaped the palace, Vlad and Dimitri become nervous, since they did not teach Anya an answer to that question. To their mysterious fortune, Anya dimly recalls a servant boy opening a secret door... but she believes this memory to be nonsense, while Dimitri is shocked by what this signifies. He later tells Vladimir that he was indeed the servant boy in her memory, meaning that Anya is the real Anastasia; nonetheless, he is saddened by this truth, because "princesses don't marry kitchen boys."
Sophie then arranges for Anya to encounter Marie at the Russian ballet. After the event, Dimitri attempts to introduce Anya, but the empress refuses to listen to him, knowing that he was the conman responsible for the "auditioning" scheme back in Russia. Overhearing this conversation, Anya becomes enraged and rails at Dimitri before leaving. Dimitri later kidnaps Marie in her car and drives to the hotel where Anya is packing her things, convincing her to meet (reluctantly) with Anya by giving her the lost music box. Upon meeting Anya at first, Marie remains guarded until the girl suddenly begins to remember personal childhood moments, including the music box. As they sing the lullaby the box plays, Marie finally realizes the truth, and the two reunite at long last.
At a later meeting, Marie is moved to find that Dimitri is refusing the reward money for returning Anya, despite being the same servant boy who saved them years ago - he leaves, determined not to interfere with Anya's destiny. Marie eventually tells Anya of Dimitri's actions at the inauguration ball, making her realize her error. When Pooka suddenly bounds for the garden maze, Anya runs after him and is trapped. Rasputin finally reveals himself to her and tries to kill her on the Alexander Bridge over an icy Seine. Dimitri returns to save Anya, and in the ensuing fight, Anya manages to destroy Rasputin's reliquary by crushing it under her foot, causing him to disintegrate into dust.
Dimitri and Anya reconcile and elope, sending a farewell letter to Marie and Sophie. The film ends with Anya and Dimitri sailing away on a boat with Pooka, before sharing a passionate kiss. Bartok, looking down at the spectacle, suddenly meets a female bat and shares a kiss with her as well.
Cast
Voice Cast
Singing Voice Cast
Release
The film opened in New York City on November 14, 1997, the same date as the reissue of Disney's The Little Mermaid, and across the world from November 21, 1997 (US release) to September 5, 1998 (Japanese release).
Reception
The film debuted and peaked at #2 at the North American box office and grossed over US $58,403,000. The worldwide gross totaled $139,801,000, making it Don Bluth's highest grossing film to date. Noted film critic Roger Ebert gave it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars calling it "...entertaining and sometimes exciting." The movie also currently stands with a 84% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Anastasia was nominated for two Academy Awards in the categories of "Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score" and "Best Music, Original Song" for "Journey to the Past". At the awards ceremony, "Journey to the Past" was performed by R&B singer Aaliyah, who recorded the pop single version of the song. This song was recorded into Spanish for the Spanish version of the film by Thalía, and it went on to be a hit across Central and South America. Another song which gained recognition is the ballad "Once Upon a December"; its pop single version was recorded and produced by Deana Carter. The song that plays with the credits at the end of the film is "At the Beginning" sung by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis.
Due to its success, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment created a direct-to-video spin-off film called Bartok the Magnificent (1999), featuring Rasputin's albino bat crony. It also starred Kelsey Grammer, who voiced Vladimir in Anastasia; in Bartok the Magnificent, he voiced Zozi the Bear.
Anastasia was Don Bluth's first successful film since Universal/Amblin's The Land Before Time and last after Titan A.E. failed. It was also the first for Fox after three previously-released animated features failed: FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Once Upon a Forest, and The Pagemaster.
Soundtrack
- A Rumor in St. Petersburg : Ensemble (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Journey to the Past : Liz Callaway (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Once upon a December : Liz Callaway (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- In the Dark of the Night : Jim Cummings (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Learn to Do It : Kelsey Grammer; Liz Callaway; Jonathan Dokuchitz(Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Learn to Do It [Waltz Reprise] : Kelsey Grammer(Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Paris Holds the Key (To Your Heart) : Bernadette Peters; Jonathan Dokuchitz; Ensemble (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- At the Beginning : Donna Lewis; Richard Marx (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Journey to the Past : Aaliyah (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Once upon a December : Deana Carter (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Prologue" Angela Lansbury : Lacey Chabert (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Speaking of Sophie : Original Score (David Newman)
- The Nightmare, Original Score : (David Newman)
- Kidnap and Reunion, Original Score : Liz Callaway; Angela Lansbury (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Reminiscing with Grandma, Original Score : (David Newman)
- Finale, Original Score : (David Newman)
- Viaje Tiempo Atrás (Journey to the Past) : Thalía (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
- Viagem ao Passado (Journey to the Past,Portuguese) : Thalía (Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty)
References
External links
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