Anastasia Review
by Dan Kim (dan-ekim AT ix DOT netcom DOT com)November 25th, 1997
Anastasia Meg Ryan
Dmitri John Cusack
Rasputin Christopher Lloyd
Vladimir Kelsey Grammar
Bartok Hank Azaria
Dowager Empress Marie Angela Lansbury
Released by 20th Century Fox. Directors Don Bluth & Gary Goldman. Producers Bluth & Goldman.
Fox takes the plunge into mainstream animation feature films with the utterly conventional "Anastasia." Few things really stand out about this movie but at the same time, there is nothing noticeably bad about it either. It's a pleasing, and successful, one and a half hour sortie at Disney's megalomaniacal animation division that spells stiff competition in the future.
The base of the story is taken from the historic Romanov family from Czarist Russia. A rather unlikely source for an animated feature, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (both who have extensive Disney experience) and their team of writers manage to put together an enjoyable, albeit routine story that should do well to appeal to young and old.
The year was 1916 and Anastasia's (voice by the always likable Meg Ryan) family, the Romanovs, was celebrating its 300th anniversary as the ruling dynasty in Russia. Her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie, returning to her home in Paris, gives Anastasia a beautiful music box that played their special lullaby. The Empress, resembling Angela Lansbury after taking classes in royalty (incidentally, played by Angela Lansbury) had a special inscription placed on the key to the music box - "Together in Paris." Someone should have warned them that the evil Rasputin had returned from exile to St. Petersburg seeking revenge. Sporting a beard that would make ZZ Top jealous, escorted by spunky sidekick Bartok the albino bat, ultimately consumed by hatred, he sold his soul for a dangerous power to curse the family. From that moment on, revolution begins to rage across the country, ultimately destroying most of the Romanov family.
With the aid of a courageous kitchen boy named Dmitri, the Empress and her granddaughter make their perilous escape from the horde which is attacking the Romanov palace. Pursued by the fervent Rasputin, Marie and Anastasia's only hope is to catch the last train from the crumbling capital.
Rasputin tries to catch and kill the two, but he falls into an icy death, pardoning the lives of Marie and Anastasia. But as they struggle to escape the mob that has become St. Petersburg, Marie and Anastasia are separated when the princess falls from her grandmother's grasp and hits her head. As the distraught Marie heads toward Paris and safety, Anastasia lies unconscious, alone and an amnesiac.
Along the way, she comes across a grown-up Dmitri and his friend/ business partner Vladimir. These genial rogues have a get-rich-quick scheme, that scheme being to get an actress to play the lost princess Anastasia and then collecting the reward of ten million rubles from the Empress. Lucky for them, Anya just happens to be the lost princess. Unlucky for them, she does not even know it despite the telltale pictures of the royal family in the now abandoned palace.
History purists and devout Russian nationalists will be obviously perturbed by the watered-down storyline but the Bluth/Goldman script works for what is supposed to be, an animation feature geared towards the young and the young-at-heart.
Fox shamelessly plagiarized the successful formula that earned Disney so many millions, from the rags-to-riches heroine, the handsome suitor that crosses her path, to the all too cute sidekicks that no animated feature can do without. They're almost as successful. "Anastasia," though having a plot that is relentlessly conventional, yet serviceable is saved by the shrewd casting for the voices of the main characters. Ryan is perfect as the perky yet strong-willed princess, and John Cusak's voice suits the charm of Dmitri quite well. Christopher Lloyd is gleefully evil in his ranting and raving. However, Hank Azaria steels some spotlight as Bartok the ambiguous-conscienced bat. Cliched lines like "stressed is a killer sir" would not work had it not been for his lively, if indecipherable, accent.
Ryan and Cusack work well off each other, with a lively banter that hints at the inevitable romantic tension between the two. Ryan devotees will recognize the style of that dialogue that made her so likable (and famous) and "When Harry Met Sally" so enjoyable.
The Disney influence shows plainly in some of the shots of the interior of the palace ballroom, as does the relationship between Empress Marie and the grown-up Anastasia. When Anya dresses up for the final ballroom event, one cannot help but have "Beauty and the Beast" running through their heads at the moment. Right down to Lansbury's voice to that elegant yellow dress.
The computer generated animation is near flawless, just slightly less polished than Disney's best works. The sweeping "cinematography" covering the ballrooms is especially impressive however; the illusion of camera movement, or panning, being smooth and realistic.
"Anastasia" will no doubt be the first of many features Fox will throw into the already saturated movie market, and if the following films get better as Fox gains experience they will have a bright future indeed. As it is, this is a pleasing, enjoyable and sometimes too cute movie that hits its target almost on the mark.
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