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In and around the late 1990s, Fox gave directors Gary Goldman and Don Bluth a seemingly simple choice; either make an animated adaption of the musical ‘My Fair Lady’ or of a 1956 film loosely based on a woman who claimed she was the Grand Duchess Anastasia, the daughter of the last Russian tsar, murdered by the communists in 1918. Well, if you were making a children’s movie, would you not choose the second option too?
Okay, if you have never seen this movie and have no clue who Anastasia was, I am more than willing to provide you with a bit of historical background; if you really don’t give a ****, I’d suggest that you move onto the next paragraph. As I already mentioned, she was the daughter of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas Romanov II. In 1917 he was overthrown by a provisional government and they were overthrown again in October of the same year by the Communist Bolsheviks. The royal family were imprisoned and during the civil war, orders were given for their execution. In the years to come, rumours began to circulate about how Anastasia possibly escaped death. Many woman stood up and claimed to be the Grand Duchess, the most famous being Anna Anderson, who apparently ended up being perfectly insane. In 1991 the site where the Tsar, wife and three daughters was revealed but his son Alexei and a daughter (either Anastasia or Maria) were missing. Mind you, since 2009 all the bodies have been found and accounted and while the mystery of Anastasia is coming to an end, the tremendous impact on Russian history and myself, personally will not be forgotten anytime soon.
Welcome back non historians! Our story begins while Anastasia is 8 years old; the evil Rasputin has placed a curse on the Romanov family and basically sentenced them to death. The Tsar’s Winter Palace is then under siege and Anastasia escapes with her Grandmother who manages to get on a train out of Russia while Anastasia gets separated from her and hits her head on the platform. Ten years on and it’s clear that Anastasia has got amnesia and is now an orphan who has adopted the name Anya. She leaves the orphanage and decides to go to Paris via St Petersburg as she believes that she may have family there. While she’s there she meets the always sexy Dimitri and Vladimir, two con artists who are holding auditions to find and actress to play Anastasia in order to present her to her Grandmother for a cash reward. Naturally they pluck up Anya, being the image of the Grand Duchess and they take her along to Paris. It’s a win- win for everyone, until Rasputin rears his ugly head. He realises that his curse was not fulfilled as one Romanov is still alive so he tries to use all his cunning and sorcery to kill Anastasia. Saying much more would ruin the epic climax of the film, so it’s best I stop here.
Anastasia will always be a nostalgic favourite of mine and it doesn’t surprise me that this is Don Bluth’s highest grossing film to date. Like most of his movies, that I can recall, Anastasia is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and truly fuel for the imagination. The characters, while being a little slapstick here and there, are very human and believable; I love how Anya doesn’t pretend to be more than she seems to be or get up her own arse when she finds out that she’s a princess. The musical numbers are catchy beyond belief and the plot, while not being 100% historically accurate is easy to follow because of it’s directness but still gives the enchanting atmosphere that would commonly be associated with royalty and princesses.
Who would think that such a debatably dark premise for a children’s animated movie would work?
Okay, if you have never seen this movie and have no clue who Anastasia was, I am more than willing to provide you with a bit of historical background; if you really don’t give a ****, I’d suggest that you move onto the next paragraph. As I already mentioned, she was the daughter of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas Romanov II. In 1917 he was overthrown by a provisional government and they were overthrown again in October of the same year by the Communist Bolsheviks. The royal family were imprisoned and during the civil war, orders were given for their execution. In the years to come, rumours began to circulate about how Anastasia possibly escaped death. Many woman stood up and claimed to be the Grand Duchess, the most famous being Anna Anderson, who apparently ended up being perfectly insane. In 1991 the site where the Tsar, wife and three daughters was revealed but his son Alexei and a daughter (either Anastasia or Maria) were missing. Mind you, since 2009 all the bodies have been found and accounted and while the mystery of Anastasia is coming to an end, the tremendous impact on Russian history and myself, personally will not be forgotten anytime soon.
Welcome back non historians! Our story begins while Anastasia is 8 years old; the evil Rasputin has placed a curse on the Romanov family and basically sentenced them to death. The Tsar’s Winter Palace is then under siege and Anastasia escapes with her Grandmother who manages to get on a train out of Russia while Anastasia gets separated from her and hits her head on the platform. Ten years on and it’s clear that Anastasia has got amnesia and is now an orphan who has adopted the name Anya. She leaves the orphanage and decides to go to Paris via St Petersburg as she believes that she may have family there. While she’s there she meets the always sexy Dimitri and Vladimir, two con artists who are holding auditions to find and actress to play Anastasia in order to present her to her Grandmother for a cash reward. Naturally they pluck up Anya, being the image of the Grand Duchess and they take her along to Paris. It’s a win- win for everyone, until Rasputin rears his ugly head. He realises that his curse was not fulfilled as one Romanov is still alive so he tries to use all his cunning and sorcery to kill Anastasia. Saying much more would ruin the epic climax of the film, so it’s best I stop here.
Anastasia will always be a nostalgic favourite of mine and it doesn’t surprise me that this is Don Bluth’s highest grossing film to date. Like most of his movies, that I can recall, Anastasia is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and truly fuel for the imagination. The characters, while being a little slapstick here and there, are very human and believable; I love how Anya doesn’t pretend to be more than she seems to be or get up her own arse when she finds out that she’s a princess. The musical numbers are catchy beyond belief and the plot, while not being 100% historically accurate is easy to follow because of it’s directness but still gives the enchanting atmosphere that would commonly be associated with royalty and princesses.
Who would think that such a debatably dark premise for a children’s animated movie would work?
