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In 1916, Nicholas Romanov, the czar of imperial Russia, celebrates a tricentennial event with his family. Just as the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury’s very recognizable voice) presents an anniversary gift to her 8-year-old granddaughter Anastasia (Meg Ryan), the evil sorcerer Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) curses the house of the Romanovs with an untimely demise in a fortnight. A revolution is sparked and Anastasia is separated from Marie while boarding a train. The little girl is also knocked unconscious. Ten years later (with Russia under communist rule), Anastasia lives in an orphanage and adopts the name Anya, completely unaware of her royal past. Dimitri (John Cusack), a servant who aided in her escape from the war a decade ago, and his conman partner Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer) now hope to find a lookalike candidate to pose as the real Anastasia. The reuniting of Marie and her granddaughter could prove to be quite lucrative. They come upon Anya as she’s looking for papers to travel to Paris – her resemblance to the Romanovs inspires them to employ her as their “fake” princess. Rasputin’s soul has resurfaced from Hell, however, and with the help of his bat minion Bartok (Hank Azaria, of course) he’s intent on destroying the young woman for good. |
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The film starts right up with Anastasia and Marie singing and it’s not long before a large scale song and dance sequence in the center of St. Petersburg links scenes. Anastasia gets a single memorable piece (“Once Upon a December”), sung by Liz Callaway, and even the villain gets a tune, gallivanting with an army of prancing grubs and demon bugs. The dance sequences are beautifully constructed, background paintings are exquisite, and the attention to detail is superb (the opening setting of the Catherine Palace is grand enough to rival Beauty and the Beast’s ballroom scene). Rasputin is appropriately scary, his design not too far removed from Aladdin’s Jafar (and coincidentally a bit of Judge Doom mixed in), with removable limbs, an eyeball that pops out of his head, easily manipulated dead flesh, and a fully satanic monster form. With death, violence, and some decent action sequences (plus the character of Sophie, with enormously unbalanced bosoms, voiced by Bernadette Peters), Anastasia is a slightly more mature venture that can hold the attention of adults. But it’s still unable to reach the level of emotional resonance that Disney’s string of ‘90s pictures so masterfully obtained. Part of the folly is being aware from the very beginning that the impersonating Anastasia is, in fact, the real one. The suspense and wonder is lost – there’s no mystery or surprises leading up to the inevitable homecoming. At least the reappearance of the villain presents a conflict to be adventurously overcome that isn’t so predictable. Anastasia performed well at the box office, becoming Don Bluth and Gary Goldman’s highest grossing film. This first collaboration with Fox Animation Studios proved to be the company’s only real success, as the financial disappointment of the follow-up theatrical animated feature, Titan A.E. (2000), forced the division to close down. It wasn’t before a straight-to-video spinoff was made, however, putting the supporting character of Bartok the bat into his own movie with Azaria reprising the voice work. - Mike Massie |
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