A Review of Anastasia: The Non-Disney, Disney Movie

Dimitri (left), Anastasia (center), Rasputin (right), Bartok (far right)

“But sure, yeah, I guess every lonely girl would hope she’s a princess.”

-Anya

Opening:

For the start of my amateur film review project, I wanted to give myself an easier job. I decided to watch a movie I had seen multiple times throughout many different stages of my life. Anastasia is a delightful animated musical from 20th Century Fox studios that provided me with the perfect opportunity to get my feet wet. While this might have given me some rose colored lenses when I watched the film for this review, I am hoping I can still provide some insight and a worthwhile opinion to this 1997 classic.

Act 1 Summary:

Anastasia starts off with a bit of a history lesson, told from the perspective of the Dowager Empress, that’s the mother of the Czar, of Russia. Telling us her story, and the day Rasputin wiped out the Romanoff family. While the Dowager and some of the family were able to flee to Paris with the help of a young kitchen staff boy, Anastasia was left in Russia. She was an unknown survivor, and the Dowager has been looking for her since they were separated. Dimitri, a young con man from St. Petersburg, is keen to reunite the two, and claim the reward money for himself. Before he runs into Anya, a local orphan who seems to look eerily similar to the now lost Princess. What ensues is a journey from Russia to Paris, training the orphan girl to look and act the part of royalty, all while avoiding a long resting curse now woken.

Performances:

The character designs and voice acting in this film are solid and well done. Anya, voiced by Meg Ryan and sung by Liz Callaway, is by far the best performance in the movie. All of the characters feel fleshed out and three dimensional, despite their artistic representation. The witty banter between Dimitri and Anya, and Vlad’s boisterous laughter it all feels primed for a fun watch with friends or family, leaving you with more than enough memorable quotes.

Visuals:

When it comes to animated movies, there will be some who are keen to avoid them. However, if you are at all inclined to sit down for this, I have a feeling you are in for a treat. The backgrounds look wonderful and the colors are bright and vivid when fitting for the story. When the characters arrive in Paris, the backgrounds are even more fantastical, resembling a Van Gogh painting at times. The clothing flows naturally and the facial expressions capture real emotions behind the voices.

Sounds:

Being a musical, the score is largely important to the overall feel and effectiveness of the movie. Anastasia pulls no punches in that regard. While Dimtri’s singing voice, done by Jonathan Dokuchitz, leaves something to be desired, Anya has some songs that will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day, such as “If I can Learn to do it.” Another small notice is that the film will often play back the main themes and motifs of each song at a later point to great effect. Even Rasputin, sung by Jim Cummings, has a wonderful villain song in “In the Dark of the Night.”

Themes:

Being an animated kids movie, the general themes of Anastasia are delightfully simple and concise. Finding oneself and knowing where you belong, what it means to have a home, and who is in your family are all prevalent. However, the film does slip into some darker themes and notes occasionally. Rasputin is depicted selling his soul to “Dark Forces” at one point, and faces a rather grim ending. While this film was rated G, there are definitely some topics and visuals that younger audiences may find disturbing.

Pacing:

This film is only ninety-four minutes long, and there are not very many moments that leave you bored. Anastasia does an excellent job of keeping the story moving along through multiple methods, whether it is the progression of Dimitri and Anya’s relationship, the revelations Anya faces about her past, Rasputin’s evil plans, or the other characters they meet along the way, the film moves at a quick pace and doesn’t slow down, like a train on the tracks, it stays consistent.

Overall:

Once all is said and done, I would give Anastasia a 8.5/10. I believe that most movie-goers would like this film, but if you have any aversion to animated movies or musicals, it might be best to avoid this one for the time being. I want to thank everybody who made it this far, and I look forward to writing for you again in my next review.

See ya, Space Cowboy(s),

Machuca_Movies