Anastasia

Anastasia

At last, a genuine competition to Disney. Although Twentieth Century Fox’s Anastasia will most probably not shake the Micky Mouse’s dominate position in the animated series, it’s a good point of action. In recent years, it has become apparent that the best non-Disney animated film would be Anastasia which is good enough to be compared with The Lion King and Aladdin.

The most important thing is that both children and adults can enjoy the motion pictures. This kind of magic and energy has been great missing in the movies like Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. Perhaps with another studio that may push them, Disney will get back on track.

First of all, this is an animated film so it should under no circumstances be mistaken for a documentary or an exposé of the Russian revolution. Taking only a few names, events, and years from history, it is complete fantasy.

Someone who wants to see an accurate depiction of the history, at least in broad terms, will be appalled, although to that person’s credit, he probably ought not to be watching this film in the first place. Perhaps more than in the case of Pocahontas, in the case of Anastasia, the audience is presented with the idea that reality is mere decoration.

The setting of the story is the troubled Russia of the year 1916, immediately preceding the revolutions, which highlights the downfall of Czar Nicholas II as being orchestrated by the spiteful monk Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd voice).

Every member of the Romanov family gets assassinated except Nicholas’ mother, Marie (Angela Lansbury) who flees to Paris and the last born of the Czar, Anastasia (Kirsten Dunst) who is unaccounted for. Rasputin is also killed but due to the failure of his curse to be completed, he finds himself imprisoned in oblivion.

A decade later. Marie has placed a bounty of 10 million rubles on any individual who brings her great granddaughter back. In St. Petersburg, two swindlers, Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer), are attempting to lure someone with a resemblance to one of the ‘Anastasias’ they mean to take to Paris.

When they meet Anya (Meg Ryan), they do not guess that she is impersonating the 18-year-old princess whom they are looking for. Together, Dimitri and Vladimir work with Anya on how to behave when facing a queen: Marie. Meanwhile, Rasputin escaped from Hell and is seeking vengeance on Anastasia.

Anastasia’s animation may not yet reach the animation seen in some of Disney’s more recent films but it is far superior than the likes of The Land Before Time, Balto and even An American Tail, which was also directed by Anistasia’s director, a former Disney animation Don Bluth. There are parts where the characters’ lips are not in perfect synchrony with the vocals and other occasions where there is a shouting lack of background detail, but still, in general, Anastasia’s visuals are quite appealing and sophisticated.

Many of the best animated shots include the most intricate and complex of sequences, and quite a clever integration of computer generated effects and background paintings. For instance, as Anastasia nears St. Petersburg, she enjoys quite an astonishing image of the bright city as it rests over the terrain.

In terms of storytelling, one would place the film Anastasia at par with most of the new wave Disney films, perhaps only lower than beauty and the beast. The film has its share of adventures, romance, a pinch of mysticism and a good share of drama. The lead character should be the most unusual and independent animated female character on screen and even more feisty than Belle.

Meg Ryan is aptly cast for this character . The main character twined with Anastasias love, Dimitri, is quite uneventful, though John Cusack brings him some charm. Rasputin the villain looks awful, while his bad side is rather dull in fact. Generally, he’s a distraction to the real plot, which concerns Anastasia and her attempts to reunite with her family. There are two “adorable” pets, the mute dog Pooka and the very chatty bat Bartok (Hank Azaria).

Anastasia is arguably the most musically sound film from Disney ever since Howard Ashman, their main lyricist, passed away. We don’t doubt that the ambitious songs that colored the epic scenes in Anastasia were inspired by the Broadway genre where there is always plenty of dancing and singing combined with good choreography.

The songs themselves (among them there are six from Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens) can be described as full of life, and some of them, such as A Rumor in St. Petersburg, Once Upon a December and Paris Holds the Key, are unforgettable. It is essential to mention that of all the people having speaking roles, only Kelsey Grammer, Bernadette Peters and Angela Lansbury are allowed to sing their songs. Liz Callaway vocally juggled Meg Ryan, Jonathan Dokuchitz dubbed John Cusack and Jim Cummings voiced Christopher Lloyd.

In its entirety, Anastasia is a delight to watch, which also proves that any studio capable of putting in the time, money, and effort can replicate what Disney does. In all fairness, many children are likely to think that Anastasia is just the newest offering from the Mouse.

This should be taken as a compliment rather than a negative Twentieth Century Fox ought to appreciate this. If all the non-Disney animated films being made or planned in future are as good as Anastasia, then the folks at the Magic Kingdom have plenty to be concerned about.

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