Anastasia (1997)

Considered by many to be the only good Don Bluth film not made in the 80s. And yeah, there's some truth to that. The 90s were not kind to this master of his craft. I could be wrong, but from what I've gathered, it seemed that he struggled with financiers and producers, who all wanted the films made their way instead of trusting his vision. Which caused the movies to suffer big time.And I'm not even so sure that that doesn't apply here as well, but at least in this case the meddlers knew what they were doing. Because let's face it. Anastasia is one big colossal Disney rip-off. It's clearly trying to cash in on the Disney Renaissance and the huge bloom in animated musical popularity it caused. And who better to help in this cashing in than Don Bluth, who used to work for Disney and during the 90s was pretty much the only Western animator alive who could even theoretically compete with the Mouse.Yet the thing is, it's a damn good rip-off. I don't mind them utilizing the Disney formula at all if it's done this well. This is an excellent film, from top to bottom. The story about a Russian princess lost during the rebellions of the 1910s and then found years later, is a good one. Sure it's based on real events only in the loosest terms possible, but that's the formula. The music is also fantastic. Bluth's films have always suffered from lackluster scores, but this has some really good music numbers. In the Dark of the Night might very well be one of my all-time favourite villain songs.And it looks fantastic! This is Don Bluth competing on the level of Disney and in some brief instances even eclipsing the studio that gave him his beginning. The backgrounds especially are gorgeous beyond belief and you find yourself lost in them, staring at the amount of detail and artwork.Now, the only real nitpick I have is the ending. It falls short. There's really no other way to say it. Rasputin, the villain of the movie, has been built up big time, but when he finally meets Anastasia... It's really disappointing. I can't spoil anything here, but come on.But, aside from that, it's a great film. Definitely worth a watch for all those that grew up with the Disney Renaissance and love the art form.

This is absolutely the best animated feature that I have ever seen in my entire life. I saw it many times, and I really love it! I've really got to say this. This is absolutely going for global warming in my country. Let's grade this right away. And as for Bartok. @&$^ you, Bartok. Animation: A- Characters: A Story: B+ For Kids: YEAH! Music: B Voice Acting: A Overall: A-. That's why I freaking love it. Wheeee- hoodoo.Oh. And Another aspect that adds to the feel of the movie, is that gender means very little. There are female characters like Anya and Sophie but you don't really realize that until after you watch it a few times and even then it has little effect on the way you view the film. Due to this, there's also no mention of a nuclear family which would really be pathetic in a setting like the ice age.All in all, Anastasia is a great movie and is proof on how much effort was put into traditional animations before Lilo and Stitch, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and The Princess and the Frog came out.

The first time i watched this movie, i was 10. Now, i am 22 and i still love this movie. I don't know why people don't give good enough rating for this movie ( maybe because it's different from it real story or because the story it's not quite deep? i don't know since, i don't read the history. Even though it is different from the real story, we should keep in mind that this movie is a fantasy movie not a biographical one. It is targeted for younger audiences, so you can't blame the writer to imbued the story with magical things ).As a kid, i watched this movie as a love story when a lost princess who tried to get what has been lost and found much more precious things along the way.The story line is quite simple ( and i do not know that this movie is based on true story, up until now ). It's a story about Anna, how was growing as an orphan, not knowing or remember who she is. Then someday, she went on a journey with 2 man, Dimitri and Vladimir ( and a dog ) to find her real identity. Fantasy, Love, Adventure, History,you can find thus mix of feelings in this movie. The song is beautiful, i listen it a lot when i was a kid.Overall, i think it's worthwhile spending your time to watch this movie.

Whilst growing up, I watched this every single night, I knew all the words to the songs, I could of probably acted out the whole film. A few years ago I re-discovered it, whilst helping to sort out the old cupboard. I decided to watch it, as I remembered how much I used to love it. And afterwords I could totally see why. This film, (even though, it is an animated film, and I'm fully aware of that), is actually the most romantic and adorable film I have watched. Every time I watch it I just can't stop thinking about it afterwords. I did think it may be because of my love for it when I was little, but this film just causes you to feel so happy afterwords. I watched it with my younger cousin who is 4 years old, (sort of as an acceptable form of watching it) and as expected she loved it too. This film, honestly doesn't get enough credit at all. No one knows about it, yet, when anyone watches it, they automatically love it! What also makes this film so much better, it that it is loosely (only in a tiny way) based on a real story, and it you research what it is based on, actually links with the film well. The songs are catchy and imaginative, the script is witty and funny, and the outcome is so romantic and adorable. Amazing film, defiantly worth a watch!