Nothing much rhymes with Bolshevik or communism, apparently, as these words and such crucial historical figures as Lenin and Trotsky are nowhere to be found in the curious, well-mounted animated musical epic "Anastasia". Historical accuracy aside, the Fox Family Films holiday release, the first project from Fox Animation Studios, is consistently bountiful in delivering lush visuals and drawing one into an engaging, if slow-moving and often preposterous, scenario.
A rare wide-screen animated feature, with Fox resurrecting its CinemaScope trademark, "Anastasia" presents a marketing challenge with a story that is not a widely known classic. Directed by Anatole Litvak and inspiring the current film, Fox's 1956 live-action "Anastasia" earned comeback star Ingrid Bergman an Oscar, but the translation of a historical sideshow into a "20th century fairy tale"-- complete with supernatural villain and cute creatures -- is another titanic gamble for the studio most in need of a hit.
A breezy overview of the Russian Revolution introduces Princess Anastasia Nicholaevna Romanov (voice by Kirsten Dunst), the young daughter of the czar. Miraculously spared from the revolutionary violence that claims her immediate family, she is lost in the turmoil.
Ten years later, the lead (Meg Ryan) is a nobody in St. Petersburg, but rumors abound of one survivor of Russia's last imperial rulers.
Enter con men Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer), who recruit Anastasia for a scam involving the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury), an elegant lady in Paris who searches for the young girl she gave a music-box key to before disaster struck. In songs and lively nonmusical scenes, Dimitri convinces Anastasia she might be the lost Romanov, and the two gradually fall in love.
Alas, the central romance is a bit sophisticated for younger children, and the filmmakers resort to making Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), the peasant mystic who had great influence at the court of Nicholas II, into a Disney-like villain by way of EC Comics. Although the maniac's loyal sidekick Bartok (Hank Azaria), a fruity bat with brains, will amuse the kiddies, most of these scenes are instantly forgettable comic relief.
One of the best sequences, however, occurs when the resurrected--from-hell Rasputin tries to fulfill his curse and kill Anastasia, Dimitri and Vladimir on a train.
On a pure entertainment level, the story is largely successful. The songs of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have memorable moments, with singing duties handled capably by Liz Callaway (Anastasia), Jim Cummings (Rasputin) and Jonathan Doluchitz (Dimitri).
In terms of animation, "Anastasia" is a stellar achievement for co-directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. They use a familiar, illustrative style with an ambitious agenda that is unfortunately tweaked too far into fantasy -- or maybe not far enough.
ANASTASIA
20th Century Fox
Fox Family Films presents
a Don Bluth/Gary Goldman film
Producer-directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Executive producer: Maureen Donley
Screenwriters: Susan Gauthier, Bruce Graham, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White
Animation adaptation: Eric Tuchman
Songs: Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty
Music: David Newman
Directing animators: Len Simon, John Hill, Troy Saliba, Fernando Moro, Sandro Cleuzo, Paul Newberry
Casting: Brian Chavanne
Voices:
Anastasia/Anya: Meg Ryan
Dimitri: John Cusack
Vladimir: Kelsey Grammer
Rasputin: Christopher Lloyd
Bartok: Hank Azaria
Sophie: Bernadette Peters
Young Anastasia: Kirsten Dunst
Dowager Empress Marie: Angela Lansbury
Running time -- 92 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
A rare wide-screen animated feature, with Fox resurrecting its CinemaScope trademark, "Anastasia" presents a marketing challenge with a story that is not a widely known classic. Directed by Anatole Litvak and inspiring the current film, Fox's 1956 live-action "Anastasia" earned comeback star Ingrid Bergman an Oscar, but the translation of a historical sideshow into a "20th century fairy tale"-- complete with supernatural villain and cute creatures -- is another titanic gamble for the studio most in need of a hit.
A breezy overview of the Russian Revolution introduces Princess Anastasia Nicholaevna Romanov (voice by Kirsten Dunst), the young daughter of the czar. Miraculously spared from the revolutionary violence that claims her immediate family, she is lost in the turmoil.
Ten years later, the lead (Meg Ryan) is a nobody in St. Petersburg, but rumors abound of one survivor of Russia's last imperial rulers.
Enter con men Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer), who recruit Anastasia for a scam involving the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury), an elegant lady in Paris who searches for the young girl she gave a music-box key to before disaster struck. In songs and lively nonmusical scenes, Dimitri convinces Anastasia she might be the lost Romanov, and the two gradually fall in love.
Alas, the central romance is a bit sophisticated for younger children, and the filmmakers resort to making Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), the peasant mystic who had great influence at the court of Nicholas II, into a Disney-like villain by way of EC Comics. Although the maniac's loyal sidekick Bartok (Hank Azaria), a fruity bat with brains, will amuse the kiddies, most of these scenes are instantly forgettable comic relief.
One of the best sequences, however, occurs when the resurrected--from-hell Rasputin tries to fulfill his curse and kill Anastasia, Dimitri and Vladimir on a train.
On a pure entertainment level, the story is largely successful. The songs of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have memorable moments, with singing duties handled capably by Liz Callaway (Anastasia), Jim Cummings (Rasputin) and Jonathan Doluchitz (Dimitri).
In terms of animation, "Anastasia" is a stellar achievement for co-directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. They use a familiar, illustrative style with an ambitious agenda that is unfortunately tweaked too far into fantasy -- or maybe not far enough.
ANASTASIA
20th Century Fox
Fox Family Films presents
a Don Bluth/Gary Goldman film
Producer-directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Executive producer: Maureen Donley
Screenwriters: Susan Gauthier, Bruce Graham, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White
Animation adaptation: Eric Tuchman
Songs: Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty
Music: David Newman
Directing animators: Len Simon, John Hill, Troy Saliba, Fernando Moro, Sandro Cleuzo, Paul Newberry
Casting: Brian Chavanne
Voices:
Anastasia/Anya: Meg Ryan
Dimitri: John Cusack
Vladimir: Kelsey Grammer
Rasputin: Christopher Lloyd
Bartok: Hank Azaria
Sophie: Bernadette Peters
Young Anastasia: Kirsten Dunst
Dowager Empress Marie: Angela Lansbury
Running time -- 92 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
- 11/10/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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