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Bartok the Magnificent

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Bartok the Magnificent
Directed byDon Bluth
Gary Goldman
Written byJay Lacopo
Produced byDon Bluth
Gary Goldman
Hank Azaria
StarringHank Azaria
Kelsey Grammer
Andrea Martin
Catherine O'Hara
Tim Curry
Jennifer Tilly
Phillip Van Dyke
Diedrich Bader
Edited byBob Bender
Fiona Trayler
Music byStephen Flaherty
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date
November 16, 1999
Running time
67 min. (approx.)
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

Bartok the Magnificent is a direct-to-video spin-off to the 1997 film Anastasia, which features Hank Azaria as the voice of Bartok. This film was released on VHS and DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on November 16, 1999, and was re-released in 2005 along with Anastasia in the Family Fun Edition DVD pack. Although the film was released after Anastasia, the events in the film take place before those of its predecessor, chronicling Bartok's adventures before he became Rasputin's henchman. While many of Don Bluth's films have received sequels and spin-offs, this is the only spin-off Don Bluth has directed.

Plot

Russia is being terrorized by an evil witch known as Baba Yaga (voiced by Andrea Martin); the only one who is not afraid of her is Bartok the Magnificent (voiced by Hank Azaria). Bartok, an albino bat, has just arrived in Moscow and is impressing everyone with his performances including Tsarevich Ivan Romanov (voiced by Phillip Van Dyke). However, the one person that is not impressed comes in the form of Ivan's advisor Ludmilla (voiced by Catherine O'Hara) finds Bartok annoying and naive and even tried to make a cossack stop his performance. After Bartok's show, a violent bear suddenly attacks. Bartok saves everyone by stunning the bear with dust and then knocks him over and traps him in a wagon.

Delighted with Bartok's bravery, everyone around him rewards him with gold, including Prince Ivan, who gives him a royal ring, much to the displeasure of Ludmilla, who reminds him that the ring is only for members of the Romanov family, not commoners. She asks that he take the ring back, but Ivan disagrees, saying it is time for a change. Ludmilla, seeing that she cannot dissuade him, reluctantly allows it and they leave.

Ludmilla is still upset that Ivan has given a ring to a commoner, especially since it was a street performer, and believes it will encourage them. Ivan retorts that that was his intention and Ivan's friend Vol (voiced by Diedrich Bader) agrees that Bartok was funny. Ludmilla, on the other hand, believes that Ivan needs to respect his duty to the crown, which incites Ivan, who is tired of listening to her, to say that he will do as he pleases and it is she who must respect the crown.

Meanwhile, Bartok is counting the money he received when the bear wakes up and scares him. It turns out Bartok's amazing rescue was just another act - the bear is Zozi (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Bartok's partner in business. Zozi is apprehensive about Ivan's ring and agrees with Ludmilla, that the ring should be returned. Bartok stubbornly refuses to give it back since it was a gift.

Back in Moscow, Ivan is kidnapped by Baba Yaga, which leads to an immediate investigation. Ludmilla finds an iron tooth (Baba Yaga has iron teeth) and informs the people what has transpired. When she asks for someone brave enough to rescue Prince Ivan, two children (voiced by Kelly Marie Berger and Zachary B. Charles) nominate Bartok.

Bartok and Zozi are on their way to St. Petersburg when Zozi spots the Cossacks coming after them. The pair become worried because they assume that Ludmilla wants Ivan's ring returned. Bartok tries to conceal his identity, but is brought before the people, who explain that Ivan has been taken by Baba Yaga and they are relying on him to rescue their prince. Bartok reluctantly accepts and he and Zozi head to the Iron Forest to confront Baba Yaga and save Prince Ivan.

They find Baba Yaga's hut, but must answer a riddle given by a giant skull (voiced by Tim Curry) to enter. When the riddle is answered, Baba Yaga successfully captures Bartok and explains that to save Ivan, Bartok must gather three items from the forest: Piloff, Oblie's Crown, and the Magic Feather. However, these tasks are not very easy:

  • Zozi is not allowed to help Bartok in any sort of way
  • Piloff (voiced by Jennifer Tilly) is frozen to a boulder
  • Oble (voiced by French Stewart), a giant blacksmith surrounded by an aura of fire, must be tricked into letting his crown to be stolen
  • The magic feather must be caught without flight, using only the boulder Piloff was stuck to and Oblie's crown.

He gathers the objects demanded, but Baba Yaga still needs something from Bartok himself. He offers everything he can think of, but Baba Yaga rejects everything and bursts out laughing. Bartok, outraged, begins to yell and upsets Baba Yaga by accusing her of lying, cheating and claiming everyone hates her. After he apologizes to her, he starts crying and Baba gets the most important ingredient: tears which are from Bartok's heart. She makes a magic potion from the items she had Bartok collect and reveals that she never took Prince Ivan and that the potion she made was meant for Bartok himself. Baba Yaga explains that when Bartok drinks the potion, whatever he is in his heart will show in his appearance.

Bartok and Zozi return to town and lead Ludmilla and Vol up to the top of the tower where Ivan is imprisoned. However, when they arrive, Ludmilla locks Bartok and Vol up with Ivan and reveals she had Vol kidnap the prince (Vol misinterpreted her orders to get him out of the way as meaning to lock him up, when Ludmilla really wanted Ivan dead) while she framed Baba Yaga as part of her scheme to take the Russian throne. She steals Bartok's magic potion and leaves Bartok, Ivan, and Vol in a room filling with water.

The potion does not work on Ludmilla as she expects and she transforms into an enormous, pink-purple, wingless, three horned, fire-breathing dragon. Upon this discovery, she begins to destroy Moscow. Bartok escapes thanks to Zozi, who then saves Prince Ivan and Vol. Bartok battles the dragon and tricks the dragon into climbing the tower and releasing the water. When it gets to the top, the tower starts to become unstable and causes the top of the tower to fall halfway on to the flooding streets with the Ludmilla/Dragon still on it. This is enough to put out the fire in the village. As the townspeople gather around the Ludmilla/Dragon's dead body, Zozi reveals that Bartok is a true hero...not because he stopped Ludmilla but Bartok showed Baba Yaga compassion.

Bartok returns Ivan's ring and Baba Yaga appears, writing, "Bartok, The Magnificent" in the sky. Bartok and Piloff hug Baba Yaga and they leave waving goodbye to Bartok.

Cast

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