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Anastasia (1997 film)

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Anastasia
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Bluth
Gary Goldman
Written bySusan Gauthier
Bruce Graham
Bob Tzudiker
Noni White
Eric Tuchman
Produced byDon Bluth
Gary Goldman
StarringMeg Ryan
John Cusack
Kelsey Grammer
Christopher Lloyd
Hank Azaria
Angela Lansbury
Bernadette Peters
Edited byBob Bender
Fiona Trayler
Music byScore:
David Newman
Songs:
Stephen Flaherty
Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics)
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • November 14, 1997 (1997-11-14) (New York City, New York: premiere)
  • November 21, 1997 (1997-11-21) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$53,000,000
Box office$139,804,348

Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It was the first feature film to be released by Fox Animation Studios.

The idea for the film originates from Fox's 1956 live-action film version of the same name.[1] The plot is loosely based on an urban legend which claimed that Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last monarch of Imperial Russia, in fact survived the execution of her family, and thus takes various liberties with historical fact.[2]

Plot

In 1916, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, the mother of Tsar Nicholas II, attends the Romanov centennial celebration and gives her eight-year-old granddaughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia, a music box and a necklace reading “Together in Paris” to ease her favorite Anastasia's loneliness while she is away in Paris. The ball is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Grigori Rasputin, a power-mad sorcerer who was banished from the palace by the Tsar. Rasputin casts a curse on the Imperial family that sparks a revolution as revenge. The Romanovs are forced to flee from the palace for their lives, but only Marie and Anastasia are able to escape the siege alive thanks to a young servant boy named Dimitri, who shows them a secret passageway in Anastasia’s room. Bartok, a bat friend of Rasputin, immediately alerts him to Anastasia’s escape, and Rasputin confronts Marie and Anastasia on their way to the train station only to fall through the ice and drown. At the train station, however, Anastasia fails to board the moving train and becomes separated from Marie after she falls and hits her head on the railroad.

In 1926, Marie is offering a monetary reward for the safe return of her granddaughter. Dimitri, now a con man, and his partner Vladimir are searching for an Anastasia lookalike to present to Marie so that they can collect the reward and end their financial troubles. Elsewhere, the eighteen-year-old Anastasia, now under the name Anya, is suffering from amnesia because of her head injury ten years prior. Anya turns down a fish factory job in favor of going to St. Petersburg after her necklace inspires her to seek out her family in Paris. Accompanied by a stray puppy named Pooka, she encounters Dimitri and Vladimir, who are impressed by her resemblance to the Grand Duchess and recruit her as their unwitting “fake” Anastasia. Rasputin’s minion Bartok realizes that the two con men’s “fake” Anastasia is, in fact, the real Anastasia when Rasputin’s dormant reliquary is revived. The reliquary hauls Bartok to limbo, where Rasputin has existed as a living corpse for the past ten years. When Bartok returns the reliquary to Rasputin, Rasputin’s powers are restored, and he sets out to kill Anastasia.

After two narrow escapes from Rasputin's wrath, Anya, Dimitri, and Vladimir arrive in Paris to present Anya as Anastasia to Marie. Marie, however, has recently called off the search for Anastasia. Nonetheless, Sophie, Marie's first cousin and lady-in-waiting, agrees to interview Anya as a favor to Vladimir. When Anya dimly recalls Dimitri opening the secret passageway, Dimitri realizes that he and Vladimir have found the missing Grand Duchess. Sophie then arranges for Anya to meet Marie after the Russian Ballet, but Marie continues to stand firm on her decision until Dimitri convinces her to see Anya after presenting her with the music box that Anastasia had left behind during the siege of the palace. Marie remains guarded upon meeting her until Anya begins to remember personal childhood moments, and when Anastasia uses her necklace to wind the music box and recites the lullaby, the two women realize the truth and are reunited at long last.

Marie rewards Dimitri with ten million rubles and her gratitude. Dimitri, however, refuses the money and makes preparations to return to Soviet Russia because even though he loves Anastasia, his social class forces him to part ways with the Grand Duchess. Later, at a celebration being held in Anastasia’s honour, Marie informs Anastasia of Dimitri’s actions, and promises her granddaughter that they will always have each other even if Anastasia chooses a life with Dimitri. When Pooka suddenly bounds for the garden maze, Anastasia runs after him and is trapped by Rasputin, who tries to kill her on the Pont Alexandre III. Dimitri returns to save her, but is injured and knocked unconscious. In the end, Anastasia manages to destroy Rasputin's reliquary by crushing it under her foot, which causes him to disintegrate into dust, his soul awaiting eternal damnation with his hunger for revenge unfulfilled. Afterwards, Dimitri and Anastasia reconcile and send a farewell letter to Marie and Sophie. The newly eloped couple promises Marie and Sophie that they will see them again in Paris, and Anastasia and Dimitri sail away on a boat with Pooka. Meanwhile, Bartok also finds true love and shares a passionate kiss with his beloved, before ending the film.

Cast and Characters

Voice Actor Character
Kirsten Dunst Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (Young)
Lacey Chabert Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (Young [singing])
Meg Ryan Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova
Liz Callaway Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (singing)
John Cusack Dimitri
Jonathan Dokuchitz Dimitri (singing)
Kelsey Grammer Vladimir
Angela Lansbury Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna
Bernadette Peters Sophie
Christopher Lloyd Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
Jim Cummings Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (singing)
Hank Azaria Bartok

Production

Music

See also: Anastasia (soundtrack)

The musical score for the film was composed, co-orchestrated, and conducted by David Newman, and the songs were written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.[3] The film's soundtrack was released in CD and audio cassette format on October 28, 1997.[4]

Release

Box office

A limited release of Anastasia in New York City on the weekend of November 14, 1997 made $120,541. The following week, the wide release of Anastasia in the United States made $14,242,807, which placed it as the second highest grossing film between November 21 and November 23, 1997. By the end of its theatrical run, Anastasia had grossed $58,406,347 in American theaters alone and $81,398,001 in theaters abroad.[5] The worldwide gross totaled $139,804,348, making it Don Bluth's highest grossing film to date.[6]

Reception

Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ out of 4 stars describing it as "...entertaining and sometimes exciting".[7] The movie also currently stands with a 85% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[8] Carol Buckland of CNN Interactive praised John Cusack for bringing "an interesting edge to Dimitri, making him more appealing than the usual animated hero" and stated that Angela Lansbury gave the film "vocal class", but described the film as "OK entertainment" and that "it never reaches a level of emotional magic."[9] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said that the film "has the Disney house style down cold", but that the film feels "a touch depersonalized".[10]

Reception in Russia

Anastasia was a hit in Russia despite the fact that the film took great artistic licenses with Russian history. Gemini Films, the Russian distributor of Anastasia, stressed the fact that the story was "not history" but rather "a fairy tale set against the background of real Russian events" in the film's Russian marketing campaign so that its Russian audience would not view Anastasia "as a historical film."[11] As a result, many Russians praised the film for its art and storytelling and saw it as "not so much a piece of history but another Western import to be consumed and enjoyed."[11] A number of Russian Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, found Anastasia to be an offensive depiction of the Grand Duchess, who was canonized as a passion bearer in 2000 by the Russian Orthodox Church.[12] Some of Anastasia's contemporary relatives also felt that the film was distasteful, but most Romanovs have come to accept the "repeated exploitation of Anastasia's romantic tale ... with equanimity."[13]

Criticism

Anastasia was harshly criticized by many historians because it presents a "sanitized, sugar-coated reworking of the story of the [Tsar's] youngest daughter."[14] While the filmmakers acknowledged the fact that "Anastasia uses history only as a starting point", others complained that the film would provide its audience with misleading facts about Russian history, which, according to the author and historian Suzanne Massie, "has been falsified for so many years."[13] Similarly, the amateur historian Bob Atchison said that Anastasia was akin to someone making a film in which "Anne Frank moves to Orlando and opens a crocodile farm with a guy named Mort."[13] At the same time, however, Atchison recognized the possible benefits of Anastasia, noting that "if 900,000 kids go to 'Anastasia' and of that, 10,000 kids become really interested in Russian history and go on and find the truth and pursue it, it's worth it."[15]

Awards

Anastasia won 8 awards and was nominated for 15 others, including two Academy Awards in the categories of "Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score" and "Best Music, Original Song" for "Journey to the Past".[16] The R&B singer Aaliyah performed her pop single version of the song at the 70th Academy Awards.[17]

Nominations

Award Year Category Recipient(s)
Academy Award 1998 Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and David Newman
Academy Award 1998 Best Music, Original Song ("Journey to the Past") Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics)
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature Fox Animation Studios
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Effects Animation Peter Matheson
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production Stephen Flaherty (songs), Lynn Ahrens (songs), and David Newman
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Producing in an Animated Feature Production Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production ("Marie") Angela Lansbury
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production ("Anastasia") Meg Ryan
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production Eric Tuchman (animation adaption), Susan Gauthier, Bruce Graham, Bob Tzudiker, and Noni White
Golden Globe 1998 Best Original Song - Motion Picture ("Once Upon a December") Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics)
Golden Satellite Award 1998 Best Motion Picture - Animated or Mixed Media Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
Golden Satellite Award 1998 Outstanding Original Score David Newman
Golden Satellite Award 1998 Outstanding Original Song ("Journey to the Past") Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics)
Golden Satellite Award 1998 Outstanding Original Song ("Once Upon a December")

Wins

Award Year Category Recipient(s)
ASCAP Award 1998 Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures ("At the Beginning") Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty
Annie Award 1998 Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production ("Bartok") Hank Azaria
Blockbuster Entertainment Award 1998 Favorite Animated Family Movie
Critics Choice Award 1998 Best Family Film
Artios 1998 Best Casting for Animated Voiceover Brian Chavanne
KCFCC Award 1998 Best Animated Film
Golden Reel Award 1998 Best Sound Editing - Music Animation Brent Brooks (music editor) and Tom Villano (scoring editor)
Special Award 1998 Best Family Feature Film - Animation

Spin-offs

Due to Anastasia's success, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment created a direct-to-video spin-off called Bartok the Magnificent (1999), featuring Rasputin's albino bat crony.[18] A video game based on the film, titled Anastasia: Adventures with Pooka and Bartok, was released on Playstation 1 by Fox Interactive in 1997.[19]

References

  1. ^ Beck, Jerry. The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Review Press, 2005, p. 20
  2. ^ Goldberg, Carey (November 9, 1997). "After the Revolution, Comes 'Anastasia' the Cartoon". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  3. ^ "The Making of Anastasia: The Music of Anastasia". 20th Century Fox. Archived from the original on 1998-01-11. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  4. ^ "Anastasia (Atlantic) - Original Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  5. ^ "Anastasia (1997) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  6. ^ "Don Bluth Movie Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger (November 21, 1997). "Anastasia". SunTimes.com. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  8. ^ "Anastasia (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  9. ^ Buckland, Carol (1997). "'Anastasia': A not-so-imperial effort". CNN Interactive. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  10. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (November 14, 1997). "CZAR CHILD (1997): WITH ANASTASIA, THE ANIMATED TALE OF A RUSSIAN PRINCESS, FOX SINGS DISNEY'S 'TOON". Entertainment Weekly.com. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  11. ^ a b Saffron, Ingra (March 19, 1998). "A Cartoon 'Anastasia' Charms a New Russia / Bolsheviks Get Written Out". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A01. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  12. ^ Mattingly, Terry (November 28, 1998). "'Add Anastasia' to the list of offenders". The Dallas Morning News. p. 4G. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ a b c Goldberg, Carey (November 9, 1997). "After the Revolution, Comes 'Anastasia' the Cartoon". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  14. ^ Holden, Stephen (November 14, 1997). "FILM REVIEW; A Feeling We're Not in Russia Anymore". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  15. ^ Goldberg, Carey (November 9, 1997). "After the Revolution, Comes 'Anastasia' the Cartoon". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  16. ^ "Anastasia (1997) - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  17. ^ "Remembering Aaliyah". BET.com. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  18. ^ "Bartok the Magnificent (Video 1999)". IMDb. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  19. ^ "IGN: Anastasia: Adventures with Pooka and Bartok". IGN. Retrieved 2010-12-30.

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