Anastasia (1997)

reviewed by
Ben Hoffman


                             ANASTASIA

There are a few small criticisms that come to mind as I watched ANASTASIA. Despite some wonderful animation, when Dimitri walks up stairs, he seems to hop. And when he goes down the steps, he seems to stumble. I could not understand that because the rest of the animation, and in particular the ballroom scenes, were spectacularly perfect.

The other thing one must wonder about is why this story of a Russian Princess and the Russian Revolution is suitable for children, even if it is in animation. And is it something adults will want to watch in as much as it is animated? Why does the story imply that the real Anastasia is returned to her grandmother when, in fact, no one knows that, nor do we know if there is a real Anastasia who escaped the execution of the royal family? "And the greatest mystery of the 20th Century begins. . . " To which I say, "THE greatest mystery? Hardly."

Be that as it may, the animation is a delight to watch. Rasputin is suitably monstrous bringing to mind the devil in Fantasia's Night on Bald mountain. And, getting back to the animation, why is every woman in animated films shown as wide-eyed beyond belief? Such as Jasmine in ALADDIN? And Anastasia?

An all-star cast is used for the voices behind the characters:

Meg Ryan               Anastasia
John Cusack            Dimitri
Kelsey Grammer         Vladimir
Christopher Lloyd      Rasputin
Hank Azaria            Bartok
Bernadette Peters      Sophie
Kirsten Dunst          Young Anastasia
Angela  Lansbury        Dowager Empress Marie
Liz Callaway           The singing voice of Anastasia
Lacey Chabert          The singing voice of young Anastasia
Jim Cummings           Singing voice of Rasputin
Jonathan Dokuchitz     Singing voice of Dimitri.
        Produced and Directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman.
2.5 Bytes
4  bytes  =  Superb
3  bytes  =  Too good to miss
2  bytes  =  Average
1  byte   =  Save your money
                Copyright  1997         Ben Hoffman

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