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Anastasia

Anastasia

List Price: $19.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a beautiful film
Review: this is a great film, and another addition to the classics that have dealth with the painful russian revolution of 1917. it is truly amazing how much that revolution changed the face of the world throughout the 20th century.

this film also has some great music, including "Once upon a December." for me, though, i didnt really like the "Gay Paree" song very much. i kept feeling like looking at my watch, hoping that song would end. but that is the only fault i find with this film. it otherwise is quite good and for all to enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: This is my favourite animated movie of all-time! It has beautiful animation and music. The characters are spunky and quite refreshing after all the redundant Disney heroes. Many cranky critics complain about the plot and having a typical villian and how it ignores the reality of the communist revolution. But, hello? Might I point out that the directed audience is at children? They NEED a typical villian. They're kids. They need an obvious source of evil. And about the plot? The plot isn't actually that bad if you have absolutely no clue about history but give me a break. It's a cartoon. Lighten up, it's a good movie. But to me the best part is that unlike most disney movies,
Anastasia beats up her boyfriend and then saves [him] from Rasputin. All in all, an absolutely lovely movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: aaliyah- journey to the past
Review: THE SONG "JOURNEY TO THE PAST" SANG BY AALIYAH WAS TIGHT.I THINK THAT WAS THE BEST SONG ON THE ANASTASIA SOUNDTRACK.THAT SONG WAS MADE FOR HER TO SING.I THINK EVERY SONG ON THE ANASTASIA SOUND TRACK SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUNG BY AALIYAH.HER VOICE IS BEAUTIFUL AND THE WAY SHE SINGS IT'S LIKE LISTENING TO AN ANGEL SINGING FOR ME FROM HEAVEN.I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU AALIYAH U ARE MY IDOL AND I WILL KEEP YOU IN MY PRAYERS.AND TO THE FAMILY OF AALIYAH I HAVE YOU ALL IN MY PRAYERS ALSO AND I WISH THAT I COULD HAVE MET AALIYAH BUT EVERY TIME I TRIED I NEVER KNEW THE EXACT PLACE SHE WAS GOING TO BE.I LOVE YOU ALL PEACE.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is GREAT!!
Review: I saw this movie when I was 10 and I fell in love w/ it immediately. It's a sad story at first but it's happier in the end. The songs are wonderful also. The plot, everything is wonderful. Even though it's plot is not historically right, or however you say it, it's still wonderful. Kirsten Dunst, John Cusack, and Kelsey Grammar are some of the voices in this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GREAT MOVIE!
Review: Anastasia tells the story of Anastasia Romanov, the lost Russian princess. It's a really sweet story. People say it loses the thread in several segments, two words, NOT TRUE! My favorite song is "Once upon a December." It's somewhat akin to "Be a Man" and "Reflection" from Mulan, "Why Should I Worry" and "Once Upon a Time in New York City" from Oliver and Company, "My Lullaby" and "Love Will Find a Way" from the Lion King 2, and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from the first Lion King. I actually got my dog's name from Anastasia. She's named after Anya's dog Pooka. It was great!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An charming fantasy anamated film.
Review: When an Evil Sorcerer (Voiced by Christopher Lloyd) puts a Curse on the Reigning Romanor Family. Most of the Romanov Family are Murder expect for one girl named Anastasia (Voiced by Kristen Dunst as a Child and Meg Ryan as a Adult) and her grandmother (Voiced by Angela Landsbury) survived. Ten Years Later, the Orphaned Teen is Stuggling with Amnesia, when She Crosses Paths with her Exiled Grandmother.

Directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. This film is a lavish musical fairy-tale romance and this is a Familiar but Gorgeously Rendered story. Supporting Voice Talents including:John Cusack, Hank Azana, Kesley Grammer and Bernadette Peters. This is a well made animated film. Cinemascope. Grade:B+.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I love this movie!!!!
Review: This movie is a true classic, animated or otherwise. Superb vocal casting combined with a spectacular musical score creates pure theatrical magic. Vocal greats include Bernadette Peters, Kelsey Grammer and Angela Lansbury! A great story of the royal Russian families, and a heartwarming ending to take your breath away! Five animated stars!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Best Don Bluth Movie I've Seen
Review: Don Bluth is an incredibly gifted artist. His character designs and animation can be breathtaking. Unfortunately, he and frequent collaborator Gary Goldman can't tell a cohesive story to save their lives. Of all of his films I've seen, "Anastasia" is by far their best. Whether this is because of solid source material (although that didn't stop "The Secret of NIMH" from falling to pieces story-wise) or the incredible score by Lynn Aherns and Stephen Flaherty, "Anastasia" remains in my estimation Bluth and Goldman's most watchable movie.

Based loosely on a play by Marcelle Maurette and Guy Bolton. As well as the 1956 film adaptation of the play by Arthur Laurents, the story turns the mystery of the disappearance of Anastasia, daughter of Czar Nicholas, following the murder of the Russian royal family, into a fairy tale. You have to ignore everything you know about history in order to accept the execution of the film--it plays loose with the Communist revolution and with Rasputin.

Dimitri (voiced with great charm by John Cusack, sung by John Dokuchitz) is a con artist living in St. Petersburg. Along with his friend Vladimir (the entertaining Kelsey Grammer), he is searching for a young girl who can play the role of the missing Romanoff heir in order to claim a reward from the dowager empress who has escaped to Paris. He meets Anya (voiced with much character by Meg Ryan, sung by the incredible Liz Callaway) and immediately sees in her the girl to carry out his plans. As he and Vladimir work with Anya to perfect her ruse, he comes to realize that she is the true Anastasia.

Then we add the elements that make it a Don Bluth movie--Anya has a cute dog and there is a magical villain in the (dead) body of Rasputin (played gleefully over the top by Christopher Lloyd and sung by Jim Cummings). And, of course, Rasputin has his cute animal sidekick in the form of an albino bat, Bartok (the always effective Hank Azaria). Rasputin wants revenge on the Romanoffs for his undead state and sets off to kill the princess. It should also be noted that Bernadette Peters and Angele Lansbury round out the voice cast in entertaining performances.

Okay, if you can put aside your feelings of misgivings regarding the animal sidekicks and revisionist history, there is much that is entertaining in this film. The score by Broadway veterans Aherns and Flaherty is probably one of the best ever composed for an animated movie. The script does provide action, adventure, romance, and comedy. It's probably the most human script directed by Bluth and Goldman. There is some spectacular animation, the runaway train scene stands out as truly effective.

There are drawbacks. It is trying too hard to out-Disney Disney, from the opening number to the very structure of the story. The computer animation isn't always well integrated. The music box never looks like it exists in the same reality as the animated characters and the afore-mentioned train sequence is obviously not cell animation. But these drawback are relatively minor compared to the overblown climax of the movie. Still, flaws aside, it does entertain. I have watched it several times and have definitely gotten my money's worth of this DVD.

The DVD ovvers you the option of fullscreen and letterbox presentation, a short featurette about the making of the movie, and a pair of sing-along sequences.

All in all, I recommend this movie to people who enjoy animated musicals. If you like this, you may also like Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame", "My Neighbor Totoro", Frank Oz's musical version of "Little Shop of Horrors", "The Iron Giant", "James and the Giant Peach", and "The Nightmare before Christmas".

(C)2001 Joe Edkin

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: So Well Done You'll Think It's Disney!
Review: Not to diss Fox and Dreamworks and other studio heads, but when you see a great animated film, you automatically think Disney did it. I was only 9 when I first saw this movie, and I really thought it was Disney. It's not historically accurate, but if it was, it wouldn't be a children's movie. Now they have it that Anastasia and her grandmother escaped the palace, but were seperated. Anastasia[Anya] falls, loses her memory, and becomes an orphan. She heads to St. Petersburg to find her family, and on the way she meets a dog, the boy who saved her life as a kid, though she doesnt know it, and the boy's friend. I agree that Anya's character was a bit self-centered, which I didn't like. She wants to find her family which is fine, but she acts a little spoiled at times. But overall I thought it was very good, the music was so awesome I had to go buy the soundtrack. Meg Ryan, John Cusak, and Kelsey Grammar are all very good and solid in their parts, but the best actor is Hank Azaria, who throws himself into playing Rasputin's batty sidekick. The clean jokes and gags he makes are clever and he never loses character for a second. It's a very good film that is not accurate to history, but you know what? A five year-old isn't going to know anyway.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Anastasia
Review: If it was'nt for all the long songs, that i think should be cutted down, 'Anastasia' could have been one of the best non-Disney movies of the 90's, and of all the things that saves the movie, is of course, the beautyful Anastasia, Pooka and Bartok, the dazzling special effects, and the evil Rasputin, that is both cruel and funny, the whole family will enjoy this star filled movie.


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