Anastasia

Rating:
Summary: An Alternate View of Russian History
Review: At the end of last week I had the opportunity to see Anastasia. Due to the prevalence of magic and the changing of history, Anastasia does qualify as a fantasy film.

When the Russian empire falls (in a fortnight due to Rasputin's curse), young Anastasia escapes with her life but not her memory. An old member of the court and an old member of the palace staff look for a girl they can pose as Anastasia in order to collect a reward. The girl they pick turns out to be the genuine article. After some harrowing adventures made more difficult by the efforts of Rasputin from beyond the grave, Anastasia is reunited with her grandmother. Then, just as all obstacles and plot complications are out of the way of romance the final showdown with Rasputin occurs.

One of the main reasons I had wanted to see this film was that it was the first true challenge to Disney's animation empire. I was very surprised to find out that Don Bluth (All Dogs Go To Heaven and other dogs) was behind the film. Bluth seems to have finally figured out how to make a good film and Anastasia will hopefully not be the last.

There are a few faults (of course) with the overall plot and the dealings with history but if one accepts this as alternate history they are not a real problem. For one, Rasputin dies by accident (although he does drown). Anastasia is found and reunited with her family. The Russian Empire is likened to Camelot where all is good for everyone. Rubles seem to have worth outside of Russia. But if you can handle that, you should have no problem with the story. The only real problems I had with the production involved the musical numbers and the animation. There was some good music but it just wasn't as clear as it should be. Oftentimes one had to guess what the song was about. The problem with the animation stems from to jarring an interface between the computer animation and the cell animation. Hopefully these small problems can be eliminated in future projects.

So, overall I really enjoyed the movie. It was a fun story with some old cliches eliminated (Tracy thinks they too a close look at the success of Buffy The Vampire Slayer). The animation was beautiful, if jarring in a few spots. The characters were likeable and believable and were backed by some excellent voice talents. If you get a chance to see this one on a big screen you should take that opportunity; it's worth it. If not, get the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: OH MY GOSH
Review: This is a classic movie. Yes, "classic" has been overused by Disney, but I want you to know that this IS a TRUE classic. It's right up there with Snow White.

The animation was so astounding I can't even attempt to put it in words. The 3D and 2D mesh isn't as good in some places as one would like it to be, but (a) it was 1997 and (b) we still can't pull it off now in 2005! If this isn't amazing animation, then what IS?

The music was as good or (dare I even say it?) possibly even BETTER than the animation. "Once Upon a December" is just....... It's useless to describe it. Words cannot express how mysterious and haunting and amazing and joyous and creepy and astounding every second of listening to it is. The rest of the songs, while not quite as good, are still enjoyable.

And the writing...Oh, the writing was fantastic. To those of you who wanted a historically accurate Anastasia, I have two words for you: TOUGH BEANS. This is far better than what ACTUALLY happened, and every scene was exactly what it was supposed to be--take the dream sequence. It was SO darn creepy seeing the reality played against what was happening in Anya's mind, it was just-----insane. Completely and totally IN-SANE! DO YOU HEAR ME! ALL OF IT IS COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE AND POWERFUL AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!!!!!

Bottom line: If you are an inhabitant of our universe (preferably above age 5, but that's okay too), you should watch this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful movie
Review: I first saw this movie at my friend's house in the 1st grade. I was immediatly captivated. The gorgeous music and stroy really drew me in. On the ride home from friend's house i was humming:" Once a upon a december," which remains my fave song in the movie. THe music is just gorgous! However, it's not really hisotorically accurate. Whatever, it's still a great movie.



Rating:
Summary: An Alternate View of the Romanov Rumour
Review: Well I thought this movie was awesome. I loved it. When I first saw it, years ago I loved it and even to this day, I still do. Sure Rasputin is portrayed as a super-human psychotic maniac who wanted the Romanov family dead... Even though it has not been proven that Anastasia was still alive... and even though the movie never mentioned that Aleixi's body was also missing not just Anastasia... it was still a great movie, with fabulous songs. Definately not recommended for small children due to frightening scenes... unless of course the children are already corrupted... then by all means.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite "Disney" movie ever...
Review: Okay, yes, Anastasia is historically inaccurate but who cares? Just watch a movie to have fun sometimes. And, yes, Rasputin was unnecessary but Anastasia had to be marketed as a kids' movie, and I don't think any parent wants their kids to see a princess fight Vladimir Lenin... as funny as that would be. Plus, it's an interesting twist, that Vladimir caused the Russian Revolution.

Anyway... how do I put this? I LOVE this movie. I think that there was one summer where I watched it two times a week. Anasasia and Dmitri are one of the cutest animated couples ever; they had real chemistry! Plus it was so cute how he was a servant and she was a princess. Anyway, the reason that I like this movie so much is instead of some crazy plot device that allows a "commoner" and royalty to marry, the girl has to choose between being a princess and marrying whom she wants. I like the message better.

As for the music.. I love the music, and I don't think anyone can deny that Once Upon a December is one of the coolest scenes EVER.

Rating:
Summary: Um...Kinda Good...
Review: It was the night of a great ball at the palace and Anastasia Romanov and her father Nicholas, Czar of Russia were the center of attention as they danced together. Marie Romanov, the Dowager Empress of Russia had come to say goodbye before leaving to go to Paris. To make the separation more bearable, she had a music box made for Anastasia to sing her to sleep at night. It seemed as though it were the perfect evening, but suddenly a dark cloud loomed over the palace and Rasputin - who had been banished by the royal family - entered the party. He set a curse upon the Romanovs saying they would all die within the fortnight. Panic arose throughout the palace and the Romanovs ran for their lives. Separated from the family, Anastasia and her Grandmother ran to the train station to escape. Anastasia could not keep up and soon was lost on the streets of St. Petersburg and thought dead throughout all of Russia.

Ten years later, a rumor arises that Anastasia is alive. We meet Dimitri and Vladimir who are planning to find a girl to pretend to be Anastasia so they can recieve the large reward from the Dowager Empress, Marie. They find Anya - a young woman who is seaching for her past with only one clue: Paris. They convince her to come with them to Paris and meet Marie saying maybe she really is Anastasia and if so, she will have found her family at last. Rasputin realizes Anastasia is not dead and becomes furious. He sets off on a mission to kill her.

This is a wonderful film and I recomend it to anyone. It has the quality of the Disney Classics and has great music with great lyrics. With voices of famous stars such as Kelsey Grammar, Meg Ryan, and Christopher Lloyd, it is a great film for the whole family to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best non-Disney Animated Movies Ever!!
Review: My best friend lent me this movie a year back and swore to me that I would love it as much as she did. I was a little hesistant at first, but indeed this is one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. The mix of traditional animation mixed with computer-generated animation is superb and done extremely well. The acting and voice talents were well cast and the voices truly embody the characters that they play. However, the best part is the music. Although there are only a few, they are all done extremely well and are creative, cute, as well a being catchy. I often have found myself absent-mindedly humming "Journey to the Past" or "Once Upon a December". The song that is done over the credits (I believe it is called "Life is a Road") is also one of the best theme songs written for a movie, in my opinion. Sure, the story is riddled with historical inaccuracies, but its bound to happen. Most stories are distorted somewhat when translated to the big screen. However, the story presented is done well. This is a not-to-be-missed movie!! Enjoy!!

Rating:
Summary: the best movie
Review: After Prince of Egypt, this is perhaps the most realistically animated movie of all time
It is beautiful, with the voices perfectly in sync with the animation, and some beautiful songs like the exquisite Once Upon a December.
Meg Ryan really puts a cute voice to Anya, and Hank Azaria is really funny as the albino bat, in fact better than the much-overrated Robin Williams, in his similar roles in other animated movies.
The scene of the Christmas in the palace, with Kirsten Dunst reading the young Anastasia was really enchanting, and the whole adventure is a compelling epic. Kelsey Grammar and John Cusack play their roles also with aplomb, as the adventure across Europe to re-unite the Anastasia (the orphan Anya) with the Grand Duchess unfolds , all the while believing that they are just passing off a con!
It is once of the best animated movies of all times, along with Prince of Egypt (1998) and Alice in Wonderland (1952) except... Why was Rasputin the chief villain? I mean I know that you can't expect too much historical accuracy from an animated movie, but there really was a Prime Evil in the story of Anastasia, the Romanovs and Russia: and his name was Vladimir Illyich Lenin.


Rasputin had nothing to do with the murder of the Romanov family, but the Bolsheviks certainly where brutal and evil, beyond anything in any fairy tale, and their acolytes (eg Noam `Wormtongue' Chomsky, the apologist of tyranny and terror). So why where such perfect villains almost completely left out of the movie?

Put in Lenin instead of Rasputin as the chief villain/devil role and now you have a classic! Or is it just not PC these days to go too hard on the Commies?


Rating:
Summary: Overrated - at least I thought so
Review: I remember when this movie came out. It was well received by critics, every one and their mother said it was great. I got a chance to see it in theaters...but as I walked out I wondered to myself, "Did I just see the right movie?" All in all, I didn't find anything remarkable about it.

One problem I had was historical accuracies. I can let the idea of Anastasia living pass without a though, but there were other inaccuracies that bugged me. Didn't the writers know that St Petersburg was renamed by the Communist government to Leningrad in 1924? In fact, where the heck were the Communists? There are only two references to Communist Russia in this entire movie. And never mind the fact of course that Rasputin wasn't alive during the Revolution, or even the fact that his reason for cursing them is totally construed. In fact, I find it stupid to make Rasputin such a cartoony archnemesis when he was a real life historical figure. What next? Will they make an animated film on the American Revolution and make George III a soldier of Satan? Maybe you're thinking, "Awe it's just a cartoon!" Yeah whatever, I've seen "cartoons" that had detailed, accurate WWII airplanes and uniforms, so don't gimme that.

By the way, in the final scene...you're telling me no one in late 1920's Paris is going to notice a huge glowing demon ripping up pavement and buildings? That'd be like if "King Kong" ended with the big ape climbing the Empire State Building and only the three main characters noticing.

For an animated movie, I wouldn't even give it points. One problem I had was it seemed like they tried to rotoscope it. The problem with rotoscoping is you can either do it right or you can do it wrong. Mamoru Oshii did it right with "Jin-Roh," while Ralph Bakshi did it wrong with "Lord of the Rings." Don Bluth has done it completely wrong, almost relying on it for every type of movement and character motion. The point of animation is you can steer away from realism when you want. When you stick to close to it you lose all the potential at your fingertips. What happens here is characters look and move awkward, and all attempts at choreography with the songs come out slow and befuddled (this is especially true in the St. Petersburg song). It is even worse for the more cartoony, goofy looking characters, who look exceptionally awkward trying to move like real people.

There is one reason to see this movie though: the soundtrack. That, I will admit, is excellent. Whenever a song came on I was interested, if the choreography was poorly done. I almost wonder if the movie was based around the music. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was made that way, but then again they didn't have George III try to steal Christmas. The music in that film also incorporated itself into the storyline, whereas only a few can be said for "Anastasia." Some songs actually feel disjointed from the movie and put in just so the producers could make an animated movie with songs.

Incidentally, I should warn you Bartok was overadvertised when toy companies and fast food chains milked off the film. He's in about five minutes of the whole movie. In fact, delete him out and you won't lose anything big.