The plot is predictable; Anastasia survives in defiance of the historical record and heads to Paris to find her grandmother and validation, all the while falling gradually in love, screwball comedy style, and ending up happy if no longer royal- who needs those useless Romanovs anyway?
It's a superb cast, with Christopher Lloyd superb in a rare villainous role as the surely too scary for kids ghostly Rasputin, but Meg Ryan and John Cusack (the most '90s stars ever) steal the show. The animation, still hand-drawn, is gorgeous, and I appreciate the various nods to contemporary art and especially the Toulouse Lautrec version of the Moulin Rouge. Yes, it's for kids; yes, narrative rides roughshod over historical accuracy; but there are far worse ways to spend ninety minutes.
I highly recommend Phelan Porteous' YouTube reviews of several Anastasia rip-offs that make this film look like a masterpiece in general. Several animated films bearing the same title actually look hilariously awful.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, going with an alternative history idea, what would you think would have happened if the real "Anastasia DID survive" and I don't mean, as in a Anna Anderson style escape; I mean, in a way giving her a new identity, and with public knowledge of her identity and that she was the sole survivor, and the fact that Russia would be a dictatorship governed by Stalin, meaning that she be forced to live the rest of her life on the run.
Hmm, you'd have a surviving Romanov, essentially. I know that the Russian monarchy was closed to female monarchs after Catherine the Great, but surely Anastasia and any descendants would be a much more credible pretender than whoever we actually have. Probably not enough to move the dial, though.
ReplyDeleteStill, you'd have a powerful Russian voice against the Soviet Union.