In a market so outrageously dominated by Disney, "Anastasia" appears as some kind of lifebelt for other animation studios.
With a price-tag of over $50 million, "Anastasia" is a costly, very ambitious animated musical but it never gets pretentious about his family-pleasing issues or its historical depictions. And that's why it works so well.
One of the few family-oriented animated movies depicting historical characters (something that Disney do not dare to do), "Anastasia" begins in 1916, where we meet young Russian princess Anastasia who gets a special gift from her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, during a prestigious royal party.
Celebrations are abruptly shortened when cruel charlatan Rasputin takes profit of the party to set off his curse upon the Romanov family. Every historical buff knows what happens next: the Bolcheviks take upon the power and recall the country the USSR, but as it's a family movie, it attempts to make the viewer believe that the Russian Revolution is caused by Rasputin's curse.
Anastasia is removed from her grandmother and ends up in a orphanage where she lives for ten years. She then encounters Dimitri and his companion Vlad who decide to guide her to Paris in order to find back her family.
The historical and political contexts would never have been part of a Disney movie. But the production team of Fox Animation Studios do a terrific job with them. It never gets too complicated for the young or even the older viewers and it never gets too simplistic for the educated minds. We see men wearing caps with the hammer-and-sickle logo and we see Soviet passports, while we never get too deep with that. Except for that lovely quote: "That's what I hate about this government. Everything's red." But we hardly see red in this movie. Animation is sometimes half-satisfying but the animators never try to be minimalistic. This is particularly evident when you watch a scene such as the initial party in the St. Petersburg palace. Only a fraction of the people present in the background do appear alive while the others are simply still shadows or drawings. But in a live-action movie, that kind of scene would have requested hundreds and hundreds of extras and a very expensive set.
And with the quality of the animation, we could really feel ourselves in pre-Depression Russia, German countryside and fantastic Paris. The feelings of the 1920s are very present until we arrive in Paris. Once in the City of Light, some of the places look too much modern, such as that Chanel store in a paved street. It feels too much anachronistic, even if it's well drawn.
Three main action sequences are also included. Primo, there is the doomed train ride where Rasputin's evil 'spirits' attack in the snowy forest. I couldn't stop myself from watching the sparks flying, the fire invading the locomotive and the explosion at the end of the sequence.
Second, the boat 'rescue' where reality is mixed with Anastasia's childish dream world until she's saved by Dimitri.
And third, the climatic confrontation between the two main protagonists and the dismembering half-dead Rasputin. The dizzying moves and the animation techniques employed give an almost-real mood to the action.
Those three sequences have something in common: they're all adrenaline performances that will satisfy the action-hungry viewer and they're all gentle enough to fit with young children. The case of the stone winged horse at the end is questionable but the rest isn't.
What definitely makes "Anastasia" a children's movie is the abundance of musical numbers. And while there isn't any song that will become a part of legend, the overall score is enjoyable enough. But, instead of forcing itself to look like a typical Disney musical, the production team seems to care more about the story and the animation, which is a wise move because of the great storyline.
The movie "Anastasia" could be compared to Lenin: it's the leader of the people against the supreme ruler (Nicholas II for Lenin, Disney for "Anastasia). I don't say that for looking anti-Disney though. And with the amount of computer-animated movies made recently, "Anastasia" is one of the greatest late entries of the traditionally-animated movies. Da!
With a price-tag of over $50 million, "Anastasia" is a costly, very ambitious animated musical but it never gets pretentious about his family-pleasing issues or its historical depictions. And that's why it works so well.
One of the few family-oriented animated movies depicting historical characters (something that Disney do not dare to do), "Anastasia" begins in 1916, where we meet young Russian princess Anastasia who gets a special gift from her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, during a prestigious royal party.
Celebrations are abruptly shortened when cruel charlatan Rasputin takes profit of the party to set off his curse upon the Romanov family. Every historical buff knows what happens next: the Bolcheviks take upon the power and recall the country the USSR, but as it's a family movie, it attempts to make the viewer believe that the Russian Revolution is caused by Rasputin's curse.
Anastasia is removed from her grandmother and ends up in a orphanage where she lives for ten years. She then encounters Dimitri and his companion Vlad who decide to guide her to Paris in order to find back her family.
The historical and political contexts would never have been part of a Disney movie. But the production team of Fox Animation Studios do a terrific job with them. It never gets too complicated for the young or even the older viewers and it never gets too simplistic for the educated minds. We see men wearing caps with the hammer-and-sickle logo and we see Soviet passports, while we never get too deep with that. Except for that lovely quote: "That's what I hate about this government. Everything's red." But we hardly see red in this movie. Animation is sometimes half-satisfying but the animators never try to be minimalistic. This is particularly evident when you watch a scene such as the initial party in the St. Petersburg palace. Only a fraction of the people present in the background do appear alive while the others are simply still shadows or drawings. But in a live-action movie, that kind of scene would have requested hundreds and hundreds of extras and a very expensive set.
And with the quality of the animation, we could really feel ourselves in pre-Depression Russia, German countryside and fantastic Paris. The feelings of the 1920s are very present until we arrive in Paris. Once in the City of Light, some of the places look too much modern, such as that Chanel store in a paved street. It feels too much anachronistic, even if it's well drawn.
Three main action sequences are also included. Primo, there is the doomed train ride where Rasputin's evil 'spirits' attack in the snowy forest. I couldn't stop myself from watching the sparks flying, the fire invading the locomotive and the explosion at the end of the sequence.
Second, the boat 'rescue' where reality is mixed with Anastasia's childish dream world until she's saved by Dimitri.
And third, the climatic confrontation between the two main protagonists and the dismembering half-dead Rasputin. The dizzying moves and the animation techniques employed give an almost-real mood to the action.
Those three sequences have something in common: they're all adrenaline performances that will satisfy the action-hungry viewer and they're all gentle enough to fit with young children. The case of the stone winged horse at the end is questionable but the rest isn't.
What definitely makes "Anastasia" a children's movie is the abundance of musical numbers. And while there isn't any song that will become a part of legend, the overall score is enjoyable enough. But, instead of forcing itself to look like a typical Disney musical, the production team seems to care more about the story and the animation, which is a wise move because of the great storyline.
The movie "Anastasia" could be compared to Lenin: it's the leader of the people against the supreme ruler (Nicholas II for Lenin, Disney for "Anastasia). I don't say that for looking anti-Disney though. And with the amount of computer-animated movies made recently, "Anastasia" is one of the greatest late entries of the traditionally-animated movies. Da!