The fact that this movie is not historically accurate does not bother me - it is an entertaining animated movie, not a documentary.
My biggest complaint about this movie is Rasputin. He detracts far more from the story than he adds; if you remove all of his scenes, you are left with a mature, beautifully animated movie. Rasputin and Bartok really do nothing for the story but interrupt it with annoyingly long scenes that look more like a Saturday morning gargoyles cartoon than the rest of the movie. Without these distractions, maybe the more important parts of the movie (Anastasia's and Dmitri's relationship, Anastasia's meeting with her grandmother, etc.) could have been developed more strongly. Rasputin, Bartok, their environment, and the supernatural occurrences attached to them simply do not belong in this movie, which otherwise looks and sounds very sophisticated. Nevertheless, there must be an antagonist - this role could have been filled by another group of con men with a fake Anastasia or by a realistic assassin - or *something* other than Rasputin.
Aside from Rasputin, there is little to complain about - the movie is beautifully and realistically animated and has a great soundtrack, especially the haunting song "Once Upon a December". There are some truly memorable scenes between Anastasia and Dmitri, and every character (besides Rasputin and Bartok, of course) is believable and fully brought to life both as individuals and in their interactions. Definitely worth watching if you can put up with aforementioned shortcomings.
My biggest complaint about this movie is Rasputin. He detracts far more from the story than he adds; if you remove all of his scenes, you are left with a mature, beautifully animated movie. Rasputin and Bartok really do nothing for the story but interrupt it with annoyingly long scenes that look more like a Saturday morning gargoyles cartoon than the rest of the movie. Without these distractions, maybe the more important parts of the movie (Anastasia's and Dmitri's relationship, Anastasia's meeting with her grandmother, etc.) could have been developed more strongly. Rasputin, Bartok, their environment, and the supernatural occurrences attached to them simply do not belong in this movie, which otherwise looks and sounds very sophisticated. Nevertheless, there must be an antagonist - this role could have been filled by another group of con men with a fake Anastasia or by a realistic assassin - or *something* other than Rasputin.
Aside from Rasputin, there is little to complain about - the movie is beautifully and realistically animated and has a great soundtrack, especially the haunting song "Once Upon a December". There are some truly memorable scenes between Anastasia and Dmitri, and every character (besides Rasputin and Bartok, of course) is believable and fully brought to life both as individuals and in their interactions. Definitely worth watching if you can put up with aforementioned shortcomings.