Anastasia Triumphs!
Animation and Music are Captivating

Like many people, I have eagerly been anticipating the release of Anastasia to see how it would compare with the leaders of the animated pack, those loveable films from the people at Walt Disney. You remember Disney, don't you? A few years ago they used to make quality animated motion pictures. In recent memory, however, they have suffered a bout of creative lapse, failing to come near their pinnacle achievement, The Lion King.

In case you hear hammering, that's the sound of Fox Animation nailing Disney's coffin shut. The crew under the direction of veteran animator Don Bluth has made a thrilling, beautiful piece of work that should stand proud with the best of the best. Anastasia is a winner, and should be the wake-up call for that other studio.

Anastasia tells a wonderful story of a Russian princess who loses her memory and her family only to find them again ten years later. The story is loosely based on fact. After the murder of the Russian Czar and the royal family, a girl emerged in Europe claiming to be the Czar's daughter, Anastasia. While many in Paris society accepted her as the true heir to the throne, others denounced her as a fraud. It is a mystery still unsolved today.

The animated film does not dwell on the more violent points of the story, however. When the Romanoffs are attacked, it is Anastasia we follow, hearing only the sounds of gunshots in the distance. The entire revolution, in fact, is ignored -- appearing to be the evil orchestration of the villainous Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), who has sold his soul to destroy the Romanoff house.

After ten years, a young girl named Anya (voiced by Meg Ryan) is released from her orphanage. Desperate to get to Paris in an attempt to find out who she is, the young girl falls into a plot with two con artists named Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer). The two men hope to find a girl who looks enough like the missing Anastasia that they could travel to Paris and present her to the Grand Duchess (Angela Lansbury) for a reward.

The selling point of Anastasia is the tremendous achievement in animation. This film rivals anything Disney has done. Two scenes especially stood out in my mind. One was the train which Anya and Dimitri take across country is stunningly real from the outside. The exterior animation on the train as they jump from it is unbelievable. The other is the scene of Anastasia at the Russian ballet in Paris. When Dimitri looks up at her in her long blue evening gown she looks less like a cartoon and more like an animated Audrey Hepburn. A beautiful touch.

The music, likewise, is worthy of praise. From "Rumor in St. Petersburg" a tone is set for the film (which clearly rises to the challenge). The most poignant song, "Journey to the Past," is sure to become imbedded in our minds over the coming months. My only complaint in regard to the film is that there are not more songs. After a brief song about love in Paris, the film forgoes music and singing for the remainder of the movie. I believe one more number toward the end would have rounded out the film nicely.

Most important, though, is that Anastasia is good, wholesome, family entertainment. The scenes with the evil (and undead) Rasputin may frighten some children. Despite all of his bluster and nastiness, his pet bat Bartok (Hank Azaria) provides distracting comedy relief. When Bartok is on the screen he always steals the show.

MY RATING: 9 out of 10.

RATED: G
RUN TIME: 88 min.