Bartok the Magnificent

***Bartok the Magnificent*** is a 1999 direct-to-video animated adventure comedy film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It is a spin-off and prequel to the 1997 film *Anastasia* (also directed by Bluth and Goldman).

The film centres around the kidnapping of the young czar prior to the Russian Revolution. Hank Azaria reprises his role from the previous film as Bartok, Rasputin's bumbling small albino bat sidekick.

While several of Bluth's films have received sequels, shows and spin-offs, this is the only one he has directed or even been involved with.

## Plot

Bartok is an albino bat who lives in medieval Russia, where he spends his life pretending to be a hero and having people with his tricks, aided by his friend and fellow Zozi, a bear with the inordinate passion for theatre, saved from the zoo from Bartok himself. One day the future Tsar of Russia, namely Ivan, a young Prince of Moscow, is apparently kidnapped by the witch Baba Yaga. Bartok is mandated by the wicked Lyudmila, a cross between a witch and a councilor of the future Czar, to travel to the forest of Baba Yaga and finding Ivan.

Bartok, found the Witch House and met, is forced by Baba Yaga to take three tests: being able to bring back Piloff, a curious pet, take the glowing Crown of Oble the ORC blacksmith, and finally take a feather that vaults above a tower without the ability to fly, during all these trials, Zozi won't be allowed to help him and every time I have to go back to Baba Yaga the skull/guardian shall submit their riddles: the first test is overcome by bringing the ice block on which was attacked by its dissolution by Baba Yaga and Piloff; the second is accomplished by distracting Oble with satirical games then steal his Crown, the OGRE will fall into a river and it will refresh calming; the third and most important evidence has been reassembling the Tower (with the collapse from the same Bartok) in a manner more in keeping with the Crown of Oble as tip of the Tower, to the feather.

Once completed the three missions, Baba Yaga creates a potion with the help of what brought Bartok, but need a special ingredient: his compassion. After managing to get a tear, by stratagem, from the bat, Baba Yaga reveals to Bartok that she didn't do it to kidnap Ivan and telling him to look up the tower he built understands that young never left the city and located in the Tower on the TA and gives him the potion stating that its effect to increase tenfold what one has within himself.

At that point, Bartok went to the Castle, where she tells what happened and Ludmilla leads Vol to the Tower, where is actually the young King. But there, a fight breaks out between Ludmilla and Vol, where it turns out that actually was Lyudmila for concocting the kidnapping of Ivan and commanded Vol to cross-dress, Bewitched, kidnap and kill him and everything just to inherit his place on the throne; so pens also Bartok and Vol in the cage, and throws them into a pit that will soon be filled with water. Also takes the potion from the young bat, drinks it and becomes a fierce Dragon, since the potion he pulled out and tenfold all his perfidy.

The prisoners are then saved by Zozi, while Lyudmila is ravaging the city, but this time Bartok, thanks to the experience gained by performing businesses to Baba Yaga, was able to defeat Lyudmila by stratagem, destroying the Tower flooded by turning fire and returning to Ivan on his throne. Truly a magnificent Bartok eventually becomes hero and thanked Baba Yaga after the death of Ludmilla, caused by crollatale tower over him.