What if Don Bluth stayed at Disney?/Bartok the Magnificent

***Bartok the Magnificent*** is a 1999 American direct-to-video animated fantasy adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It is a spin-off and prequel to Disney's 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 former bumbling small albino bat sidekick.

While several of Disney's animated films that were directed by Bluth have received sequels, spin-offs, television series, Broadway musicals, and live-action remakes, this is the only such project he has been involved with (although the *Beauty and the Beast* sequel, *Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas*, used some of Bluth's scrapped ideas)

## Plot

Albino bat and street artist Bartok arrives in Moscow and makes himself known by performing for the locals. His grand finale involves defeating a savage grizzly bear. Delighted with Bartok's bravery, the townspeople shower him with gold, including the young czar Ivan Romanov, who gifts Bartok with a royal ring, much to the chagrin of Ivan's assistant, Ludmilla. After the show, Bartok counts his earnings and is startled by the stirring bear, revealed to be his business partner and to not be savage at all, Zozi. Although Zozi is apprehensive about the ring, Bartok refuses as it was gifted.

When Ivan is kidnapped by the witch Baba Yaga, there is an immediate investigation. In seeking a rescuer, two children nominate Bartok, who, with Zozi, was already on his way to St. Petersburg when spotted by Cossacks. Bartok is brought before the townspeople, who are relying on his courage to save Ivan. Reluctantly, Bartok accepts, and he and Zozi set out for the Iron Forest. Upon arriving at Baba Yaga's hut, the duo must answer a riddle given by the entrance, a giant skull. With the riddle solved, Bartok is then captured by Baba Yaga, who explains that, in order to save Ivan, Bartok must retrieve three artifacts from the forest, without any assistance: her pet Piloff, Oble's Crown and the Magic Feather. However, Bartok quickly finds that these tasks are difficult, as Piloff is frozen to a boulder; Oble, a giant blacksmith surrounded by an aura of fire, must be tricked into letting his crown be stolen; and the Magic Feather must be obtained without flight, utilizing only the previous two items.

Returning to Baba Yaga with the objectives completed, the witch reveals that she needs something from Bartok himself. Baba Yaga rejects all his offers and, outraged, Bartok lashes out at her, accusing her of lying and cheating, and claiming that everyone hates her. Suddenly stricken with guilt, Bartok apologizes and cries, allowing Baba Yaga to obtain the most important ingredient: tears from the heart. She conjures up a potion from the objects, and reveals that she never kidnapped Ivan and that the potion was intended for Bartok himself; it will make whatever he is in his heart ten times on the outside. Bartok and Zozi return to town and lead Ludmilla and Vol, the Captain of the Guard, up to the top of the tower, where Ivan is imprisoned.

There, Ludmilla locks Bartok and Vol in with Ivan, revealing that she had Vol kidnap the prince (telling him to "get him out of the way" as in kill him, while Vol misunderstood and locked him up instead, supposedly for his own safety) while she framed Baba Yaga as part of her scheme to steal the throne. She steals Bartok's potion and leaves them in a well tower, quickly flooding with water. Ludmilla consumes the potion, thinking her beauty will become tenfold. Unbeknownst to her, the potion, in fact, causes her to transform into a giant, wingless, three-horned, pinkish-purple dragon, as it unveils her true wickedness. After seeing her reflection, Ludmilla goes on a rampage, burning the town with her fiery breath.

Zozi comes and rescues Bartok, Ivan and Vol. Bartok battles Ludmilla and tricks her into climbing the tower. When she reaches the top, the tower crumbles, crushing Ludmilla and unleashing a wave of gushing water that douses the flames. As the townsfolk gather around the wreckage, Zozi hails Bartok as a true hero, not only for defeating Ludmilla but also for showing Baba Yaga compassion. Bartok returns Ivan's ring and Baba Yaga appears, writing "Bartok, The Magnificent" in the sky. Bartok bids Baba Yaga and Piloff goodbye, undoubtedly counting on seeing him again someday.

## Release

### Home media

*Bartok the Magnificent* was first released on VHS and DVD by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on November 16, 1999, and was later re-released in 2005 as part of a 2-disc set alongside *Anastasia* entitled Family Fun Edition. *Bartok the Magnificent* was also included as a special feature on *Anastasia* Blu-ray, released in March 2011.

The tape and DVD conclude with sing-along segments that reprise the original tunes by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and that were later released in the *Disney's Sing-Along Songs* series - "Bartok the Magnificent", "A Possible Hero", and "Someone's in My House", and songs from other Disney animated films - "Never Say Never" (from *An American Tale*), "TBD" (from *Banjo the Woodpile Cat*), "I'm Just Like You" (from *The Prince and the Pauper*), and "Once Upon a December" (from *Anastasia*). Other DVD extras also include *Bartok* and *Anastasia* trailers, and a Maze Game that features three mazes.

#### Visual and audio

The aspect ratio is 1.33:1 – Full Frame. The DVD release has the original aspect ratio, and it is not anamorphic. As the source is video and not film, and because there is no widescreen aspect ratio available, the quality is at the same level of the original film. Digitally Obsessed says: "The colors are nicely rendered, with a minimum of bleeding" but when viewed on "a 115 foot projection screen through a progressive scan player...the image was fairly grainy and uneven". The film has English and French audio. Digitally Obsessed says: "The DS2.0 mix is more than adequate for this fun little bat romp [though there is a] lack of directionality in the mix. The dialogue is clear and center speaker weighted". It concluded by saying "this is a great DVD for kids, because besides just watching the movie they can enjoy the three sing-alongs or try to find Prince Ivan in the mazes. Bartok teaches moral values in a way that kids can understand". According to LoveFilm, the film has been dubbed into English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and Dutch. It has subtitles in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish. Fort Worth Star-Telegram implied this was one of the rare direct-to-video films that is great quality, saying "the made-for-tape bin can yield an undiscovered bargain [such as] *Bartok the Magnificent*". Lexington Herald-Leader said "to my surprise...the movie overall [is] quite good".

### Critical response

The film received mixed reviews. In a review written on January 1, 2000, Dan Jardine of *Apollo Guide* gave the film a score of 71/100. On December 8, 2004, Michael Dequina of *The Movie Report* wrote a review in which he scored it 1.5/4, writing the film as uninspired and short fun adventure for kids, but boring for everyone else. *Family Video* said that "the film is marked by imaginative scenery, catchy songs, comic characters and Bartok's own funny and neurotic commentary". *Hartford Courant* described the film as "enjoyable". *Indianapolis Star* said "'Bartok' is quite good for video-only release". *Digitally Obsessed* gave the film a Style grade of B+, Substance rating of A, Image Transfer rating of C, Audio Transfer rating of B, and Extras rating of B+ - averaging out to a B+ rating of the film as a whole. It said "Stephen Flaherty's score is very nice". On *Love Film*, the film has a rating of three of five stars based on 222 member ratings.

In a 1999 review, John Laydon of *Variety* explained: "Tykes will likely be charmed by the brisk pacing, vibrant (albeit stereotypical) characters and engaging storyline, while parents may be especially grateful for a cartoon with much better production values than *Pokémon*". He noted "even very small children will notice early on that Ludmilla...a duplicitous regent, is the real villain of the piece". He said Disney "does a respectable job of establishing what promises to be a new direct-to-video franchise", also adding that "though certainly not as lavish as its bigscreen predecessor *Anastasia*, the prequel is attractive and involving, with Tim Curry and Jennifer Tilly well cast as supporting-character voices". He said Azaria has "amusing brio", while Grammer "is the real scene-stealer this time". He described the songs as "pleasant but unremarkable". Also in 1999, *Fort Oglethorpe Press* described the film as "spectacular", "frolicking" and "fun-filled", adding that it is "loaded with breathtaking, feature-quality animation", and "spectacular music", and "enchanting new songs".

*The Trades* questioned its existence, saying: "I am unsure what reason this spin-off was made, but regardless, it was a well done one". It added that "unlike Disney's other direct-to-video movies, it was made by the original film's directors and is animated as well as said film and uses a healthy portion of CGI, something many movies of that nature tend to lack. Backgrounds have the same detail as the original movie, making this a definite worthwhile watch". *The Dallas Morning News* notes "*Bartok the Magnificent* does even more disservice to Russian history than *Anastasia* did".

### Accolades

*Bartok the Magnificent* was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production" at the 28th Annie Awards in 2000, losing to *An Extremely Goofy Movie*. It also received Gold Reel Award nominations for "Best Sound Editing" for both television films and direct-to-video presentations from the Motion Picture Sound Editors that same year, beaten by *Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story* and *Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein*, respectively.

 Golden Reel Award
 Best Sound Editing - Direct to Video - Sound Editorial