Anastasia

***Anastasia*** is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy adventure film directed and produced by former Walt Disney Feature Animation directors, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman in association with Fox Animation Studios, distributed by 20th Century Fox, and starring the voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Hank Azaria, Christopher Lloyd, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst and Angela Lansbury. The film is a loose adaptation of the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, which claims that she, in fact, escaped the execution of her family. Its basic plot centers around an eighteen-year-old amnesiac orphan named Anya who, in hopes of finding some trace of her family, sides with con men who wish to take advantage of her likeness to the Grand Duchess; thus the film shares its plot with Fox's prior film from 1956, which, in turn, was based on the 1955 play of the same name by Marcelle Maurette.

The film was met with criticism by some historians for its fantastical retelling of the life of the Grand Duchess. Though it enjoyed a positive reception from many critics, the historical inaccuracies were panned. From a $50 million budget, *Anastasia* grossed over $139 million worldwide, making it the most profitable film from Bluth and Fox Animation Studios to date. It received nominations for several awards, including for Best Original Song ("Journey to the Past") and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score at the 70th Academy Awards. The success of *Anastasia* spawned various adaptations of the film into other media, including a direct-to-video spin-off film, a computer game, books, toys and a stage musical, which premiered in 2016.

## Plot

In 1916, Czar Nicholas II index a dance to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the rise to power of the Romanovs, at the Catherine Palace in St Petersburg. The Empress-mother Maria Feodorovna decides to make a gift to his niece, Grand Duchess Anastasia: a carillon, whose key is a pendant engraved with "together in Paris". The dance is interrupted by the arrival of the evil sorcerer Rasputin, a monk and former Royal confidant who has corrupted sold his soul to the devil in Exchange for magical powers contained in a reliquary. He was rejected by Romanov, hurls a curse on them by promising their death: taking advantage of discontent, favours the outbreak of the Russian Revolution and the Palace was overrun by the crowd. A young boy, Dimitri, manages to save the Empress Maria and Anastasia by using a secret passage. While Grandma and grandson spend on the frozen Neva River not to be discovered, Rasputin tries to kill Anastasia, but ice gives way and the evil is swallowed by the River, losing the reliquary. The two finally reach a train to France, but Anastasia trying to climb, falls with the pendant and bangs his head, losing his memory. Mary, now on board the convoy, was forced to abandon it.

Ten years later, in 1926, Russia is under the Communist regime. Empress Maria, in exile in Paris, offering a substantial reward to those who will bring back the lost niece. Near Saint Petersburg, an orphan named Anya, similar to Anastasia, leaves the orphanage that hosted for a decade and, having the pendant with the words "Together in Paris", although not remembering nothing of his childhood, he decides to go to Paris. While he's heading to St. Petersburg, the young man meets and adopts a pooch that calls Pooka; Once we had arrived in town, looking for a way to go to Paris, because without a visa, the girl reaches the old and abandoned the Romanov Palace, where slowly starts to remember some details of his past life. Unexpectedly though, the girl he encounters Dimitri and Vladimir, two conductors crooks returned from Paris in search of a look-alike of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, who, looking at a painting, immediately notice its similarity with Anya. The three make their trip, during which men teach Anya the court etiquette and she, while not wanting to be Anastasia for a short time, to be able to go find his family, taking advantage of the fact to be able at least to get to Paris. Not long after, Dimitri and Anya begin to have feelings for each other, even if they hide it with arguments. Due to an oversight in the travel documents, are forced to hide in baggage wagon near the locomotive.

Rasputin is not dead: his curse was never completed, leaving him so trapped in limbo, but escapes with its bat Bartok, a servant unscrewed albino, who brings his magical reliquary, illuminatosi after years of inactivity, this meant that Anastasia was still alive, sohell forces evokes Rasputin to attempt to kill Anya. The carriage on which she and her companions were located, is separated from the rest of the train by a horde of demonic spirits, who send the locomotive at breakneck speed towards a destroyed bridge, but they manage to save themselves by jumping in the snow. During the next trip by ship, Rasputin enters the mind of Anya sleeping. In the picture on her former life and people in her family, which turn into demons of Rasputin, who wanted to blow up the girl in a stormy sea, after having conducted sleepwalking on the outside deck of the ship. Fortunately, Dimitri, awakened by Pooka, intervenes and saves time.

Once in Paris, Vladimir and Dimitri have Anya in Sofia, cousin of Empress, hoping to get a meeting with the latter. When Sofia questions to Anya, this responds correctly to one in particular about how he escaped from the Palace, detail never mentioned by the two men, so Dimitri understands that the girl is really Anastasia and not any impersonator as he thought. Decide to go to the Opera House to speak with the Empress. Anya, accompanied by Dimitri, wait that he present to Mary, but hear the conversation between the two: the Empress recognises Dimitri as a crook who engage girls who you're pretending Anastasia and does it kick away. Disgusted by this, Anya goes away. Dimitri however never gives up; abducts Maria and the door to the House where Anya is packing. Then view the Empress the carillon, that Anastasia had lost while escaping ten years earlier, he recovered. Mary finally meets Anya, remaining wary until the girl necklace "Together in Paris", which had always had, and sings with her grandmother's song lullaby. Grandmother and granddaughter, after various adversities, are reunited. Meanwhile, Rasputin and Bartok arrives in a Flash in France thanks to the reliquary. Despite the bat attempts to dissuade his master, Rasputin plans to kill Anastasia at the coronation. Anastasia, while continuing to be called Anya, now living with Mary and reunites with Dimitri, called by the Empress for his reward, he however refuses, having fallen in love with Anya, feeling anyway to leave and chose to depart for Russia. Mary at the party tells Anya and Dimitri's decision, and asks if everything is now what she wants, affermandole finally that whatever his decision will always be together.

Shortly after Anastasia and Pooka are lured by Rasputin before in a Hedge Maze in the garden of the Palace until Pont Alexandre III where the wizard does recognize the girl as the responsible of the extermination of his family, then attempt to end it in the Seine crumbling the bridge. Dimitri rushes to help her, but is stunned by the statue of a winged horse animated by the reliquary, which eventually Pooka rips hand to Rasputin, just before they finish Anastasia, managed in the meantime. The girl stomps repeatedly the object causing it to break, condemning Rasputin to be destroyed by his own demons.

Shortly afterwards Maria reads a letter from Anastasia, in which the girl claims to have decided to go with Dimitri and that one day they would return to find her. Sofia, reading the letter, remains impressed by so much love, arguing that this was a perfect ending, whereupon Mary denies replying that it was a perfect start. Anastasia and Dimitri declare their love and share a long Kiss while Bartok, Rasputin, lies a mate.