Anastasia (1997)

When I'm visiting home I often find myself watching the VHS tapes I used to love as a kid, enjoying a nostalgic familiarity. Anastasia is just such a movie. Adding a magical spin to the mystery of the Russian princess's disappearance, the film follows amnesiac orphan Anya, who is persuaded by con man Dmitri that she might be the long-lost Anastasia, who's Dowager Empress grandmother is searching for her. There's a substantial reward for anyone who finds the princess, leading to scores of impersonators seeking an audience. As Anya, Dimitri, and former imperial guard Vladimir travel semi-illegally to Paris, the royal family's mystical enemy Rasputin sends waves of impish devils to sabotage them. He's been stuck in limbo since the revolution, after he sold his soul for the power to destroy the Romanov family. Because Anastasia/Anya is still alive, he can't move on. There's some singing, 20's references, and probably the main characters will fall in love.

Despite the scattered use of Russian accents and glorification of royalty (the only reason Russian citizens revolted was because of some satanic curse? They had no other issues? Really?), Anastasia isn't too bad in terms of stereotyping. At least, I don't think. Then again, I guess I know very little about Russian culture, so probably I just sounded quite ignorant.

The songs are catchy, the voice actors are impressive (Meg Ryan, John Cusack, John Lithgow, Bernadette Peters, et al), and it's an intriguing story. There are some fun historical references and details, including animated cameos from the likes of Josephine Baker and Claude Monet because they loved Paris (even though Monet was totally out of Paris by that time and possibly even dead. Sheesh, know your art history).

I had never noticed it before, but this movie is kind of My Fair Lady but with a more independently-minded Eliza Doolittle and a less douchey Henry Higgins. Also: magic. The mystery and grandeur definitely captured my imagination as a kid; I won't pretend that I didn't always want to have an epic adventure in which I could save the day from evil forces. It's nice that Anya (spoiler alert) is the one to defeat Rasputin in the end, even if it's just with the power of her heeled shoe. Not like those Disney bums always waiting around for princes to prance in with their patriarchy. Bah.

Though it's laden with numerous historical inaccuracies and abundant cliches, I can't help but really enjoy Anastasia even now in my enlightened old age. It's exciting and fun, with a pretty cool female lead, and it's interesting to see some early use of CG animation mixing with the traditional. Also, I have an Anastasia doll placed on a stand that spins around as you push her forward. It loses its charm after about five minutes.

3.5/5