Once Upon A Memory: Anastasia

May Contain Spoilers!!!

     First of all, let's get one thing down: The following animated film is NOT Disney! Repeat: NOT Disney! This film, Anastasia, was made in 1997 by Fox and Don Bluth. If you've seen his animated films you can also recognize his style. Anastasia is based on Princess Anastasia Romanov and the Romanovs, the royal family of Russia. This movie definitely should not as a source of historical accuracy.  In the early 1900's, a revolution came around that sought to destroy the Czar Nicholas II and the way the country was being corruptly ruled. The people overthrow the Czar and murdered him and his family. This film of takes a major twist on the story including what could've happened if  Nicholas' daughter Anastasia had survived. 

       Once upon a time, the Romanvs are celebrating their dynasty. Anastasia is very close to her Grandmother that lives in Paris at that time. But Rasputin shows up to the party. Rasputin was said to be a holy man but he was really dangerous. When Nicholas tries to order Rasputin away, he's angered and vows to destroy the Romanov line. Taken over  by this, Rasputin sells his soul and is given evil magic and uses it to start a revolt among the people, eventually bringing them to storm the palace. Anastasia and her Grandmother Marie are able to escape with the help of a servant boy named Dimitri. As they try to board a train out of Russia, Anastasia is left running after the train still holding on to Marie's hand. But as the train gains speed, Anastasia's hand slips, causing her to fall on the platform and hit her head as well as go unconscious. It would be years before the Dowager Empress Marie would see her granddaughter again.

        Now it's ten years later, and rumors are going around that Anastasia might be alive. What is not a rumor however, is that the Dowager Empress Marie has offered a reward for anyone who can restore her granddaughter to her. A grown up Dimitri and his friend Vlad are now trying to find a girl to play the role of Anastasia in order to get the reward. Meanwhile, a young girl named Anya is leaving the orphanage to go out in the world and work like everyone else. Anya has been in the orphanage for as long as she can remember. That's the trouble though. She can remember few things about her past, such as being found wandering around when she was eight years old.  Before that, Anya can't remember who her family was or what happened to them. Her only clue is a necklace that has the words, "Together in Paris," on it. Upon meeting a little dog named Pooka, Anya decides to go to Paris to try to find her family. Before long, Anya ends up with Dimitri and Vlad, who say they can get her to Paris if she sees the Dowager Empress to know if she's the long lost Princess Anastasia. Will Anya find herself and her family, or will she be "Anya the Orphan" forever?  

      For people who haven't seen this: This is not historically accurate because of a few things. The primary factor in this is that there's magic in the film, mainly Rasputin's evil powers. Another thing is that the beginning of the film focuses on the life of the Romanovs. The way their lavish life is portrayed gives us the idea that the rest of the country is happy too. At the time in the real life, the Romanovs were very rich while large amounts of the people were extremely poor. The downfall of the Romanovs is similar to what happened in the French Revolution. "Lots of people were starving and decided to overthrow the monarchy" pretty much sums it up. 

       Because this is an animated film intended mainly for children, historical accuracy is of little importance. Toss all that aside, and Anastasia is a really fun film. The characters are delightful as well as the songs and the dances that go with them. "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" is my favorite. In this scene, the Dowager Empress's cousin, Sophie, is taking Anya, Dimitri, and Vlad on a tour in Paris. What they see and the people they meet make Paris look like a colorful place, which it truly is.   


Anastasia gives us a rather unusual love story. On the way to Paris, Dimitri begins to fall in love with Anya. But when Sophie asks Anya how Anastasia escaped during the siege of the palace, she speaks of a boy who worked in the palace and "opened a wall." Upon hearing this, Dimitri realizes that Anya really is Anastasia. Because of this Dimitri thinks that his chances of being with her are gone, telling Vlad that "princesses don't marry kitchen boys." But by the end of the film, he learns that royalty is only a title and doesn't stop you from being with who you love.   

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