When I heard that a company other than Disney was going to release an animated feature, I cheered. When I heard it was about the end of the Russian Romanov dynasty and the mystery of Anastasia, I cringed.
Most likely, I missed the mark on both counts.
For the last several years, Disney has settled into a cartoon-making rut, producing both successes like "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast," while turning out duds like "Pocahontas" and "Hercules," all with the same formula.
When I heard of the upcoming "Anastasia," I thought respite might be found from the hopeless repetition of the Disney movies. Perhaps some respect Fox for this, but "Anastasia" might follow the Disney formula even more faithfully than the last couple of Disney movies have.
On the other hand, I was surprised by the overall lack of historical context. I have read extensively about both the end of the Romanov dynasty and the various Anastasia impostors, and thought the movie would bother me with its lack of attention to historical detail.
Luckily (or not, depending on your viewpoint), the film is so completely unrelated to anything historical that any actual knowledge of the context goes by the wayside. Rasputin, the much-misunderstood "Mad Monk," is portrayed here not as a close aide to Alexandra, but an evil being in the shape of Hades, from "Hercules."
Besides a little bit of inconsistency in the faces of the leads, the animation is up to Disney standards, and the star power might surpass it.
Meg Ryan voices Anastasia (Kirsten Dunst is the younger version), John Cusack plays Dmitri, "Anya's" love interest, and Kelsey Grammer is Vlad, Dmitri's sidekick. In smaller roles, Christopher Lloyd plays the very-cartoonish Rasputin, Hank Azaria his animal partner in crime, and Angela Lansbury voices the Dowager Empress - the ultimate goal of the is-she-real-is-she-not Anastasia.
Fans of Disney will not be disappointed by this - nor will they stand up and cheer that a new studio has entered the animation market. It's nice to see that someone else is finally competing with a bit of power, but nonetheless, no new ground has been broken.
Grade: B