Anastasia

 


Anastasia is a 1997 animated movie directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman with Fox Animation Studios. The movie is loosely based on Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia and the rumors of how she escaped the execution of her family in 1918. Several young woman had even posed as Anastasia and claimed to be her. Sadly, as fantastical and bizarre as the story was, young Anastasia did indeed die alongside her family all those years ago. 

Still, the story was popular enough to have an animated movie about it, and behold it came to be! In this adaptation, Anastasia survived the massacre of her family but had lost her memory in the process of escaping and went by the name Anya. Meanwhile her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, resides in Paris with a reward for anyone who can reunite her with her long lost granddaughter. Anya runs into Dimitri and Vladimir (secretly two con men) who convince her that she is the lost princess Anastasia and take her to Paris to her grandmother, though they do not actually believe she is the real princess and are only in it for the money. 

I've only just seen Anastasia since two years ago but I can honestly say it's a really good movie. I've watched it twice and cried both times. Should I have? Probably not but it's such a sweet film. The relationship between Anastasia and Dimitri is my favorite part of the movie. There's humor, romance, action, a lot of singing, and a story that really makes you believe the Grand Duchess Anastasia really did survive. I had to look it up myself and was pretty disappointed when I found out the truth. But it's a really interesting read and makes you wonder what could have been if she actually survived. 

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