Anastasia

I usually am not one to see animated movies unless it's the new summer Disney musical (e.g. Mulan, Hercules, Aladdin), but Anastasia caught my eye in the previews. Just as I do with Disney movies, I do not expect realism or accuracy (just as I don't with Saturday morning cartoons), but I try to look for the artistic elements, since I plan to be a cartoonist after graduating from college. The animation is smooth and flowing, but not so much to be "cartoony", as many Disney movies are (e.g. Aladdin). The backgrounds are superb! A hundred dancing Russians in St. Petersburg amidst smoke and falling snow is not easy to draw or animate (even with a computer)! Then there's the scene at the Moulin Rouge, which imitates the famous painting with round dabs of paint (I forget what the technique is called). Even the music is commendable (Rumor In St. Petersburg and Journey To The Past are excellent!). Although I still prefer Alan Menken (who did music for Disney as of 1989, except Lion King & Mulan), I found the soundtrack to be worth the money. It is convenient to compare Anastasia to Disney films because of Disney's fame, but really they contrast more -- there are few similarities. I can't say much about the accuracy of the storyline, only that I do not expect that kind of realism from a cartoon. Sure, people say "Now kids will grow up thinking Russian communism was brought on by Rasputin", but my generation supposedly was going to grow up thinking that Michelangelo was a Ninja Turtle. You have to remember that the story doesn't even apply to history, since Anna Anderson was not Anastasia, and the real Anastasia's body was buried along with the Czar in August of 1998 (in this case, the other daughter, Marie, could not be found). Aside from that, the storyline in the animated film Anastasia is -- autonomously -- enjoyable.