Bartok the Magnificent (1999)

The lovable bat Bartok (Hank Azaria) goes on his own adventure and meets a pink snake, a dapper bear, Prince Ivan Romanov (Phillip Van Dyke), and evil witch Baba Yaga (Andrea Martin) trying to rule all of Russia.

Directors:

Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

Writer:

Jay Lacopo

Stars:

Hank Azaria, Kelsey Grammer, Andrea Martin

3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Hank Azaria	...	Bartok (voice)
Kelsey Grammer	...	Zozi (voice)
Andrea Martin	...	Baba Yaga (voice)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Ludmilla (voice)
Tim Curry	...	The Skull (voice)
Jennifer Tilly	...	Piloff (voice)
Phillip Van Dyke	...	Ivan (voice)
Diedrich Bader	...	Vol (voice)
Liz Callaway	...	Ensemble cast
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kelly Marie Berger	...	Little Girl (voice)
Ted Brunetti	...	Actor
Zach Charles	...	Little Boy (voice) (as Zachary Charles)
Danny Mann	...	Head Cossack (voice)
John Schiappa	...	(singing voice)
Glenn Shadix	...	Townspeople (voice)

Storyline

Russia is being terrorized by an evil witch known as Baba Yaga (Andrea Martin); the only one who is not afraid of her is Bartok the Magnificent (Hank Azaria). Bartok, an albino bat, has just arrived in Moscow and is impressing everyone with his performances, including Prince Ivan Romanov (Phillip Van Dyke). However, one person is not impressed; Ludmilla (Catherine O'Hara) finds Bartok annoying and naive. After Bartok's show, a violent bear suddenly attacks. Bartok must save everyone by stunning the bear with dust and then knocks him over and traps him in a wagon.

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Plot Keywords:

prince | bat | witch | animal character name as title | spin off | 

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Taglines:

The lovable hero from Anastasia is back!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The witch Baba Yaga is an actual witch in eastern European/Russian folklore. She is said to have iron teeth, and uses a mortar and pestle as her mode of transportation. According to legend, she would steal children and kill them, and use her victims' bones to build her house and fence, the latter onto which she would mount children's skulls and use them like lanterns. Her house stood on chicken legs, and would only kneel on her command. She also had a cat that she often mistreated, that had been known to help some people escape her clutches, or outwit her.

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Goofs

The key on Ludmilla's arm disappears.

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Quotes

[singing]
Bartok: Bartok, the magnificent, the specifically terrifically magnificent! A mammal so inflammable he saved the day, thanks to B-A-R-T-O-K!

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #22.9 (1999)

User Reviews

Unmistakingly a Don Bluth film.

I liked Anastasia, but it suffered from one particular thing, the "Bluthiness" or what you'd call it. It tried to juggle the darker stuff with the 90's Disney aesthetic, and it worked out fine, but with this spin-off movie about the little fast-talking bat we get an all-out Bluth movie with some bizarre characters and more spookiness and that's its biggest strength.

If you like Bartok, this movie is for you, but even if you don't you'll get a handful of enjoyable side characters voiced by well-known actors like Kelsey Grammar, Tim Curry and Jennifer Tilly.

It was an enjoyable watch even if the production value was noticably lower, because of its smaller budget and the story was kind of predictable. Not a must watch, but harmless kiddie fare with an unmistakable Bluthanian aesthetic.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bartok the Magnificent

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Animation Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color