Awww that is so beautiful and I totally agree with you. I watched this first time when I was 15. I knew all about the true story of the Russian Revolution but I was like: "Who cares?" and I loved this film from the first to the last minute of it ♥
Like this movie is a heavily romanticized depiction of the Romanovs. They don't bother to show the people starving, or the solders at war being mowed down without boots or even basic military supplies.
5:58 - end "So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever. And my Anastasia, my beloved grandchild... I never saw her again."
@@luisjaime2567 I have always thought that the Bolsheviks should have let the children alive. I understand that they wanted the Tsars because of the danger they caused to the Russian people but killing the children in that horrific way...they didn't deserved it.
As a historical fiction writer, I can say the structure of this movie is actually amazing, is the perfect amount of historical facts into a historical FANTASY. Is brilliant
@@heloisekernevy7514 Plus the fact that, in 1916 (when the film opens), the whole of Europe was blowing each other apart in war. The Emperor was leading the army at the front whilst the Empress and Grand Duchesses were helping as nurses. In December of that year, Rasputin was assasinated, whilst the Romanovs were executed a year-and-a-half later. The animation is gorgeous, the music lovely, but yes...as an adult, I cringe at the historical inaccuracies. Still a lovely film!
I completely agree with you. With old animation, every frame has personality to it giving it this choppy look with I personally think is so much better than fluid 3D and flash animation. Like most things of modern culture, animation used to be an artform, now it is just for money mainly.
@@samanli-tw3id "So many lives were destroyed that night, what had always been was now gone forever...And my Anastasia, my beloved grandchild...I never saw her, again..."
The feels man... the feels. Great movie. Wish they still made cartoon movies like this. This soundtrack was amazing. From 8yrs old to 24 and I'm still listening to it.
How about 33 and this Prologue brings me to inspiration for a painting. This was my favorite “Princess” film as a kid and it wasn’t even Disney. Though I believe they eventually bought 21st Century Fox. I loved learning world history as kid just as much today. So yeah I was super excited when found out Anastasia really existed with the Romanov Dynasty in the Tsar Empire of Russia.
I think I speak for a lot of us when I say that this is possibly one of the most powerful and appealing prologues in any film aimed at a young audience. Fantastic movie and incredible soundtrack
Chills. Chills everywhere. You can say what you want about historical accuracy, but the music is AMAZING. They don't make movie soundtracks like this anymore.
For those of you wondering about the 'song' that starts at 4:54, I may not know the actual words or translation, but the tune is the opening theme (which is later on exposed and fully developed) of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Festival Overture," which in and of itself is taken from the traditional Russian Orthodox chant "Let God Arise."
Thanks a lot I didnt know that, very interesting fact. The lyrics is: "We have nothing to lose Freedom? If we had... See God we leave to other places" (Нечего терять! Свобода? Если бы... Видит Боже, мы идём к новым местам, эй...)
"There was a time... not very long ago... when we lived in an enchanted world of elegant palaces and grand parties. The year was nineteen hundred and sixteen... and my son, Nicholas, was the Tsar of Imperial Russia!" -Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, aka "Grandmama"
We were celebrating the 300th🎉 anniversary of our family's ruling 👑.....and that night .....no star ⭐burn brighter than that of our sweet Anastasia my youngest👸 granddaughter .......she begged me not to return paris 🇫🇷 so I had a gift 🎁 specially made to make the seperation easier for both of us❤️
@@septnovel "But we would never be together in Paris, for a dark shadow had fallen upon the House of the Romanovs...His name was Rasputin. We thought he was a holy man, but he was a fraud, power-mad and dangerous..."
“Consumed by his hatred for Nicholas and his family, Rasputin sold his soul for the power to destroy them. From that moment on, the spark of unhappiness in our country was fanned into a flame that would soon destroy our lives forever!”
Much love to Angela Lansbury (RIP) who voiced/sang the Empress/Anastasia's grandmother. Her voice sounded like royalty personified and the character was an inspiration should I ever get kidnapped: "HOW DARE YOU! STOP THIS CAR IMMEDIATELY! STOP! THIS! CAR!!!"
The part from 4:20 to the end interprets very well the end of the Romanov family. It's really sudden, violent, upsetting and dramatic, wich is really sad when you know the real story...
You know you have a problem when you've watched this movie so many times that you memorized the entire thing (I mean give or take a word or two) and you can listen to almost any point in this soundtrack and quote the lines exactly... ~:~
I will admit that while this movie was somewhat of an insult to Russia's history, it _was_ a "what-if" story, and for no having been made by Disney, I always thought it was damn good. Probably one of my favorite animated movies growing up - in fact, until recently, I had no idea it _wasn't_ Disney. Edit: seven years later, having learned quite a bit of Russian history, two additional thoughts. First, the revolutionary chant from 4:21 onwards is absolutely stunning. Second; ow. Just... ow.
It might be kinda offensive to Russias history, but the creators dont even care about it. See what happened to Disney Hercules? Some things were kinda offensive but at least was a good and entertaining movie :)
What's crazy though is that the creators actually did their research. For example, during the Once Upon a December scene when Anastasia's family appears out of the paintings, her little brother, Alexei, walks with a limp like he probably did in real life. Also, the animated Anastasia's personality seems quite in line with how she was described as a real child (basically, a mischievous, daring, lively, witty troublemaker). So, it wasn't at as if the creators didn't care about it. Rather, they just decided to ignore all of the politics and tell their own story with intriguing characters that happened to be real. Honestly, though, I do think the movie would be more compelling if the assassination plot against the royal family was not merely waved off as "Rasputin being a petty asshole with magical powers". They could have done more with the idea that the Romanovs weren't good rulers, and that could be a reason why Anya decides to leave her past behind and run off with Dimitri at the end of the movie. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this movie, but I feel like the conflict could have been much less "black-and-white". Plus, that way, the story would be much more respectful to Russia's history.
I don't know about any of you, but.... If my granddaughter didn't make it onto the same train that I was on during a time like that (or anytime for that matter) I WOULD JUMP OFF THE TRAIN AND GO GET HER.
+Stephanie Rivera I KNOW RIGHT! The male passengers in this scene were holding her as she reached for Anastasia though, probably because they didn't want her to jump off the train and break all her limbs :-D
+Agnusta They could have been her relatives in disguise because in real life, the Grand Duchess Marie led a group of 30 Romanovs into hiding or so I have read.
So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever. And my Anastasia....my beloved grandchild........I NEVER SAW HER AGAIN
in a crossover video (that might've got removed) there was a scene that I thought it was from the hunchback of Notre dame because of the choir, but then I found out it was a scene from Anastasia!
My god, when I was a child the prologue (especially from the palace siege) frightened me to death. Nowadays, I still can't watch it without having anxiety
Kirsten Dunst was the speaking voice of little Anastasia. Lacey Chabert was the singing voice. I worked for Fox on this Film. It was an amazing experience.
4:20 Слава революции! [Glory to the revolution!] Много нас убито. [We've many died.] Легче жалеть какого-то сытного, распутного. [It's easier to regret some rich or dissolute.] Всё напрасно - лучше костёр! [All in vain - better a fire!] Слава революции! [Glory to the revolution!] Много нас убито. [We've many died.] Aaaaaaa... Нечего терять! [Nothing to lost!] Свобода? Если бы... [Freedom? If...] Видит Боже, мы идём к новым местам, эй... [God sees how we're going to new places, hey!] Слава революции! [Glory to the revolution!] Много нас убито. [We've many died.] Тех, кого надо. [Those who should be.] Во славу революции! [To the glory of revolution!] Кто выдержит, тот скажет: “СЛАВА!” [Who will survive that says "GLORY!"]
Thanks for the translation, but I don't suppose you could also transcribe it phonetically for those of us who can only identify a couple letters of the Cyrillic alphabet?
I can translate the cyrillic for whom wanted to sing along (RUSSIAN PRONOUNCIATION): Слава революции! SLAVA RYEVOLYUTSII Много нас убито. MNOGO NAS UBITO Легче жалеть какого-то сытного, распутного. LYEGCHYE ZHALET' KAKOGO-TO SUìTNOGO, RASPUTNOGO Всё напрасно - лучше костёр! VSYò NAPRASNO - LUCHSHYE KOSTYòR! Слава революции! SLAVA RYEVOLYUTSII Много нас убито. MNOGO NAS UBITO AAAAAA.... Нечего терять! NYECHYEGO TYERYAT' Свобода? Если бы... SVOBODA? YESLI BUì... Видит Боже, мы идём к новым местам, эй... VIDIT BOZHYE, MUì IDYOM K NOVUìM MYESTAM, EY... Слава революции! SLAVA RYEVOLYUTSI Много нас убито. MNOGO NAS UBITO Тех, кого надо. TYEKH, KOGO NADO Во славу революции! VO SLAVU RYEVOLYUTSII Кто выдержит, тот скажет: “Слава!” KTO VUìDYERZHIT, TOT SKAZHET: "SLAVA!"
I'm 30 years young and this is still my favorite movie. its beautiful to see my consciousness travel back in time to my young self with beautiful music. 💚
Im a 16 year old guy and loved this movie SOOOO much and still do to this day, and this is one of those movies that I want to show my children like my parents did with me and their favorite childhood movies =]
I'm russian and I'm absolutely in love with this beautiful russian-like fantasy. It's so touching with such strong bitter notes or Romanovs family tragedy, and the tragedy of the fall of my ancestors Motherland. My heart is blood crying when I saw Anastasia walking in the halls of the destroyed palace, which was so beautiful and magnificent once upon a time. But, despite all the sadness, this animated film is kind and gives us hope and morale, that we must keep alive all our dignity, integrity, culture and kind heart no matter what hard times await us. Pure piece of art. Thank you, creators!
Interesting. They do sound similar. The French horns at least are playing “in the dark of the night” and the low brass part is a recurring motif for evil and danger throughout the movie, but it would make sense if David Newman took inspiration from the Russian masters.
Lyrics of the Russian part: Слава революции! Много нас убито. Легче жалеть какого-то сытного, распутного. Всё напрасно - лучше костёр! Слава революции! Много нас убито. Нечего терять! Свобода? Если бы... Видит Боже, мы идём к новым местам, эй... Слава революции! Много нас убито. Тех, кого надо. Во славу революции! Кто выдержит, тот скажет: СЛАВА!
Hello there and thanks for sharing the lyrics to this spectacular part of the prologue! 😊 Do you also know how these are translated into English? If so and if it's not too much trouble, please post the translated ones here as well. Thanks anyway! 😊
As someone who loves history and learning about the Romanov family, I don’t care how inaccurate this movie is. I just love the fact that they based it off of the Romanov family and what happened to them. I also just love the soundtrack, the animation style, and the fact that it’s my mom’s favorite movie of all time.
I totally agree! I almost want to say that part is a sampling of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Festival Overture" which would be genius (it's one of my favorite pieces). But at the end of the day I really don't care what it is, it's simply awe-inspiring.
This movie may have been historically inaccurate, but it felt very magical and appealing. If they made historical movies like this (obviously with a lot more research to make it actually accurate), instead of just making documentaries that are riddled with sexual content and gore, children could enjoy learning history from a young age and understand and appreciate the culture of foreign countries better.
The music kind of reminds me of the first Ice Age movie, which I guess makes sense seeing as how David Newman scored both movies combined with a little bit of Hunchback of Notre Dame and Danny Elfman's Batman.
When i was a kid someone told me the disney movie was not true and they were all killed. After recently watching this movie again I went to do real research in-depth about Russian history. I was pretty fixated on the real history and people for a month or so. I got a school assignment about the history and I was pretty happy because i just have this random knowledge from my research. The true history is fascinating.
sorry but like... 2021 is anyone still watching this movie other than me? and it was an amazing movie but the fact that it was based on something that happened...
Here I am! Watched in the cinema back in 1997, I was 19 and my sister 10...and still is one of our favourite. Love reading the reaction of younger audiences about it. But the music, the animation and the story (even if isn't accurate or just fantasy) is magnificient. And...still loving Dimitri ❤
...aaaaages ago I wrote a brief summary of a Yu-Gi-Oh story that was heavily inspired by Anastasia including the amnesia subplot. Now it's abandoned, because my writing back then is a cringy old sin of mine, but I'm tempted to give writing an Anastasia inspired Yu-Gi-Oh story a shot. Maybe. I should probably get through one of my... 200+other fic drafts (including almost 20 on wattpad) first
I think that the whole life of Anastasia is in this music. The first part is peaceful and then the world war and the revolution and the tragic die in the end.
