
DATE: Sunday, November 23, 1997             TAG: 9711220036

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E9   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Movie Review

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   87 lines

FORGET HISTORY AND ENJOY SUMPTUOUS ``ANASTASIA''

`ANASTASIA,'' the first Cinemascope, widescreen, animated film since ``Sleeping Beauty'' in 1959, is a stunning visual treat. Directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have thrown in everything but Cinderella's slipper to touch all bases - myth, romance, hummable songs and cutesy animals.

Although the mixture is often transparent, and not always comfortably balanced, the result is a family film that should also appeal to the dating crowd. The reunion of family and the romantic quandary brought tears to some audience members' eyes in the way Disney films once did, way back before they decided to become so hip and politically correct.

As history, ``Anastasia'' is a total washout. It's factually inaccurate on every level and, yet, does anyone expect history from an animated film? In a knockout opening musical number, hundreds of peasants dance in the snow-covered streets to a song called ``A Rumor in St. Petersburg'' with anti-revolution lyrics. Obviously the Romanov reign was no cartoon delight, but, just as obviously, this is a cartoon.

The Bolshevik revolt and the slaughter of the czar's family in 1918 are, mercifully, off camera. In its place we have a Russian princess who seeks to be reunited with her family. She's a mixture of Cinderella and Eliza Dolittle of ``My Fair Lady'' as she is prepared for the all-important meeting with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress. Rasputin, the film's mad monk villain, was actually dead before this story begins, in 1916, but he does make for a great villain - much more raving than either Marx or Lenin could have been.

At best, perhaps this fantasy version might encourage children, as well as adults, to check out the history from other sources.

Best forget the history altogether and have a great time. Wide screen is used lavishly, with computer-generated images to help fill the expansive space. An eight-minute prologue sketches in the Czarist reign and its end. In it, the young Anastasia is separated from her royal family. Rasputin, returned from the dead and able to remove his head and other body parts, puts a curse on the family.

Flash forward. Anya, an orphan girl, is discovered by Dmitri, a con man who wants to palm her off as the long-lost princess. He takes her to Paris and eventually has her accepted by the Dowager Empress (voice of Angela Lansbury).

It's a cajoling fable. We needn't point out that DNA tests and historical data have largely negated the Anastasia legend - including the case of a Virginia woman who claimed, up until her death, that she was the long-lost princess.

Anastasia has three voices in the film. Meg Ryan is the adult. Kirsten Dunst (``Interview with the Vampire'') is the adolescent and the impressive Liz Calloway is the singing voice. Anya, though, is more snippy and feisty than she might be - in an obvious move to keep her from being a non-feminist female. She loses some empathy as audiences might wonder why she's so disagreeable. Nonetheless, Dmitri (voice of John Cusack) falls in love with her and the two are torn between her royal background and her not-so commonplace love. It's ultra-romantic. A perfect dating movie.

For the little boys in the audience, there is a gung-ho storm at sea and a runaway train. They are as well-staged as any action sequences in the history of animation.

Interestingly, David Newman composed the dramatic score. He is the son of Alfred Newman, who composed the score for the 1956 ``Anastasia'' starring Ingrid Bergman. The songs have lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, the team that composed ``Once on This Island'' which was a hit at Virginia Stage Company. Initially, the songs are not exceptional but are nonetheless pleasant. The dream waltz, ``Once Upon a December,'' should be more lyrical. The most intricate song, ``Learn to Do It,'' is a trio.

Facial expressions of the characters are particularly subtle. The most notable are a lovable dog named Pooka, who doesn't talk, and a particularly chatty bat named Bartok.

``Anastasia'' is delightful entertainment, taken on its own level. ILLUSTRATION: 20TH CENTURY FOX

Anya imagines herself dancing with famed performer Maurice

Chevalier.

Graphic

MOVIE REVIEW

``Anastasia''

Cast: The voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer,

Christopher Lloyd, Angela Lansbury, Liz Callaway, Bernadette Peters,

Kirsten Dunst

Directors: Don Bluth and Gary Goldman

Music: Original score by David Newman, songs with lyrics by Lynn

Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty