Factual error: At the beginning of the film, we are told it is 1916, and the Russian Revolutionaries attack. However, the Russian Revolution didn't start until 1917 - on both the English and Russian calendars.
Anastasia (1997)
Plot summary
Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Starring: John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, Meg Ryan, Hank Azaria, Kelsey Grammer, Angela Lansbury
Genres: Adventure, Animated, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical
The movie is a fictionalized version of the legend of Anastasia, a daughter of the Russian royal family who allegedly escaped while the rest of her family was killed.
The movie starts in the past, with the royal family receiving a curse from the evil Rasputin, which leads to the uprising of the nation and the murder of the whole royal family except for the grandmother and Anastasia, who are saved by a kitchen boy. They try to board a train to escape, but Anastasia falls off and is left behind.
Fast forward ten years later, and we meet an orphan called Anya who has a necklace exactly like Anastasia and who doesn't remember who she is. She wants to go to Paris to find her family, and so joins up with two con artists, Dimitri and Vlad (?), who realise that she really resembles the princess and would be a perfect candidate to fool the grandmother into giving them the reward for finding Anastasia. They pretend that they really think that she is Anastasia to get her to come.
They teach her everything about Anastasia and go to Paris to meet with the grandmother. Dimitri discovers that Anastasia is actually the princess because she remembers the kitchen boy (actually, him) when he hadn't told her. He also realises that he loves Anya, but resolves to give her back to her family.
Anya realises that Dimitri and Vlad were only in it for the money, and tries to leave. Dimitri forces her to meet with the grandmother, and so the family is reunited, while Dimitri refuses any reward, and disappears
Rasputin reappears and tries to kill Anya, who is saved by Dimitri, and they both run off together and live happily ever after...
More mistakes in Anastasia
Bartok: Just wishing I could do the job for you, sir. I'd give her a HA! And a HI-YA! And then a OOH-WAH! And I'd kick her, sir.
Trivia: Inspired by the story of Anna Anderson (died 1984) who claimed to be Archduchess Anastasia, which would have made her the only surviving daughter of the Czar and Czarina of Russia. Only DNA tests years after her death proved she was not Anastasia, but an imposter which European nobility had long suspected.
More questions & answers from Anastasia
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Answer: Amnesia exists, but it is a temporary condition. It does not last for the long-term and people usually regain their memory in a day or two, sometimes up to a week. Extreme cases can last longer, but not in the way it is depicted in movies. Some people may lose memories due to severe brain damage from a traumatic injury, but that is permanent.
raywest ★