"Anastasia" is loosely based on one of the greatest mysteries in Russian history -- the missing daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the final Tsar of Russia.
"Anya" (voiced by Meg Ryan), who doesn't remember anything about her life before the age of eight, hooks up with two con men (voiced by John Cusack and Kelsey Grammer) to try to fool "Dowager Empress Marie Fyodorovna" (voiced by Angela Lansbury) into believing that "Anya" is her missing granddaughter, Anastasia Romanov, the missing daughter of the last Tsar of Russia. However, what they don't know, including "Anya," is that she is really "Anastasia".
However, the reincarnated "Rasputin" (voiced by Christopher Lloyd) comes back from the grave to complete the curse he put on the Romanovs and kill "Anastasia". He is assisted by "Bartok" (voiced by Hank Azaria), who is mainly in the film for some comic relief.
The first thing you can't help but notice in this film is the fantastic animation. Everything from the coloring to the movement of the characters is simply fantastic.
The music is also wonderful, but, in my opinion, none of the songs are memorable as Disney tunes are. Each song is well written, and are nicely performed by vocalists with very good voices. I just don't think people will start singing any of these songs after seeing the movie.
The movie itself is very well written. The dialogue really helps move the movie along nicely. In fact, the entire pacing of the movie is done quite nicely.
The cast is equally fantastic. Each actor bring their characters to life. Each give their character the perfect voice for their individual characters. Some were so good at disguising their natural voices, I was pretty shocked to find out who the performers were during the closing credits. In my opinion, the only two characters who were not well developeed were "Rasputin" and "Bartok," who is a very talkative white bat.
One thing that you should know is that there are numerous, but forgettable historical inaccuracies in this film. However, you won't care thanks to the animation, music and the performances from the cast.
In my opinion, "Anistasia" is a good animated movie with wonderful animation, good music and a fantastic cast that makes this film a joy to watch.