Summary
This movie is an adaptation about Anastasia, the daughter of the last Russian tsar. The story begins at a party where Rasputin, an evil monk who used to work for the Romanovs, and his funny side-kick bat Bartok, curses the royal family. The curse sparks a revolution and seige on the palace; Anastasia and her grandmother Marie manage to escape with the help of a kitchen boy, Dimitri. During the escape Anastasia hits her head and loses her memory, and her grandmother ends up leaving St Petersburg on a train without the little girl.
Ten years later a grown-up Anya, who can't remember anything about her past, leaves the orphanage where she grew up and travels to St Petersburg with Pooka, a puppy she befriends on the journey. There she meets the handsome Dimitri, the same boy who helped her to escape (although she does not know this until the end) and his friend Vladimir. These two con artists are holding auditions for an "Anastasia" look-alike to fool the Empress Marie, and therefore receive reward money. Dimitri and Vladimir end up taking Anastasia to Paris with them.
At this time Rasputin is dead, but he is in "limbo" and is able to use minions to try to kill Anya. During the course of these events, Anya and Dimitri fall in love, and at the end Dimitri makes a decision that gives this movie a happy ending. The movie is full of fun antics and catchy songs, and you are sure to fall in love with it the first time you watch it!
The movie features the voice talents of: Meg Ryan as Anastasia (grown), Kirsten Dunst as Anastasia (young), John Cusack as Dimitri (grown), Kelsey Grammer as Vladimir, Christopher Lloyd as Rasputin, Hank Azaria as Bartok, Bernadette Peters as Sophie, Angela Lansbury as Empress Marie.