Anastasia UNEDITED REACTION (early access)

No I agree, I see the film differently having been to the museums in Russia as well. The revolution was justified and Lenin was and still is very much revered today (from what I remember)....and I totally understand it was anything but a fantasy in real life but having seen the summer palace and other palaces, they really are stunning so I'm glad the film tapped into that for the story :)

Effie

Yes, i totally agree. It's mainly at the beginning and it's to make sense of the plot but as I'm an archaeologist and I've studied deeply what happened before the Revolution, it's funny seeing it now, with the knowledge. But, yeah, the film I love it anyway!

Natalia

I see what you mean but the real politics of that time wouldn't have worked for a story like this which is trying to tell a straight forward story about family. You also can't have the princess angle which adds to the fantasy if you diminish it with what happened in reality and to be honest the film only dwelt on that political part at the beginning.

Effie

It was my favorite movie when I was little. Now that I re-watched it with u I realize just how much political propaganda it has in it. Seeing the people after the ten years time-leap wishing for the Zars and the Romanov to come back is just hilarious 😂😂😂😂😂

Natalia

omg I love this movie. I saw it in theaters when I was a kid and I became obsessed, I even have a music box replica. Like someone already said, this movie is very loosely based on the Russian revolution. It was inspired by the story of Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed to be Anastasia until her death. She was institutionalized after jumping from a bridge and refused to give her name. Some people think she lost her memory and took Anastasia's persona after someone told her she looked like her, but she also had a history of mental illness problems so who know exactly why she did it. Many people believed her to be the Duchess and supported her, giving her money and places to live. When the bones of the Royal family were found, 2 of the kids were missing so the legend continued. Until years later when they found the children's remains. That, and DNA testing proved that Anderson wasn't related to them.

I was like 10 the last time I saw this and didn't realize they blamed the rise of communism on Rasputin's magic lmao.

Argo2Unitard

Czar Nicholas II made a bunch of bad decisions, which lead to the Russian revolution. After abdicating the throne Nicholas and his family were moved to a house in the mountains where they were shot by a fire squad. their executioners were unclear about what precisely happened which egged on the rumor that a couple of the children had survived. When they discovered the bodies they realized to two were missing, but since they had been burned nobody knew which ones. Until they discovered the bodies of Alexis and Maria which meant that Anastasia never made it out of the house.

Natasha Crandall

In the movie you see the little boy and young women? Anastasias brother and sisters. For years the legend of Anastasia centred on the fact they couldn't find her body. One woman claimed to be her but DNA proved otherwise. They think they pretty much solved the mystery though. Burned bones were found not too far away from where the rest of the family were found. They are pretty much 100% certain they are the bones of Anastasia and her brother after they tested them.

Angelic_Wings

I agree it was very amusing watching him be so confused about Anya...I never even thought to question it myself. Yes, the story being set in Russia and the Anastasia conspiracy was very unique and they were so creative with it. About Dimitri...I'm pretty sure most of us had a crush on him 😂...he had the best personality from all the animated male leads from what I remember :)

Effie

Even though there are a lot of inaccuracies, I do enjoy the more subtle details. Like her brother being an hemophiliac walking with a limp during the ghost ballroom scene and Tsar Nicholas, in spite of all his faults and mistakes as a leader, really loving his kids more than anything. The ghost ballroom scene always gets me, because I know what happened to Nicholas, his wife, his son and his daughters and it is haunting.

Benny

Love this movie!!! Excited to watch the reaction

codenamewitch xx

Nick trying to figure out if Anya was Anastasia during the whole movie was so funny to me ahaha This movie is one of my favorites, the songs, the characters, everything is so well done. Even tho the story doesn't follow the real events that took place during the Russian Revolution, I think it still captures the mystery and fascination around the Romanov family and specially Anastasia disappearance, turning into a fairy tail of finding the princess. Also, I think I speak for everyone that Dimitri was such a crush for me when I was younger ahaha Great reaction as always ! :D

Also as for the historical side. It's based on the Russian Revolution. To cut a long story short, there had been growing unrest in Russia for quite a few years - there had been a war between Russia and Japan that Russia lost, the living quality of the people was very low, they felt that the royals had not done their part and had let them down, plus a few more reasons and in 1918 the Romanov family (Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and 5 children), as well as 4 servants, were all killed. This was done by the Bolsheviks (far left, Marxist following political party led by Lenin), and eventually became the reason for how Russia became the Soviet Union and is now communist. In 1991 they found the remains of Nicholas, Alexandra, and 3 children - the bodies of the crown prince, and one of the youngest daughters were not found. This is why Anastasia was theorised to still be alive. They have since found the missing remains of the two children. The story with Rasputin is that he was supposedly a powerful mystical man and holy man who was close to the royal family. He was hired to heal the only son of his hemophilia, and the Tsarina grew close to him, believing that he could heal her son entirely. So he was around for a long time, very close to the Tsarina and Tsar. There are a loooot of rumours that he and the Tsarina had an affair, and that he had emotional power over her and the Tsar, and swayed the way things were being run. He was also well known for having a big... ahem... ;) and being very good in the bedroom. There are a loooot of rumours about him apparently being able to survive multiple attempts at his life, and that his dick was cut off, pickled and is in a museum in Russia. I find it interesting that in this movie the royal family is treated as loved and perfect, and that it was a curse which caused the unrest, rather than the actual growing hatred for them which happened in real life. My theory is that Fox didn't want to show a monarchy in bad light, especially if it gave legitimate support to the Bolsheviks/Communists. Whilst Rasputin was believed by many to hold mystical powers, with the curse it absolves the Tsar and his family of their faults for why the Russian Revolution occurred.

Heidi Liedtke

I love this movie so much! Also, her forgetting her past is because when she doesn't make it on the train and falls she hits her head. However, I've always felt like part of the memory loss was because of the trauma of losing her whole family in one night. I know its a movie, but sometimes your brain will protect you from that level of pain. Also, I would love to see your reaction to the Broadway version. Certain things are different and Rasputin isn't in it, but its just as amazing!!

Summer Hinch

I've seen this movie SO many times, it was one of the few movies I had on VCR growing up, so I watched it over and over. It's definitely interesting watching it with someone who hasn't seen it though, you get to notice different things. One thing I noticed was that this movie has a MUCH more dramatic style, similar to actual onstage musicals, where things like movements and facial expressions seem so much more exaggerated and played up for the camera. If Thor reads the comments, you can see at the start when Anastasia falls back from the train/trolley that she JUST BARELY hits her head on the road when she falls, which is why she passed out and forgot her memories. It's also funny, Dimitri and this story have always been my favourite childhood animated movie, and nowadays I really like Flynn and Tangled. Guess I have a soft spot for thief/conman with a heart of gold, and found family. Great reaction as always! So glad Anastasia won :)

Heidi Liedtke

I despise that comment!!! Mulan is real!!!

Awww thanks. Tried to get it up ASAP

Thor: Not even a princess movie. Anastasia: *Is literally the only real, historical princess in any of these videos* XD

Leah Kotlarchyk

Thanks for getting this up so early James. I've been counting down the days for this...the songs, the story and the romance... it is one of my all time favourites :)

Effie