Anastasia

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Our next Rialto Recommends was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1998 for Best Original Song and Best Original Score. Don Bluth's ANASTASIA is an animated fantasy rather than an animated history lesson. The last surviving child of the Russian Royal Family joins two con men to reunite with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, while the undead Rasputin seeks her death. Beautiful animation, an affable take on Russian history, and strong voice performances make Anastasia a winning first film from Fox animation studios. The San Francisco Chronicle raved ANASTASIA is "a gorgeous piece of work. It pulls every heartstring a good romance should, yet bursts with G-rated fun, wonderfully human characters and several solid and hummable songs." While Roger Ebert exclaimed "Animation is the road less traveled for the movies. Although it offers total freedom over the inconveniences of space, time and gravity, it's so tricky and difficult that animated features have always been rare--and Disney has always known how to make them best. With ANASTASIA there's another team on the field." ANASTASIA is streaming on Disney+ and HBO or available to rent for a modest fee from Apple, YouTube, GooglePlay, Vudu and others. With songs by Broadway composers Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, it is no wonder that ANASTASIA was developed into a successful Broadway musical in 2016-17.