The Forgotten Princess: 5 fun facts about ‘Anastasia’

This Monday, the 21st, the animation “Anastasia” completes 25 years of release. The production tells the story of Anastasia, Grand Duchess of Russia who fled with her grandmother after the imperial palace was attacked by revolutionaries, where she ended up hitting her head and losing her memory while trying to escape.

To celebrate the anniversary of the iconic animation, Recreio put together a list of five fun facts about Anastasia’s plot that you can’t miss. Check out!

1. Best animation outside of Disney

At the time it was released, “Anastasia” received numerous positive reviews, starting to be considered as the best animation outside the disney already launched — but this did not happen by chance. The film was produced by two former Mickey Mouse House employees: Don Bluth and Gary Goldmanresponsible for producing and directing the feature.

2. Competition between princesses

In 1997, a few weeks after the official release of “Anastasia”, Disney re-released “The Little Mermaid”, causing a small dispute between the two princesses at the box office. In the end, the story about the Grand Duchess of Russia was not so affected by Ariel’s return to the big screen, and managed to raise more than 139 million dollars worldwide.

3. Historians’ criticisms

“Anastasia” was inspired by a true story and, therefore, some Russian historians even criticized the plot for not being 100% faithful to what really happened to the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna🇧🇷 However, some of the events needed to be adapted to fit with the children’s audience.

4. Live-action adaptation

Did you know that “Anastasia” got a live-action version way before the animation? The film was released in 1956, and was more aimed at an adult audience because it was more faithful to the story of events related to the family. Romanov🇧🇷 Just like the FOX Animation Studios design, the feature also received numerous positive reviews, in addition to being a box office success.

5. The real death of Rasputin

Just like Anastasia, Rasputin, the great villain of the animation, also existed in real life, and his death in the film makes a reference to the final fate of the real wizard. While in the film the antagonist ends up falling into an icy river, the Russian mystic also met his end in a river in 1916.