50 Fun Facts About Anastasia (1997)

Who directed and produced the 1997 animated film Anastasia?

The pair had earlier made The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven away from Disney.

Which studio released Anastasia, its first feature from its own animation division?

The film is so often mistaken for a Disney title that Disney eventually bought the studio in 2019.

In which city was Fox Animation Studios built?

Arizona offered about $1 million in job-training funds and cheap loans for digital equipment.

Who voiced the adult Anya?

Bluth called her his first and only choice and won her over with an animated test of her Sleepless in Seattle dialogue.

Who provided Anya's singing voice?

She recorded the songs as demos hoping for background work, and the songwriters kept them.

Who voiced the conman Dimitri?

He admitted he couldn't sing, so Jonathan Dokuchitz handled his musical numbers.

Which Frasier star voiced the former nobleman Vlad?

His character's full name is Vladimir Vanya Vonitsky Vasilovich.

Who voiced the villain Rasputin?

He got the part largely because of his Back to the Future fame; Peter O'Toole was also considered.

Which Simpsons voice actor played the bat Bartok?

He reportedly won the part ten minutes into his audition after Martin Short was also considered.

Who voiced the Dowager Empress Marie?

She had voiced another matriarch six years earlier as Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast.

Which Broadway legend voiced Marie's cousin Sophie?

Sophie quizzes Anya on Romanov history to test whether she is the real grand duchess.

Who voiced the young Anastasia's speaking lines?

Lacey Chabert sang for the child version of the character.

Which songwriting duo wrote the film's songs, their first for a movie?

They were dismayed by the Rasputin-and-bat pitch and later made the stage musical more political.

Which song was the first the songwriters completed, written during a heatwave?

They joked about sweating while writing winter imagery.

Which song earned the film an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song?

A pop version was performed at the ceremony; the film also got a score nomination.

Which R&B singer performed the film's Oscar-nominated song at the ceremony?

Her music video appears on the 2006 two-disc Family Fun Edition DVD.

Who composed the film's orchestral score?

His father Alfred Newman scored the 1956 live-action Anastasia.

In what year is the film's main story set?

The prologue ball takes place in 1916, ten years before Anya leaves the orphanage.

What three words are inscribed on the necklace Marie gives Anastasia?

The inscription is what sends the amnesiac Anya toward France ten years later.

The opening ball celebrates how many years of Romanov rule?

The real tricentennial was marked in 1913; the film moves it to 1916.

What does Rasputin sell in exchange for the power to destroy the Romanovs?

The bargain manifests as a glowing reliquary that spawns his demonic minions.

On which frozen river does Rasputin fall through the ice?

He survives in limbo, a fact his bat sidekick discovers only when the reliquary revives.

How does young Anastasia lose her memory?

Marie makes it aboard; her granddaughter slips from her grasp on the platform.

How large a reward does Marie offer for Anastasia's safe return?

The bounty is what motivates two conmen to hunt for a convincing look-alike.

What does Anya name the stray puppy she meets after leaving the orphanage?

Frank Welker supplied the dog's sounds, as well as the Black Pegasus.

What kind of creature is Bartok?

Bluth made him white simply to make him look different from an ordinary bat.

How do Rasputin's minions first attack the trio's train?

When that fails, they try to lure Anya into sleepwalking off a ship.

At which theater do Marie and Sophie watch a ballet with Anya?

The performance is a Russian ballet version of Cinderella.

What object finally convinces Marie that Anya is her granddaughter?

Dimitri had kept it as a memento since the night of the palace siege.

On which Paris bridge does the final battle with Rasputin take place?

The bridge is named for the tsar who was Anastasia's great-grandfather.

How does Anastasia finally destroy Rasputin?

Her dog helps her reach it, and Rasputin disintegrates as his bargain collapses.

Which Fox executive suggested adapting the 1956 film Anastasia?

Bluth and Goldman had pitched The King and I and My Fair Lady first.

Which George Bernard Shaw play supplied the peasant-to-princess story elements?

The conmen drilling Anya in court etiquette mirrors Henry Higgins and Eliza.

Which Star Wars actress made uncredited rewrites to the script?

Her work focused on the scene where Anya leaves the orphanage for Paris.

Whom did Bluth and Goldman research with help from former agents of which agency?

The ex-agents had been stationed in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Which villain idea did the filmmakers reject before settling on Rasputin?

The stage musical revived the idea as the Chekist officer Gleb Vaganov.

For whom was the role of Bartok originally written?

The studio balked after revelations about his relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.

Which Disney re-release opened a week before Anastasia?

A Fox executive called it a deliberate attempt to "kick sand in our face".

Anastasia ads were banned from which ABC program?

Disney insisted it always re-released films around the holidays and denied any rivalry.

Which 1997 film beat Anastasia to number one on its opening weekend?

Anastasia opened to $14.1 million in wide release.

Roughly how much did Anastasia gross worldwide?

It beat Bluth's previous best by about $55 million to become his biggest hit.

Which earlier Don Bluth film did Anastasia overtake as his highest-grossing?

It was also his first financial success in nearly a decade.

Which fast-food chain was among the film's promotional sponsors?

The $50 million-plus campaign outspent Independence Day's marketing by more than a third.

Which toy company was licensed to make Anastasia dolls?

Little Golden Books handled the storybook adaptations.

What was the title of the 1999 direct-to-video spin-off?

It was bundled as a special feature on the 2011 Blu-ray.

Who wrote the book for the stage musical adaptation?

The show kept six songs from the film and added sixteen new ones.

Who originated Anya in the 2016 Hartford Stage production and on Broadway?

Derek Klena played Dimitri opposite her when the show opened at the Broadhurst in April 2017.

Who starred in the 1956 live-action Anastasia that Fox already owned?

Fox paid £20,000 for the rights to Marcelle Maurette's play after MGM and Warner Bros. bid.

Which famous Anastasia impostor was exposed by DNA as Franziska Schanzkowska?

She was actually a Polish factory worker who had spent time in mental institutions.

What score does Anastasia hold on Rotten Tomatoes?

Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars; Gene Siskel docked it for inaccuracy.