| 100 |
San Francisco Chronicle
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.
|
| 88 |
ReelViews
Easily the best non-Disney animated movie in recent memory, and it is good enough to rival such titles as “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.”
|
| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Picks and chooses cleverly, skipping blithely past the entire Russian Revolution but lingering on mad monks, green goblins, storms at sea, train wrecks and youthful romance.
|
| 80 |
Film Threat
With A+ voice talent provided by Meg Ryan (Anastasia) and John Cusack (Dimitri), Fox has a winner on its hands.
|
| 75 |
Christian Science Monitor
Lavishly produced animation makes imaginative use of familiar formulas, filling the screen with handsome images accompanied by sprightly songs and lively voice-performances.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
Flawed but not fatally, this ambitious epic's strength lies not just with its haunting melodies, pretty pictures, star voices and kid-friendly sidekicks - the usual shtick that makes Disney tick. [14 Nov 1997, p.D6]
|
| 70 |
Washington Post
Impressive, big-scale scenes, such as a train derailment from a snow-covered bridge. And the vocal performances of Ryan and Cusack give us a real sense of romance.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
This sumptuous-looking film clearly spared no expense in its visual rendering; its optical flourishes and attention to detail aim for the Disney gold standard and, for the most part, come pretty darn close.
|
| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly
Anastasia has the Disney house style down cold, yet the magic is missing. Perhaps that's because the story's somber emotional hook--Anastasia's thwarted desire for home--is asserted rather than dramatized.
|
| 63 |
San Francisco Examiner
Lacks the spark of the best recent Disney spectaculars, like "Beauty and the Beast."
|
| 60 |
Empire
Philip Thomas
Manages to be a charming little movie, nothing to write home about but a perfectly acceptable way to while away a rainy Sunday afternoon with the child, or children, in your life.
|
| 60 |
Los Angeles Times
Though originality is not one of its accomplishments, Anastasia is generally pleasant, serviceable and eager to please.
|
| 60 |
Newsweek
Yahlin Chang
Meg Ryan lends her trademark feistiness to Anastasia, and John Cusack makes Dimitri eminently likable.
|
| 60 |
The New York Times
A deeply silly movie, but it is sumptuous to look at, and it never stands still. Its creators, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, have given the story a lilting rhythm and glittering surface of the most extravagant jewel-encrusted fairy tale.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
Decent songs, an amusing script and some surprisingly imaginative animation.
|
| 50 |
Variety
Lacks the special creative spark needed to lift it to an uncommon imaginative level.
|
| 30 |
Chicago Reader
A story that holds little suspense; we know exactly how happily this animated musical will end--and the wait isn't very diverting.
|
| 30 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Maria Schneider
You can set your watch to the musical cues, and the songs themselves are forgettable at best, insipid at worst.
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