The Secret of Anastasia (1997 Video) User Reviews

Considerably better than The Secret of the Hunchback

[darkghost3400 · 6/10 · 11 December 2015]

This show is not a masterpiece, but is decently done. The animation is weak and the artwork is not very good, although both are better than The Secret of the Hunchback.

The narrative was pleasant and genuinely entertaining, the writing was decent, there are effective emotional moments and the characters, while not deep, are likable or memorable. The instruments are not irritating, but likable. The jokes with Goofinoff weren't funny at places, but some scenes with Vladimir and Anastasia are funny. The humor in general is not nearly as annoying as in the Secret of the Hunchback. And the most important, the songs are wonderful and catchy, especially those ones sung by Anastasia.

In general, not a masterpiece, but well done in many areas.

Feels like they were just trying to make a Beauty and the Beast cross

[Angels_Review · 4/10 · 27 December 2013]

The storyline goes out of its way to make this show actually funny and it doesn't work well. It just feels bad because of that. It's as though the whole idea came from watching Disney for a bit to long. They crammed cheesy dialoged and cheep animation into about an hour long movie.

Well, when the General Vladimir sees Anastasia, he looks as though he fell in love with her even though she was probably only 19 and he would have to be about 29. Seriously, for a kids show, that little info kind of makes it a bit creepy.

Well, this animation feels a bit lack a daisy. I mean, it is rather good compared to some, but still bad. They tried hard to copy Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Anastasia looks like a rip off of Arial from Little Mermaid and the characters, castle, and other stuff seems to be from Beauty and the Beast. They even ripped off the talking objects thing that was a main focus of Disney's classic.

The voices feel alright, though the singing keeps making me cringe. Many of the characters should have never started singing and so it just made me feel like my ears were going to fall off. Some characters were annoying and others were downright odd though I do say it fit this little piece of trash. It's the same as all the others, just trying to be Disney.

Now what's with the rating?

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 12 September 2009]

At 17, I thought the Secret of Anastasia was a very sweet animated gem. True, historians may despair by how far it steers away from the facts, but so did Don Bluth's Anastasia, and that was great too. Then again, it is an independent animation, so the inaccuracies are understandable. It is very short, and kids are guaranteed to love it, and I expect adults might too.

There are flaws of course, the animation wasn't always that great, there were some scenes where it just felt slightly rushed and lacked finesse. Also there are one or two corny scenes, due to occasional moments of bland dialogue especially with the character of Goofinoff.

Still, despite all that, there is a lot to enjoy. One thing I did love was the soundtrack, well that's what to expect from John Campbell, the same composer who composed the wonderful music for the fantastic Easter StoryKeepers. I also loved Anastasia, she is very beautiful and strong, and a completely likable lead character. Vladmir was a charming romantic interest, and Prince Paul was a great villain. The four instruments are hilarious, and there is a nicely told story, and on the whole some good scripting(it's not everyday you hear a cello being called "pizzicato breath"). There is also a great voice cast, and a sweet ending. Also this deserves a much higher rating than it has at the moment.

All in all, very sweet, likable, charming and well worth watching. 9/10 Bethany Cox

very good soundtrack.

[jazzi-1 · 9/10 · 10 April 2004]

This movie has a great soundtrack. The songs are very good. The vocals are very good. The animation isn't that great. Some of the scenes are kind of corny but it's still a decent movie. It is funny and little girls will probably like it a lot.

It's a little different from the other "Anastasia" movies. In this version, Anastasia has musical instruments that come to life and talk to her. The instruments are so funny. They sing and dance, They even order room service and eat tons of food. They also keep Anastasia safe. They help her through the tough times and they are her friends.

This a delightful film for the young and the young at heart.

Excellent kids movie!

[samantha-stevenson · 9/10 · 12 April 2005]

Both my 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son love this movie, and it certainly holds the youngest's attention longer than any other animation we own.

The story is sweet, and the dialogue rather good, if a bit corny at times. Some of the banter between Vladimir and Anastasia can be rather funny at times, even from an adult's viewpoint. The songs are also rather catchy.

I think the fact that I haven't gotten completely sick of it yet (even though we've had it about 2 years, first on video, then on DVD), is a testament to its quality.

If you want historical accuracy for your kids, don't bother. Otherwise, it's a great investment that will certainly give you that hours' peace when you really need it.

Timeless

[SethGreenishot · 10/10 · 8 June 2008]

I'm a HUGE Disney/Animation lover and grew up watching and owning many epic titles as well as ones not so known, such as this version of the timeless tale of 'Anastasia'. However, it's lack of popularity definitely does not take away from how good it actually was.

I recently found it lying around in my cartoon pile and decided to watch it after all these years. It even had the soundtrack come with it, sadly, I don't know where the CD went. I was watching and regained the love I felt for it when I was a kid, it was much better, in my opinion than the Disney version. It had a better story line, more appealing to children and the songs were better. It may only be a personal preference, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story with a little humor. This is one of the few movies that made me cry, the ending was quite tear-worthy in my book.

The only negative thing I find about this movie is the animation quality, it is in fact, quite bad, but I never noticed this until now, so, it must not be bad enough. I own another movie from the same company (The other one is MUCH better) and would be the first to say, this company needs more recognition, so they can get higher budgets and get less terrifying animation. Haha, all in all, this is a must watch for all kids and they'll grow up to love it, like I did.