Anastasia Movie Not Disney Princess - Similar Themes
![Anastasia Movie Not Disney Princess - Similar Themes](https://s2.r29static.com/bin/entry/45e/0,1,2000,2400/720x864,85/1891355/image.webp)
There's a very, very simple reason why Anastasia resembles all your favorite Disney princesses.
Like this post? There's more. Get tons of celebrity news, fun takes on pop culture, and trending stories on the Refinery29 Entertainment Facebook page. Like us on Facebook — we'll see you there!
Cartoons are created using 24 frames per second. According to Gadea, Anastasia was drawn on the ones and twos, which is fancy animator lingo indicating each frame is a distinct and unique drawing. “As a rule, the Disney animation was on the ones and twos, meaning every second frame was drawn, or if they’re moving fast, every first frame was drawn. That’s really expensive to do, if you can imagine — 24 different drawings for every second. It takes a lot of artists and a lot of time to do that. Anastasia is done in that style. It’s very high quality animation, Gadea told Refinery29. For context, many animated TV shows only have four or five new illustrations each second. Just a little bit of movement to show the character is alive, Gadea says.
When she’s living in the orphanage, Anya’s clothes are drab, olive-colored, and decidedly not glittery. Later on, when Anya goes to the opera in Paris, her royal blue dress sparkles like a Disney princess’s would. The yellow dress Anya wears at the end of the movie sparkles even more significantly. The closer Anastasia comes to her princess identity, the more her clothing literally glistens.
You've certainly seen sparkly dresses on Disney princesses before, from Elsa in her ice castle to Ariel emerging from the water in a purple gown. It's a tiny, but ubiquitous, detail in the Disney princess wardrobe,
Vlad and Dimitri need Anya to learn all the biographical details of Anastasia Romanov's history. So, in the song Learn to Do It, they teach her how to carry herself like a princess and what she needs to know to be Anastasia, specifically.
The Disney movies Mulan and Hercules both feature extended scenes in which the protagonists train hard, and come into their powers. These scenes are both set to music: I'll Make a Man Out of You in Mulan and One Last Hope in Hercules .
At this point in the movie, Vlad and Dimitri have already taught Anya how to be a convincing Anastasia. Now, they just have to get her to Paris to complete their scheme. On the way there, Vlad looks on as Anastasia and Dimitri dance, with a sinking feeling. This attraction could ruin his opportunity to make a lot of cash. In the song Learn to Do It (Reprise), Vlad laments, I taught her well. / I planned it all! / I just forgot Romance! / Vlad, how could you do this? / How will we get through this? / I never should have let them dance! Clearly, he forgot the first rule of a Disney movie: Don't let the kids fall in love.
In Disney movies, the allure of young love is irresistible, even for the most curmudgeonly of elders like Timon. The enchanted teapot in Beauty and the Beast (who also voices the Grand Empress in Anastasia ) wistfully narrates the love story of Beauty and the Beast in Tale as Old as Time. Sebastian in The Little Mermaid wants those pesky kids to just get it over with in Kiss the Girl.
After dancing together on the deck of a ship, Anastasia and Dimitri exchange a very moony glance, and then lean in for a kiss. For some inexplicable reason, Dimitri pulls away — maybe he didn't want their travel companion spying on them. The second time they come together for a kiss, they are interrupted by Anastasia's dog.
But of all these almost-kisses, the most significant is that of Ariel in The Little Mermaid . All she needs to complete her quest is a single kiss, and can't seem to get it.
Anya comes across the adorable, floppy-eared Pooka after being exiled from the orphanage. He's her loyal puppy. Rasputin's sidekick, Bartok the Bat, is far more talkative.
Disney villains have their sidekicks, too. Scar in The Lion King has his hyenas, and Ursula has Flotsam and Jetsam. Like Bartok in Anastasia , the Disney villains' sidekicks provide comic relief.
Rasputin's song In the Dark of the Night is as catchy as it is sinister. Rasputin explains his plan to kill Anastasia, and extinguish the last of the Romanov family tree. He also takes the opportunity to explain his backstory: I was once the most mystical man in all Russia / When the royals betrayed me, they made a mistake / My curse made each of them pay / But one little girl got away / Little Anya, beware, Rasputin’s awake!
No Disney villain song quite compares to Rasputin's like Scar's Be Prepared. Before designing Rasputin, Goldman and Bluth probably spent a lot of time watching Scar and Jafar.
Both of Anya's parents died during the Russian Revolution, but she reminisces about her father most fondly during flashbacks.
Don Hahn, a producer who's worked on many Disney movies, explained why the orphan trope is so overused. Warning: It will make you cry. I'll give you two stories that are the reasons, Hahn said in Glamour . I never talk about this, but I will. One reason is practical because the movies are 80 or 90 minutes long, and Disney films are about growing up. They're about that day in your life when you have to accept responsibility. Simba ran away from home but had to come back. In shorthand, it's much quicker to have characters grow up when you bump off their parents. Bambi's mother gets killed, so he has to grow up. Belle only has a father, but he gets lost, so she has to step into that position. It's a story shorthand.
Rasputin is constantly swathed in lime green, which, in Disney movies, is the hue of all evil .
When Disney villains reach peak evil, they're suddenly surrounded by a lime green mist . Scar pounces through green clouds in his cave. Lime green light surrounds Ursula during her spell-casting. Some evil characters have green eyes, too: Cinderella's evil step mother, her cat Lucifer, and Maleficent in witch form are all prime examples.
![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71iLJ+LCraL._AC_UY1000_.jpg)
FOTAP Anastasia Movie Inspired Gift Anastasia And Dimitri Lover Makeup Bag Princess Anastasia Romanov Cosmetic Bag Anastasia Movie Merchandise (Anastasia) : NOT A BOOK: Beauty & Personal Care
![](https://static1.thegamerimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/anastasia-4.jpg)
The Other Princess: 25 Things About The Anastasia Movie That Make No Sense
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5efa04ac383aa560afd460fa/1593446345066-99L7VUZ67EL2PNCIOL5G/image-asset.jpeg)
Why Anastasia Rocks — Rhiannon Thomas
![](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/anastasia_1997_001_1_copy_-_h_2017.jpg?w=1024)
The Cast of 'Anastasia,' Then and Now – The Hollywood Reporter
What are the differences between 20th Century Fox's Anastasia and Disney princesses? Can you tell it's not a Disney production from the movie? - Quora
![](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/best_animated_princess_movies_not_from_disney.jpg)
10 Best Animated Princess Movies Not from Disney
![](https://chipandco.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3EAB48E9-B410-4313-9A58-BB3D25993D68-1024x576.jpeg?ezimgfmt=rs:352x198/rscb3/ngcb3/notWebP)
Anastasia” removed from Disney+
![](https://animatedmeta.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/anastasia-pooka.png)
Anastasia Isn't Disney: Why Everyone Thinks It Is
![](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/u19WtSYuGkuQk-_lnp11N266b1Q=/fit-in/2584x1350/top/filters:format_auto():quality(85):upscale()/2017/12/14/015/n/1922283/c1d640c95a3307a3407e91.67349839_edit_img_facebook_post_image_file_44367180_1513292861.jpg)
Is Anastasia a Disney Princess?
![](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/i/4ff6ed8f-3598-4f21-8d98-bd3c1b19941f/d8297tu-d5f3ebfa-bb09-4c7d-a2a7-e94d376ce599.jpg)
Non-Disney Comparison - Anastasia vs Ariel by M-Mannering on DeviantArt
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ocm8QdNR_d8/maxresdefault.jpg)
Anastasia Movie Not Disney Princess - Similar Themes
![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/non-disney-princess/images/3/30/Anastasia.png/revision/latest?cb=20181025022950)
Anastasia Romanova, Non Disney Princess Wiki
![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/hook-anastasia-balto-1.jpg)
10 Best Disney Movies Not Made By Disney
![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disneyripoffs/images/1/10/Anastasia.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20150717005423)
Anastasia (Don Bluth), Disney Rip-Offs Wikia