Thanks to Disney merging with Fox, the Walt Disney Company now owns Anastasia. They also own the rights to the movies previously created by 20th and 21st Century Fox.
Anastasia just arrived on Disney +. While the Grand Duchess has not yet been named an official part of the Disney Princess Line-Up, we’re all still eagerly waiting to hear from Disney about it.
Anastasia is actually a piece of historic Russian fiction. It follows the story of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, voiced by Meg Ryan. She is the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire. Set in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1916, the story follows a young Grand Duchess as she tries to find her way back home.
Raised as an orphan named Anya, she is completely unaware of who she is because of amnesia. However, her only clue is a locket inscribed with the words “Together in Paris”. Once she leaves the orphanage, Anya meets Dimitri (voiced by John Cusack), and his assistant Vlad (voiced by Kelsey Grammar).
Anya’s grandmother, the Dowager Empress (voiced by Angela Lansbury) is now living in exile in Paris. There is an announcement that she is offering a massive reward to anyone who can return her granddaughter to her. Dimitri and Vlad, unaware of Anya’s true identity, see the resemblance, and try to pass her off as the princess.
With songs like “Once Upon A December” and “At The Beginning”, it’s a movie you’ll want to watch again and again.