Anastasia: Once Upon a Time | |
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Directed by | Blake Harris |
Written by | Blake Harris |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
Edited by | Colleen Halsey Richard Halsey |
Music by | Jeremy Rubolino Nami Melumad |
Production company | Conglomerate Media |
Distributed by | Freestyle Digital Media |
Release date | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time is a 2020 American fantasy adventure film very loosely based on the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. [3] The film stars Armando Gutierrez as Grigori Rasputin, Jo Koy as Vladimir Lenin, Brandon Routh as Tsar Nicholas II and Emily Carey as Anastasia. The film was released through digital platforms on April 7, 2020. [1]
In 1917, thirteen-year-old Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, a Russian Grand Duchess, escapes through a portal created by her family's old friend, Grigori Rasputin, when her family is threatened by the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin. Anastasia finds herself in the United States seventy-years later in 1989, while in a suburban neighborhood. However, Anastasia is unaware that an enchantress, Yara, is working with Lenin. She has hypnotized Rasputin, sending him through another portal to capture her.
Anastasia is befriended by Megan, a thirteen-year-old girl who has recently moved and feels lonely as she has no friends. Despite Anastasia's initially fragmentary grasp of English, she introduces herself to Megan as "Annie," aided by an amulet Rasputin gave her that glows when she is in the presence of a person she can trust. As Anastasia's understanding of English grows, Megan finds her a place to stay in a currently-vacant house near Megan's own, and the two even manage to befriend a pop star giving a concert in a nearby mall who helps buy Anastasia contemporary clothing.
Eventually, Anastasia is able to tell Megan the truth about herself when she finds a book on the Romanov family's fate, but is disturbed to learn of their apparent deaths. Trying to cheer Anastasia up, Megan offers her one of a pair of "best friend" bracelets she bought herself in the past, as she had never had anyone to share them with.
When the two girls go to a haunted house party on Halloween, Anastasia is captured by Rasputin when she and Megan are separated. Megan's school bullies initially convince her that Annie left her and the party on her own, but later, when she sees a live local news report of a traffic accident, Megan spots Annie and Rasputin in the background and realizes what actually happened. Tracking them to the park where she first met Anastasia, Megan is able to help distract Rasputin long enough for Anastasia to open a new portal, allowing her to go back to a few moments before her original trip into the future and help her family escape Lenin's forces, with Rasputin staying behind to buy them time to escape.
Back in 1989, Megan is once again disappointed at the loss of her friend, but when her mother suggests she introduce herself to the new neighbors, she is overjoyed to realize that the elderly grandmother of the new family next door is Anastasia herself, now at eighty-three years of age. Anastasia invites her inside to tell her everything that happened to her since their last meeting.
Principal production began in the summer of 2017 in Louisville, KY with the young stars filming the 1988 portion of the film. [13] Shooting on the 1917 portion of the film started in August 2017 and concluded in April 2018 after a break in between filming locations of approximately 6 months due to the scheduling of the location the Rosecliff, and its actors Jo Koy and Brandon Routh. [14] [15] [7]
The Dove Foundation said that the "film includes a strong message of friendship and sacrificial love." [16] Russia Beyond lambasted the film highlighting the negative portrayal of Russians and its handling of the tragic true story. [17] Regarding the merits of the film itself, Tom Whitcomb at The Bozho reviewed the film negatively, writing, "The acting is wooden and uninspired; the shoddy accents make me understand why everyone in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl stayed British. The production design is phoned in. The script was in serious need of several rewrites." [18]
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final years of the Russian Empire.
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and of Tsarina Alexandra. She was born at Peterhof Palace, near Saint Petersburg.
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.
Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical historical fantasy film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by the writing teams of Susan Gauthier and Bruce Graham, and Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, and based on a story adaptation by Eric Tuchman. It features songs written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and a musical score composed and conducted by David Newman. The film stars the voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst, and Angela Lansbury. The film shares its plot with the 1956 film Anastasia, which in turn was based on a play by Marcelle Maurette. Unlike those treatments, this version adds Grigori Rasputin as the main antagonist.
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia was the third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. Her murder following the Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in her canonization as a passion bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The life of the notorious Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin has been the subject of a variety of media since his death in 1916.
Princess Anastasia Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro was the daughter of King Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro (1841–1921) and his wife, Queen Milena (1847–1923). Through her second marriage, she became Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova of Russia. She and her sister "Militza", having married Russian royal brothers, were known colloquially as the "Montenegrin princesses" during the last days of Imperial Russia, and may have contributed to its downfall by the introduction of Grigori Rasputin to the Empress Alexandra.
Princess Milica Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro, also known as Grand Duchess Militza Nikolaevna of Russia, was a Montenegrin princess. She was the second eldest daughter of King Nicholas I Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro and his wife, Queen Milena. Milica was the wife of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, the younger brother of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia, whose wife was Milica's sister, Princess Anastasia of Montenegro.
Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia was the younger daughter of Grand Duke George Mihailovich of Russia and Princess Maria Georgievna of Greece and Denmark. She is known for recognizing Anna Anderson as Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Princess Helen of Serbia was a Serbian princess. She was the daughter of King Peter I of Serbia and his wife, the former Princess Ljubica of Montenegro. She was the elder sister of George, Crown Prince of Serbia and King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. Helen was also a niece of Queen Elena of Italy, Princess Anastasia of Montenegro, wife of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia and of Princess Milica of Montenegro, wife of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, the women who introduced Grigori Rasputin to Tsarina Alexandra.
Pierre Gilliard was a Swiss academic and author, best known as the French language tutor to the five children of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia from 1905 to 1918. In 1921, after the Russian Revolution of 1917, he published a memoir, Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, about his time with the family. In his memoirs, Gilliard described Tsarina Alexandra's torment over her son's hemophilia and her faith in the ability of starets Grigori Rasputin to heal the boy.
Alexandra Alexandrovna von Pistohlkors was the younger daughter of noted Russian composer Alexander Taneyev and the sister of Anna Vyrubova. Her husband was Alexander Erikovich von Pistohlkors, who was the stepson of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia. Like her sister, Alexandra was for a time a devotee of the starets Grigori Rasputin.
Anastasia is a female given name of Greek origin, deriving from "Αναστασία", the Greek word for "resurrection".
The Romanovs: An Imperial Family is a 2000 Russian historical drama film about the last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The Russian title implies both the Imperial Crown of Russia and the crown of thorns associated with martyrs. The film premiered at the 22nd annual Moscow Film Festival. The film was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards, but it didn't make the final shortlist.
Anya is a character in 20th Century Fox's animated film Anastasia (1997). A Russian orphan with amnesia, Anya travels to Paris, France, in hopes of re-discovering her past and family, aided by a pair of con artists who scheme to use her likeness to Russia's Imperial family to win a lucrative reward. Although largely fictionalized, the character is loosely based on two historical figures: Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, and Anna Anderson, an imposter famous for claiming to be the Grand Duchess. Plot elements from the film Anastasia (1956), in which the title character is played by actress Ingrid Bergman, served as a primary source of inspiration for Anya.
"Once Upon a December" is a song from the 1997 20th Century Fox animated film Anastasia. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was the eldest child of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, and of his wife Alexandra.
Anastasia is a musical play with music and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, and a book by Terrence McNally. Based on the 20th Century Fox Animation 1997 film of the same name, the musical adapts the legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, who was rumored to have escaped and survived the execution of the Russian Imperial family. Many years later, an amnesiac young woman named Anya hopes to find some trace of her past by siding with two con men, who wish to take advantage of her resemblance to Anastasia.
Amiah Miller is an American actress and model. She starred in the 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes. She also appears in the TV series Henry Danger, Best Friends Whenever and MacGyver.
The Last Czars is a six-part English-language docudrama that premiered on Netflix on July 3, 2019. The series follows the reign of Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia's Romanov Dynasty, from his accession to the throne in 1894 to his execution along with the Romanov family in 1918.