Here is a question that has broken friendships at sleepovers since 1997: is Anastasia a Disney movie? The short answer is no. The long answer is that the Anastasia animated movie is, in many ways, more interesting than most Disney films from the same era. Produced by Fox Animation Studios and directed by Don Bluth, it launched an entire ecosystem of reimaginings that stretches from Broadway stages all the way into the darkest corners of manga. Whether you grew up belting "Once Upon a December" into a hairbrush or you just stumbled on it through an algorithm rabbit hole, Anastasia's animated legacy is richer, weirder, and more anime-adjacent than you probably realize. Let's dig in.
Quick Answer
The 1997 Anastasia animated film is a Fox Animation Studios production, not Disney, though it now streams on Disney+. Beyond the film, Anastasia Romanov has been reimagined across anime series like Drifters and Dance in the Vampire Bund, and the story was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2017 that ran for nearly two years.
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Why Did an Entire Generation Think Anastasia Was a Disney Film?
Let's settle this once and for all. Anastasia (1997) was produced by Fox Animation Studios, a division of 20th Century Fox, and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It was the first animated feature to come out of Fox's in-house animation department, and Fox poured an estimated $53 million into making it look as lavish as possible. The confusion makes sense though: Bluth and Goldman were both Disney veterans, the film hits all the Disney Renaissance beats (orphan heroine, wisecracking sidekicks, a big villain number, sweeping romantic animation), and it even competed directly with a Disney re-release that same weekend in 1997.
Key Stat: Anastasia grossed $140 million worldwide on a $53 million budget, making it Don Bluth's highest-grossing film and the most profitable production Fox Animation Studios ever released.
The "is it Disney?" saga got a new chapter in March 2019 when Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Anastasia technically became a Disney-owned property overnight. But here is the funny part: she is still not an official Disney Princess. Disney has not added her to the Princess franchise lineup, which means she occupies this gloriously awkward limbo of being a princess owned by Disney who is not a Disney Princess. Anime fans will recognize the archetype immediately: she is the character who is canonically powerful but the writers refuse to give her the proper arc.
Breaking Down the 1997 Film: What Actually Happens
The film opens in 1916 Saint Petersburg, where a young Grand Duchess Anastasia watches her world collapse after the sorcerer Rasputin curses the Romanov family. Fast-forward ten years and we meet Anya: an 18-year-old amnesiac orphan with no memory of who she is, a sharp tongue, and absolutely zero patience for nonsense. She falls in with two con men, Dmitri and Vladimir, who want to pass her off as the missing princess to claim a reward from the Dowager Empress in Paris. Except, of course, she is the real Anastasia.
The genius of the script is how it makes deception romantic without making it creepy. Dmitri starts out using Anya; the audience is rooting for a relationship built on a lie. It should not work. It absolutely works. The film was smart enough to let Anastasia be the one who solves the final confrontation with Rasputin herself rather than being saved, a detail that still feels refreshingly ahead of its time.
"After making seven animated pictures, the thing I know is that you can never know what's going to happen. With Anastasia, that one thing was the predictable. It was filled with serendipity."
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The animation blends traditional hand-drawn work with early digital ink-and-paint techniques, making Anastasia the first Don Bluth feature to fully embrace digital coloring. The ballroom sequences, the runaway train, the storm at sea: each set piece is constructed with the same kinetic energy you would expect from a great shonen action cut. Roger Ebert gave it three and a half out of four stars, calling it "entertaining and sometimes exciting," while Rotten Tomatoes currently sits at 83%, with the critics consensus praising its "beautiful animation, affable take on Russian history, and strong voice performances."
The Voice Cast: Stacked, Slightly Chaotic
Meg Ryan voiced adult Anya (with Liz Callaway handling the singing), John Cusack played Dmitri, Kelsey Grammer was Vlad, Christopher Lloyd chewed all available scenery as Rasputin, and Angela Lansbury anchored the film with tremendous dignity as the Dowager Empress. Hank Azaria played Bartok the bat with enough energy to spawn his own spinoff, which he did. The combo of rom-com leads, veteran character actors, and Broadway heavyweights in a single animated feature remains wild to think about now.
The Soundtrack That Lives Rent-Free in Every Millennial's Brain
I have a very specific memory of being absolutely unable to explain why I was crying the first time I heard "Once Upon a December" as a kid. I did not know who Anastasia Romanov was. I did not understand the Bolshevik Revolution. I just knew that waltzing ghost-lights and a spinning music box were somehow the most devastating combination of visuals I had ever encountered. That is what a great animated song does.
Written by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics), the Anastasia soundtrack received two Academy Award nominations: one for "Journey to the Past" (Best Original Song) and one for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score. "At the Beginning," performed by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The soundtrack is one of those rare animated film albums that holds up as a standalone listen, no nostalgia required.
Pro Tip: If you want to understand why the Anastasia fandom never fully went quiet, search "Once Upon a December covers" on YouTube. Thousands of musicians have taken their shot at it. The song still trends on TikTok regularly, particularly around winter.
Bartok the Magnificent: The Chaotic Spinoff Nobody Asked For (But Some People Love)
In 1999, Fox released Bartok the Magnificent, a direct-to-video standalone spinoff that follows Rasputin's albino bat sidekick on his own adventure in mythical Russia. Directed again by Bluth and Goldman on a $24.8 million budget, it is technically a prequel to the original film, though it exists in such a tonally different world that continuity concerns feel almost offensive to raise.
The Letterboxd community is divided. Some call it a surprisingly solid piece of kids animation with banger musical numbers. Others describe it as the animated equivalent of a video game side quest with a boss fight you have to collect three items to unlock. Both are correct. Hank Azaria, Tim Curry, and Catherine O'Hara are all in it, which is frankly more star power than many modern streaming originals. It currently sits at 6.1 on IMDb and is available on Hoopla for free.
Key Stat: During the late 1990s, Disney was releasing a wave of direct-to-video sequels to its animated classics. Bartok the Magnificent was Fox's attempt to participate in that market, competing in the era when straight-to-VHS animated spinoffs were a genuine revenue strategy.
Anastasia in Anime: From Tragic Princess to Ice-Wielding Villain
Here is where things get good for anime fans. The historical figure of Anastasia Romanov has been reimagined across multiple Japanese animated series, and none of them gave her a happy ending. If the Don Bluth version is the romantic fantasy, the anime versions are its dark mirror.
Drifters (2016): Anastasia as a Supernatural Antagonist
Drifters, the anime based on Kouta Hirano's manga (also known for Hellsing), features historical figures pulled from their deaths and dropped into a fantasy world. Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova appears as a member of the Ends, a group of antagonists serving the Black King. In this version, the massacre of her family has left her cold, calculating, and in possession of supernatural blizzard powers. She is almost never seen without Rasputin, who is also present in the Ends, which is a deeply dark version of their historical association.
The character design goes full anime: white hair, drooping golden eyes, pale skin, and an emotionless affect that cracks only when her companion Joan of Arc is threatened. Voiced by Junko Kitanishi in Japanese and Rachel Robinson in the English dub, she functions as a foil to Joan's impulsive fire with her own glacial patience. She is, objectively, a much more dangerous version of the character than Rasputin ever was in the 1997 film.
Dance in the Vampire Bund (2010): Anastasia as a Vampire Survivor
Studio Shaft's Dance in the Vampire Bund, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and based on Nozomu Tamaki's manga, takes a different approach. In this continuity, Anastasia survived the Romanov execution by being turned into a vampire by Rasputin, becoming his slave before eventually escaping and going into hiding under the alias "Natasha." She lives in the Cradle facility, working as a photographer, and has found something resembling peace after being rescued by the vampire queen Mina Tepes.
It is a genuinely affecting take. Where Don Bluth's film asks "what if Anastasia got a happy ending through a journey of self-discovery?", Dance in the Vampire Bund asks "what if she survived, but survival looked nothing like happiness?" Both are valid questions. One of them involves singing. The other involves a vampire queen and a lot of trauma.
The Broadway Anastasia: Same Songs, Very Different Story
In 2017, Anastasia made its Broadway debut at the Broadhurst Theatre, with Christy Altomare in the lead role and Ramin Karimloo as Gleb, a Bolshevik officer who becomes the musical's primary antagonist in place of Rasputin. The creative team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens returned to write new songs alongside the film's originals, with Tony Award-winning director Darko Tresnjak helming the production.
The choice to remove Rasputin from the story and replace supernatural evil with ideological conflict was bold and mostly successful. Gleb represents the Soviet system that destroyed Anastasia's world, and his complicated feelings toward Anya create a more politically grounded story. It ran for nearly two years on Broadway and subsequently produced North American touring productions and an Australian premiere run in 2026.
Where to Watch Everything in 2026
| Title | Where to Watch | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Anastasia (1997) | Disney+, Amazon Video, Apple TV, YouTube VOD | Subscription or Rental |
| Bartok the Magnificent (1999) | Hoopla (free), Amazon Video, Apple TV | Free / Rental |
| Drifters (anime, 2016) | Funimation, various streaming platforms | Subscription |
| Dance in the Vampire Bund (2010) | Check Funimation / Crunchyroll availability | Subscription |
Important: Availability changes regularly by region. Always verify current streaming status on JustWatch before committing to a subscription you do not already have.
What Makes Anastasia Hit Different From Other 90s Animation
Most 90s animated films have aged in one of two ways: either they are timeless (The Lion King, Mulan) or they are unwatchable (most of the direct-to-video sequels). Anastasia sits in a rarer third category: films that have gotten better with time because the culture around them has changed.
When it released in 1997, some critics dismissed it as a Disney imitation. Now, freed from that comparison, you can see it clearly: it is a film about a woman recovering her identity on her own terms, who chooses love over royalty, and who defeats the villain herself. The animation is genuinely gorgeous. The villain is delightfully over the top. The romance has actual chemistry. And the soundtrack is one of the best in the entire genre.
Anime fans in particular tend to respond well to Anastasia because it shares DNA with many beloved isekai and fantasy narratives: an amnesiac protagonist, a journey to discover a hidden identity, a chaotic found-family dynamic, and a final act where the stakes are genuinely high. Strip the 1920s Russia setting and replace it with a fantasy kingdom and you have a recognizable shonen or shoujo template. Don Bluth was just doing it thirty years earlier with hand-drawn animation and Angela Lansbury.
The Bottom Line
Anastasia started as Fox's answer to the Disney Renaissance and ended up becoming something harder to categorize and more durable: a piece of animation that works on multiple levels across multiple formats. The 1997 film is a genuine classic. The Broadway musical reinvented the story with real political teeth. The anime reimaginings took the historical figure into genuinely dark and creative territory. None of this was predictable in 1997 when Don Bluth was just trying to compete with Beauty and the Beast.
Whether you are revisiting it for the soundtrack, diving into Drifters for the first time, or just trying to finally settle the "is she Disney?" argument, the Anastasia universe has more to offer than it ever got credit for. Watch it on Disney+, appreciate the irony, and hum "Once Upon a December" for the rest of the week. You will not be able to help it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Anastasia a Disney princess?
Anastasia is not an official Disney Princess despite Disney owning the character since their 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The Disney Princess franchise has its own selection criteria, and Disney has not added Anastasia to the official lineup. She streams on Disney+ but remains outside the Princess brand.
Where can I watch Anastasia (1997) right now?
As of 2026, Anastasia (1997) is available to stream on Disney+. It can also be rented or purchased on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango at Home. It is also available for free with ads on YouTube Free in some regions.
Is the Anastasia animated film based on a true story?
The film is loosely based on the historical legend surrounding Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, and rumors that she survived the 1918 Bolshevik execution of her family. The filmmakers openly took creative license, and the magic/Rasputin elements are entirely fictional.
Which anime series feature Anastasia Romanov as a character?
The most prominent anime featuring Anastasia Romanov is Drifters (2016), where she appears as an antagonist with blizzard-control powers. She also appears in Dance in the Vampire Bund (2010) as a vampire survivor going by the alias Natasha. Both series reimagine her as a supernatural character rooted in the historical tragedy of her real-life death.
Is Bartok the Magnificent a sequel or prequel to Anastasia?
Bartok the Magnificent (1999) is technically a standalone prequel to Anastasia, showing Bartok the bat before the events of the main film. However, the continuity is loose enough that it functions more as a separate story in a shared setting rather than a direct narrative prequel.
How is the Anastasia Broadway musical different from the animated film?
The 2017 Broadway musical removes Rasputin entirely and replaces him with Gleb, a Bolshevik officer who serves as the new primary antagonist. The story becomes more politically grounded, exploring Soviet ideology and guilt. Familiar songs like "Once Upon a December" and "Journey to the Past" remain, with new material added by the original songwriting team of Flaherty and Ahrens.
Sources & References
- Anastasia (1997 film) — Wikipedia
- Royal Treatment: Looking Back at Anastasia — Cartoon Research, March 2023
- Anastasia (1997) Critics Consensus — Rotten Tomatoes
- Anastasia Streaming Guide — JustWatch, updated July 2026
- Bartok the Magnificent — Wikipedia
- Anastasia Romanova character profile — Drifters Wiki, Fandom
- Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova across media — TV Tropes
- Anastasia Opens on Broadway — Playbill, April 24, 2017
- Once Upon a December — Wikipedia
- Is Anastasia a Disney Princess? — Distractify, December 2020
