One of the things I remember most about Anastasia the movie- that it was the first movie that showed a plus size woman who was regarded as attractive exactly as she was. No mocking, no “jolly yet sexless fat woman”. Just attractive. I love aunt Sophie.

I'm Russian and i never saw anything wrong with it being a children's film haha I think the point of it was to give a happy ending to a tragedy, it painted the royal family in a human light, plus real life Anastasia's remains were only confirmed in 2007 and before that people were speculating about her having survived

The real fashion icon of this movie was the "Graaaandma, it's me... Aanastasia" lady.

bisexual culture was having a crush on both Dimitri and Anya as a kid

The blue dress isn’t an animation mistake. In the story, she alters the dress because it’s too big and ugly. The white collar is also taken off and the sleeve ruffled trim is altered.

I had a very embarrassing crush on Dmitri as a child.

Completely unrelated side note: the animation is really good, everything moves very smooth, and with real weight, which is hard to pull off.

One thing that didn't make sense to me as a child: in Anya's visions, her elder sisters are her age (late teens, early twenties) which is odd because if they were murdered when Anya was 8 in this universe they would be 10, 12 and 14. Also: her little brother appears as a little boy, and not a teenager. However, as a grown-up, I understand the symbolism: looking up to her elder sisters it's easier to imagine them as adults. However, her little brother always appeared as a child in her mind because she was older.

as a russian the interest you showed to all the little details of russian culture and pronounciation (your effort to say names was cute) is so wonderful and wholesome, it was definitely weird to see russian text on screen but the video turned out brilliant and very interesting, thank you!

In the musical, the lyrics of Rumor in St Petersburg are addressed because they purposely choose to say St Petersburg as like a revolt against the communist rule. Dimitri says “they can call it Leningrad, but it’ll always be Petersburg”. So luckily the musical fixed that

mina: i can't believe someone would make a children's film about such a tragedy me: *looks at disney's pocahontas*

There was a long rumor that Anastasia and her little brother survived the massacre, that's what this movie was based on. I'm guessing someone on the writing team knew this story and dreamed up of a world that she survived. Unfortunately, her and her brother's body was more recently found in 2007 further away from the rest of the family, confirming their death. The movie came out in 1997, so I'm guessing they were still basing it off of the wishful thinking that she survived. I think it's a sweet story in an alternative reality where she lived.

I think the reason why Anya's dress in the 'Once Upon a December' sequence was made this way can be explained by the fact that she is imagining it, and it's just her fantasizing about the ball in the Winter Palace. She technically cannot remember having danced in such a gown with Nicholas, so she merges scrapes of memory and her own fantasy to picture the dancing with her family. That's only my theory, of course. But since they designed Anya's court gown so well later on in the film, I think they deliberately designed the 'Once Upon a December' dress this way.

I think the dress from the once upon a december sequence is knowingly designed more to evoke a sense of "dreaming to become a princess" that little girls watching the show would be relating to in this part of the movie. Like it has the ethereal flowy transparent nonsense and the big blue ribbons and the big flowing dress. but it's a dream or a memory thats not exactly quite right, like it evokes the feeling of reconstructing memories you dont have. So more like, little Anya imagining herself in court gowns that adults wore that she never did but her memory of what that would have been like is a little off after being poor and having amnesia for the past decade

The romanov's were shot to death not stabbed, which was actually sadder because the princesses had their jewels sewn into the corsets for when they were exiled, so they didn't die immediately

While Rasputin didn't have anything to do with their deaths, he did prophesise that if he died at the hand of one of their relatives, the imperial family would die no more than 2 years after his death.

I swear everytime I see a show/movie on Netflix, the next day Mina will literally post a video about it instantly

I don't know about the US, but in Europe the story of Anastasia was quite famous. There were several people who claimed to be Anastasia. Most famously, Anna Anderson. Until the 90ies when the graves where found and the DNA tested, the hope that one of them survived, died. I think, most people did doubt the sincerities of the many claims, but hope dies last. Plus, its hard to imagine such cruel things. And that's probably, why it is still popular.

Fun fact about the contrast between British and Russian dress expenses, the English monarchy was looked down upon as the dowdiest and least extravagant of the royal families of Europe, whereas the French, Prussian, Russian, German, and other royal families were considered more dignified and powerful due to their lavish palaces and dress. Ironically, the British royal family is the only one left of those powerful monarchies.

I am from Finland. We have a joint border with Russia so when i first saw this movie, i already knew about Anastasia and her real history. For that reason the movie was sooo much more touching to me and makes it more interesting for older viewers aswell. I dont think its inapropriate for children that the real storie is so tragic. Anastasia was a child, she had a family, she would have had this if things would have gone differently. Its absolutely beautifull for a childrens movie to explore themes of new hope, new life, personal history and loss. I think that because of this Anya is a far more likeable and touching character than most princesses and even relatable to people who have experienced loss of family or are in other ways disconnected (in social care etc) from their family.

oh hell yes 😳

that movie did me dirty, i thought anastasia actually survived then when i found out the whole family died and i cried for days lmao

Something I love about the costumes in this movie is the TEXTURE. There are sparkly fabrics, fabrics that look rough, silky, velvety, etc. Really stands out from most 2d animated movies, I love it.

The film also includes other accurate stuff. The paintings in the palace were drawed after actual paintings that were there. And the drawing that Anastasia made mocking her sister and that her grandma had was also an actual drawing made by her. The artistic team of the film used a lot of documentation for creating it.

Rasputin may not have had a hand in their death but dude was supes creepy

Is it me, or do the historical dresses look surprisingly comfortable?!

Actually the movie was made when it was thought that Anastasia was alive; a lady came saying she was Anastasia, and only after the movie was relished, it was found out she was lying (its actually more complicated but still). It was basically a gift to real life Anastasia and her grandmother, that's why they made it a children movie :)

You’re wrong to think that this movie is just a weird Hollywood fantasy about dark page of the Russian history. In reality, after Anastasia’s death there were many imposers who were quite successful. One of them inspired a play by Marcelle Maurette and a film with Ingrid Bergman. It all created cultural references for the future film

Russian culture is so fascinating to me. Maybe that's just because I find every culture interesting in their own way, but learning about the world and how different each country is from each other is incredibly amazing. Especially with langauge, food, mannerisms, music, fashion, and etc.

Okay okay okay but hear me out: you should definitely check out the Anastasia Broadway musical because it addresses the fate of her family and it's a little bit more realistic (The city is called Leningrad, it talks about the communist rule, etc) and mature you could say, plus the cast is super talented! Oh and her age actually matches with the time period in the musical

As a Russian, I’m screaming inside when they call Anastasia “Anya”. “Anya” is informal version of Anna, for Anastasia it’s Nastya. It’s like they call Putin “Vlad”, when it stands for Vladislav. And it’s fine if you’re foreigners and can call him any nickname you want, but, Gosh, making Russians call her a wrong name it’s ridiculous.

One of my grandma’s relatives (an auntie, I think) went to work for the Tzar’s in Russia as a nanny, not long before their demise. She was given a gold medallion-type-star thing that all staff wore to symbolise that she worked for the Tzars. When she left and came back to the UK- not long before the fall of the Tzar’s- her mum told her it was too ugly and had it altered and turned into a broach!! Devastating!! My grandma has it now and it’s an amazing piece of history in our family. Also, can I just say that I absolutely love everything about your channel. It’s both fascinating and educational as well as giving off super opulent vibes!! Xx

Growing up, Anastasia's court dress at the end of the movie was and still is one of my favourite animated gowns as well. The silhouette of 20th century court dresses in Russia are gorgeous, and I particularly love the sleeves.

I think it was implied that she altered the blue dress from the boat, the big white collar is missing too. She had to take it in to fit, so I think they wanted us to believe she hand sewed all of that in a short amount of time in her cabin (still unrealistic lmao).

Fun fact Anastasia’s court dress sash shouldn’t be blue. The order of St Andrew was given only to the emperor, the empress, and the grand dukes of Russia. The grand duchesses were granted the Order of St. Catherine, which was two classes lower (the order being St. Andrew and St. George, awarded for military valor). The Order of St. Catherine had a red sash instead of a blue one. Grand duchesses were awarded it at birth or by marriage and others could be awarded it too. This was such an awesome video to watch btw and maybe you’ll check out the musical someday? Anyways thanks for making such lovely content!

when the movie was made it was still thought that not everyone had died in the basement. the actual proof that everyone was dead, including anastasia only came a few years after the movies release.

i looove your disney(and other) movies videos! can you make a focus about underrated dresses that were better than the commercial one ? like ariel's glitter dress, anastasia's opera's dress, belle's winter dress etc. ? please EDIT: Disney definetly should hire you

Hey! A Russian person here. Just wanted to say that the emperor's family were shot, not stabbed, and also correct pronunciation of her name is anastaSIA (the i should be stressed)

As a Russian girl I want to thank you so much for highlighting my history and culture in worldwide view. That’s so heartwarming to see English-speaking people talking about Russian history in such engaging way. Also, just so you now, her name is stressed on vowel i, like anastasIa) Love your channel❤️

To be completely fair, the movie came out in 1997, but the last 2 bodies (Aleksei and either Anastasia or Maria) were found in 2007... So they did have hope she survived

Anastasia was made with so much love and care and it shows, I'm Russian and it was my favorite movie when I was a kid 😭 so happy to see someone take interest in Russian royal history, I had such a crush on both Dimitri and Anastasia and it made me want to be a princess sgshdjd

ANASTASIA??? i had to put everything down to see Mina Le review one of my favorite movies ever! I'm glad to hear it is pretty accurate and am looking forward to watching the whole video.

"They can call it Leningrad but it will always be Petersburg!" - Dimitri

The yellow sparkly ballgown in Once Upon a December, along with her sisters' dresses in that scene, were based on the lawn dresses seen in their 1914 photoshoot from what I can tell. The sheer sleeves, necklines, etc, all vaguely resemble what each of OTMA wore in the photoshoot.

While it may seem obvious and disturbing Anastasia is about the real life Anastasia if she were still alive. Believe it or not its actually based on an entirely different woman who thought herself to be Duchess Anastasia when it had yet to be known that she was in fact dead, her name was Anna Anderson. Before announcing to the authorities that she was supposedly Anastasia, she had resided in an asylum. Due to her resemblance to Anastasia and the scars upon her body, many people believed her. People treated her like the real Anastasia for several reals even as it became more and more suspicious she could not remember important events related to the Romanovs

It is interesting to note that this movie was based on a 1956 live-action film, which was based on real-life Anastasia imposter Anna Anderson. It's very possible the animators took some inspiration from the live-action costumes and outfits Anna Anderson wore.

I know the musical isn't everyone's thing but i love it, and one thing it does is have Dimitri say "they can call it Leningrad, but it'll always be Petersburg" which i think is actually a good way of fixing that innacuracy, as it gives us an explanation for why everyone calls it Petursburg without having a great long description.

as a russian i want to say THANK YOU for a good and accurate representation of this royal fashion part of our culture that people don’t really talk about (which is understandable but still kinda sad) and all the translators did a great job!💓

They were shot to death. A few of the girls were stabbed with bayonets after they failed to die from the gunfire. The gunman didn't realize they had smuggled jewels sewn into their corsets so the bullets ricocheted off. A horrific end.

So glad to see someone interested in Russian history and culture! I send my love and appreciation from Moscow!

I remember when I found out about the real life Anastasia. It messed me up knowing she had such a violent death

I grew up watching the animated Anastasia and it really got me interested in learning everything I could about the Romanov family. I highly recommend checking out the Broadway play as they lean a lot closer to historical accuracy and don't gloss over the tragedy of what happened to the Romanov's. They have songs that touch on the Romanov tragedy ("The Neva Flows", "Still", and "The Neva Flows/Still Reprise") and all throughout the play as well. There are so many details that they added (like a comment made by Anya about diamonds sewn into her undergarments. That actually happened and I'm obsessed with the fact that the playwrights included that detail) that made it just that much more historically accurate while still maintaining the story/plot from the movie the play was based on. In the Broadway version of "A Rumor in St. Petersburg" one of the first lines said by Dimitri is "They can call it Leningrad But it will always be Petersburg". Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

They also had a lot to go off of in terms of photos of the family

"In the dark of the night" is also the most banging villain song ever !

I remember how this movie sparked my interest in fashion as a child, because the way the ladies FLOAT OUT OF THE PAINTINGS in their *SPARKLY DRESSES* just takes my breath away TO THIS DAY ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

For the record, the movie was born out of wondering if Anastasia survived. They found the mass grave that was dug for the family and they miscounted the bodies. They thought one was missing and so rumors started that Anastasia had survived. Her body was later discovered, but rumors still persisted.

I think the court dress in Once Upon a December was probably so wildly inaccurate because it's a dream sequence of hers, and what life in that palace could be. Not only does she not remember her past life in the palace, she most likely would have been too young to notice and remember the fashion of adult women. So the court dress she wears is probably more of a dream dress that she'd see herself in -- unaware of the court fashions of the time

Actually, I’ll have to disagree about it being wrong about creating a film based on tragic history and altering it for a children’s movie. This was based on the legacy of the rumour of Anastasia being alive. (which is heavily based on Anna Anderson and the fact that it wasn’t officially reported that they had found the bodies. Much less all of the Romanov children until 2007) While this movie *is* a topic of controversy in terms of whenever or not it was appropriate and accurate; many distant relatives of the Romanovs are not in favour of this movie, however most do understand that this movie is a fairytale children’s movie centred on a longtime mystery that wasn’t yet to be concluded, and they do not despise it. Other than “The Romanovs: An Imperial Family”, this is so far one of the only movies centred on the Romanovs (particularly, Anastasia) in a way which is respectful. I personally like to believe myself that if any movie about Anastasia was going to be made for kids and to potentially spark their interest one day into the real tragedy when they are old enough, this movie isn’t a bad way of introducing them to it. It’s extremely dark for children alone, so it wouldn’t be too much of a shock once they learned the truth. Also to add, this is a Don Bluth film: he was never known to shy away from dark and tragedies - whenever it’s due to its source or the movie itself. Also, if you want a *bad* Anastasia movie made for children that truly disrespects the history, check out “Anastasia: Once Upon a Time” ew 🥴 Sorry for the rambling aha. Overall, fantastic video! :)

Almost all children's movies are inspired by tragic events or horrific myths/fairytales, it's really bizarre.

It’s not crazy to think her dress is one of the best in animated history. Because it is. 🙌🏻

I think maybe the dress in the imagined ballroom scene is so inaccurate because it is a dress from Anyas imagination, she probably wouldnt have known what court clothing looked like so just imagined something pretty

Dimitri and Anya's relationship was *chef's kiss*🥺

I’m personally totally down for including real life stories, even when disturbing, in children’s stories. Life is cruel and it’s nicer to be eased into that reality than to have to learn it all at once lol . This was one of my FAVORITE movies as a kid, both for the obvious reason and for many of the reasons you stated. Now that you bring it up I do wish they had found more excuses to feature some embroidery because Russian embroidery is just.... ahhhhhh 😍 But it makes sense why they wouldn’t have that much for this time period and class but still

I swear Anastasia is the most beautiful animated movie ❤️ Anya and Dimitri remind me of Jack and Rose from Titanic a little bit

Anya has some of the best lines coming from a woman in a children's movie ever

The tiaras that they used for the animated Anastasia is actually accurate! Though I’m pretty sure she would’ve wore it once she’s married. For anyone wondering what tiara Anastasia wearing, it’s the Kokoshnik tiara and her grandma was wearing the Vladimir tiara. The tiaras are now with the British royal family now, for all y’all curious ones😉.

I don’t know what you mean with “it never was addressed, that they were murdered”, because the whole Russian population broke into their palace and Anastasia and her grandmother hat to escape through a hidden door, why do you think that is?? 😕😅

6:38 This is why the Anastasia musical is one of my all time favourites! It's definitely more accurate in this way (as accurate as the legend of Anastasia can be aha), but specifically the beginning of 'Rumour in St. Petersburg' when they refer to it as 'the Peoples' Leningrad'. This is one of my favourite movies of all time, and one of my favourite periods to study, so it always irritated me a tiny bit whenever I rewatched! Loved this video :)

6:40 About why they chose St. Petersburg over Leningrad, let's remmember Leningrad is the name it took after Lenin, the president of the USSR, there is no way in hell a US movie made in the 90's will sing about a marxist, communist named city.

"Why is this a children's movie?" The same reason Pocahontas is a children's movie: historical revisionism. Gotta start misleading kids while they're young, or else they start questioning what they're taught.

I remember watching the movie as a young kid and being completely enamored by how the dresses moved (how they were animated), especially during Anya's fantasy dance

"I have no idea why this gorn is so off when they clearly knew how to design a Russian court gown." I believe that's intentional, actually, at the end, that's likely how Anya would have (inaccurately, with her background) thought the russian court fashion looked like.

I feel like the 1920s fashion was so unique that it's hard to make accurate clothes for a modern movie. We even see this in Tiana's outfits too. I think it's because the 1920s silhouettes are not popular today and hasn't been popular since maybe the 60s and even then 😐

I totally understand the point of not understanding why they made this a kids movie and it feeling disrespectful. But I have always seen it as a rewrite of the history to give the tragedy a happy ending, kind of like what Tarantino did for Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Something to make in memory of her and erase the tragedy in whatever universe the movie takes place in. I hope that makes sense.

Also! The way that all the Russian court gowns have those buttons or a line down the middle of the dress in front is a reference to the traditional Russian garment "Sarafan" which I personally loveeee so much!

i’ve gotta say, i love how anya isn’t extremely proportioned. she’s trim, but not an impossible body type.

If it helps any at all, there were rumors for years that Anastasia survived and was an amnesiac, the story the film rolls with. It was debunked as there were many women claiming memory loss and "gaining" memories of being Anastasia during those years, a thing you see in the flm as well. Still dark and a sad reality to learn it wasn't true...but..

The Romanov family was murdered by firing squad in a basement - bayonets were also used on those who weren't already dead.

Whenever I see this movie I always think of "Grandma its me Anastasia" if you know you know

YESS! The Romanovs are my speciality in history, this is so exciting to see you cover them. There are a few little details in 'Anastasia' which are lovely, such as drawings which were actually drawn by the real Anastasia being on the walls of the film. Overall, I wish they had used a proper Catherine Sash red for the gowns but apart from that (and the glaring historical issues), it's a pretty good film costume wise

At the time the movie was made they didn’t know for sure that Anastasia had died, it was only later that they found and confirmed her remains. It is still a bit uncomfortable since they did know that most of the family was killed, but I guess it’s like how there was a Titanic movie in the ‘90’s 🤷🏼

a-na-sta-sía is correct))) AND in the time they made the movie, there were still no proofs for Anastasia being killed with others (communists buried her body in other place for any reason?¿) and that is why the myth started. THANK YOU so so so much for this theme and for doing this great job)) after Peter the great we wore traditional Russian outfits only as costumes for a mascarades. those Russian outfits on people on ball are too traditional for the time I may say, but your whole story is really correct, im grateful! No hate? I love you!

I would to see you do a style breakdown of Padme Amidala's outfits in the Star Wars prequel movies. Love your channel btw!!

In the films defence, rumours of her supposed survival persisted the whole century after her death, and it was in 2007 when her remains were found.

WHEN I TELL YOU I CLICKED FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT I-

The actual Russian pronunciation is AnastaSIya and not AnasTAsiya as far as I know, but I think for an English speaker you were close enough :)

I thought you might find it interesting that this is not the first movie about Anastasia to use this plot. They were inspired by Anastasia from the 1950’s, (played by Ingrid Bergman) it’s very similar. Which is why the dialogue, and the couples dynamic from the animated movie sounds so classic Hollywood. The 1950’s movie took it’s plot from a real woman who claimed to be Anastasia, but was eventually proven false. So Hollywood removed that ending, and made the story a rom com.

That’s not an animation goof. It's heavily implied that she removed the white trim from the blue dress.

You nailed pretty much every Russian word, and THANK YOU for this thorough analysis. The amount of work you did is amazing, especially considering the language barrier. I rarely see my culture studied and respected like that and not slipping into politics. Much love from Moscow! 🌹

I also only buy secondhand furniture. it gives the room more character and panache instead of just buying a matching set from ikea which is so boring. congrats on the apartment!

'Why is this a childrens movie?' Maybe because real life is cruel and people want to envision a story that is more fullfilling and happy than just saying 'and then they all died a horrible, painful death.'? The movie is about an adventure, a mystery and a love story that people are allowed to like simply for being just that. I am glad it is for kids, as they still have the freedom to see a cool story/fantasy and enjoy it without having to question literally EVERYTHING. I watched this movie countless times growing up- that doesn''t mean I was in some way led to believe the movie portrayed the events correctly. As a kid, to me it was a story about a girl realizing she is a princess and still choosing love over status. Nothing more than that. As an adult, it's a beautifully crafted story and piece of animation art--- AND still about a girl finding her way after hardships and adventure! You don't HAVE to connect this to the real events in Russia. If you want to educate yourself on stuff like that you don't watch kids movies. You read and listen and watch educational material from different sources. Kids are not being intentionally mislead by this omg. Some people in the comments just hate to have fun, dont they?

Read all the original popular fairy tales and they all really was not meant for children. Like sleeping beauty which has rape in it. So when you watch these children movies you have to separate the real tales from them since they are more reimagined version of the fairy tales. I learned that in animation school.

This was one of my favourite films growing up. The film was apparently based on the theory that Anastasia escaped before she could be killed, some people think she just ran away and some people think she got caught and killed anyway.

I’m from Ukraine, this was a story going around that the younger duchess escaped. People wanted to believe someone happened to survive from that family. Unfortunately they found all skeleton remains in the woods nearby their execution place.

Oh my god! Your pronunciation of Russian names is so good! I'm so used to English-speaking people butchering the pronunciation of patronymic names that I actually gasped when you said "Maria Fyodorovna". Well done!

It's so nice to see such good videos about russian court attire; don't want to nitpick, just to add a little about headdresses: kokoshniks (btw, your pronunciation was on point :) were for married women, what most of ladies in movie are wearing looks more like a повязка to me, because kokoshniks as a part of a court attire are flat, and повязка goes around the head. Both styles also had the veil at the back.

I love how someone is finally talking about this movie, when I was younger noooo one talked about, I’m glad I’m not the only one that was obsessed with this movie

This was my favourite film growing up, and then I did the Russian revolution in school and found out it was all a lie. But the film is great, and the real Romanov family history is very interesting. But thank you for making a great video, I now know that something in Anastasia was accurate 😂

I always thought we were supposed to assume she cut the trim off of the blue dress, maybe I’m just readying to much into it 😳 this was a fun video thank you for making it

I'm thinking that the recent Broadway musical for Anastasia might be a little more accurate, in terms of the historical context that is. For one thing, the villain isn't Rasputin, but instead is the son of one of the men who killed Anastasia's family, and he's trying to complete his father's job. Additionally, at the beginning of Rumor in St. Petersburg, there's this dialog to explain why they're calling it St. Petersburg (and also to say things haven't changed all that much since the revolution): "The Tsar's St. Petersburg is now the people's Lenningrad!" "They can call it Lenningrad, but it will always be Petersburg. New name, same empty stomachs"