Anastasia
Directed by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
TheoScope Rating
Worldview · content · moral framework
Plot
The daughter of the last Russian Czar, Nicolas II (Rick Jones), Anastasia (Meg Ryan) is found by two Russian con men, Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer), who seek the reward that her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna (Dame Angela Lansbury), promised to the ones who'll find her. But the evil mystic of the Czar family, Grigori Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd), still wants the Romanov family to be destroyed forever.
Discern Score Breakdown
30%
30%
25%
15%
Audience Suitability
Kids
Under 10
Teens
10–17
Adults
18+
Family
Mixed ages
Content Flags
Anastasia is a well-crafted animated adventure with genuine emotional warmth, strong romantic and family themes, and a satisfying moral arc for its protagonists. Its primary concerns from a Christian perspective are the active occult villain (Rasputin's soul-selling and demonic reliquary) and the complete absence of the Romanov family's real Orthodox faith, which leaves the spiritual dimension of the film one-sided toward darkness. It is best suited for families with children ages 7 and up, watched together with a parent prepared to discuss the difference between fairy-tale magic and real spiritual truth.
Pastoral Take
Anastasia is a warm, well-made animated film that most families with children seven and older can enjoy, but parents of younger or more sensitive children should know that Rasputin's occult magic — including soul-selling, demonic minions, and a genuinely unsettling disintegration death — is real enough within the film to warrant a pre-watch or a co-watch with young kids. The bigger conversation worth having is the one the film doesn't invite on its own: the real Anastasia came from a deeply faith-filled family, and that faith is entirely absent here, replaced by fairy-tale magic and a sorcerous villain with no godly counterbalance. This is a good film to enjoy together and then use as a springboard to talk about identity, truth, and where real spiritual power actually comes from.
Discussion Points
- 1At the beginning of the film, Dimitri and Vladimir want to find Anastasia mainly because of the reward money — but by the end, Dimitri gives it all up. What do you think changed in him? The Bible talks about loving people without expecting anything in return (1 Corinthians 13) — do you think Dimitri actually learned something like that?
- 2Rasputin sold his soul in exchange for power, and the film shows that bargain eventually destroying him. Does that remind you of anything Jesus warned about? He said, 'What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul' — why do you think chasing power at any cost always ends badly?
- 3Anastasia spends most of the movie not knowing who she really is — and she has to decide whether to claim her true identity even when it's hard and costly. Can you think of a way that connects to what the Bible says about us knowing whose we are and who God made us to be? How does knowing your identity change the way you live?
- 4The film completely leaves out the fact that the real Romanov family were devoted Orthodox Christians who prayed together regularly — even in their final days. Why do you think the filmmakers left that out? What difference do you think it would have made to the story if Anastasia's faith had been part of who she was?
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Where to Watch
Cast
Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd
Community Reviews
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