NettleMeddle

Okay, so I get it. I'm not here to complain about the historical inaccuracies of the plot. This is definitely more of a what-if movie, and that principle itself is fine. However, what I cannot forgive is how close it becomes to getting good. The movie has it all, the correct writers and producers, stunning animation (the train scene, St. Petersburg and Paris all had me starstruck), and reminiscent Disney visuals. But, it could not recapture what Disney had. Instead of going for a more grounded story, which could still be an amazing kids movie, they opted for a cheap way out. The biggest problem I had with the story was the bat. It was so immensely irritating whenever it came on, and they never explained why it could talk and why everything else couldn't. Like: why can the bat talk but not the dog? The dog was also pretty bad with it hogging screentime when I just wanted to watch the people interact. And Rasputin having magic abilities and whatnot just felt like another movie entirely. I think the story would have a much better villain if it was the Russian Government itself after Anastasia, doesn't matter if it's a more goofy Disney Villain to me or something actually dark or scary, just not whatever Rasputin was. The writing was fine, if not predictable, but it's only capable of keeping a child audience. The songs were pretty 'meh', I can't recant a single one. Overall: 5/10