Anastasia

This engaging love story is free of candy flavoured characters (though not some execrable songs), and the animation's a ten-fold improvement on Bluth's recent offerings (The Pebble and the Penguin, etc). This being a children's film, the story of the legendary disappearance of the Romanov princess has been altered to accommodate mad magician Rasputin (voiced by Lloyd), who instigates public revolt by casting a spell on the entire royal family. As destructive forces rage in the streets of 1917 St Petersburg, panic sweeps the Imperial Palace and the royal family flees. Ten years later, confused orphan Anya (Ryan) wanders the same streets, unsure of her identity and dogged by memories of a privileged childhood. Enter con-man Dimitri (Cusack), who starts by exploiting 'Anastasia', and ends by falling in love with her. Bluth has rediscovered the ingredients of quality mainstream animation: depth and movement are more in evidence, and the action sequences are expertly staged, notably a harrowing train crash.