By: Ava Rogha
Name: Anastasia "Anya"
Age: 18
Ethnicity: Russian
Country of residence: Russia
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Auburn
Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, “Anya”, is famously known from a cartoon produced by “21 Century Fox” called Anastasia (1997). Anya is the main character of the movie.
The Russian Grand Duchess was separated from her grandmother and placed in an orphanage when she was only eight years old. She finally starts looking for answers from her past when she turns 18. Anya is of course completely clueless of her heritage and past influence!
"I guess every lonely girl would hope she's a Princess."
On her “journey to the past”, she meets two male con artists who aim to find a woman they could train into acting like Grand Duchess Anastasia. Their main objective is to fool the Empress of Russia, also known as Anastasia’s grandmother, into rewarding them with a cash price for finding her granddaughter. The two male characters, Dimitri and Vladimir, see the similarities between Anastasia and “Anya” right away!
The Grand Duchess is daring, kind and intelligent. It doesn’t take a long time for her to get back to her roots!
What really connects Anya to her past is a necklace engraved with the phrase “Together in Paris”, and a music box that she was gifted ten years before by her grandmother. The music box plays a lullaby called “Once Upon a December”, which is a song performed in the movie. The reason why Anya can't remember her royal past is because she suffered memory loss after the trauma she experienced as a young child. Her memory loss started on the day the Romanovs’ enemy, Grigori Rasputin, threatened to kill the Romanovs and started the Russian Revolution. That major event was the only memory Anya had left of her family until now.
"Years of dreams just can't be wrong!"
That eventful day ended with Anastasia and her grandmother escaping the palace. They got a bit of help from a little boy who worked at the palace. Turns out, that little boy was Dimitri, the con artist!
Although the Empress and the Duchess made it out of the palace together, they didn’t make it out of the country together. They were separated by a train to Paris, and never saw each other again until Dimitri and Vladimir came along.
Anya agrees to join them to Paris. She’s got nothing to lose, right? But it turns out, Rasputin is still after her and even attempts to murder the Grand Duchess on her way to Paris. But, I don’t want to spoil the action. Give the movie a watch to see more of the drama with Rasputin!
"I am calm. I am heartless. I have no fear whatsoever."
Anya’s long trip to Paris might be dangerous, but it is worth it. On the way, the Grand Duchess develops romantic feelings for Dimitri… And Dimitri develops romantic feelings for her. Even to the point of rejecting the cash price he is given when Anya reunites with her grandmother. Yes, you heard that correctly! That moment is extremely anticipated, but I can assure you that Anya and the Empress finally reunite towards the end of the movie.
What makes Anya's character different from the Disney princesses out there is her curiosity and lack of trust. It definitely takes more than a “kiss” for her to fall for her prince charming! Additionally, this princess gets the happy ending she deserves: to be reunited with her grandmother! The romance is just a bonus, and a part of her growth as a young woman.
Anastasia: "Do you really think I'm royalty?"
Dimitri: "You know I do."
Anastasia: "Then stop bossing me around!"
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