So, let’s be real for a second. If you grew up in the late nineties, you probably spent a good chunk of your childhood convinced that Anastasia was a Disney movie. It wasn't. It was 20th Century Fox trying to beat Disney at its own game, and honestly? They kind of did. But the biggest thing people still get wrong about the 1997 classic is the voice behind the crown. We all know the Anastasia movie Meg Ryan connection, but there is a massive "but" involved that most fans completely forget.
Meg Ryan was the "it" girl of the decade. She was the queen of the rom-com, the woman who made fake orgies in delis famous and made everyone want to move to Seattle. Casting her as a lost Russian princess was a stroke of genius. She brought that specific, raspy, sarcastic "Anya" energy that made the character feel less like a fragile doll and more like a real person who had actually spent a decade in a cold orphanage.
But Meg Ryan didn't sing a single note in that movie.
The Secret Behind those High Notes
It’s funny how memory works. You watch "Journey to the Past" and you see Anya standing on that hill, and you think, "Man, Meg Ryan has some pipes." She doesn't. Or, at least, she didn't for this film. The singing voice for Anastasia was actually provided by Broadway legend Liz Callaway.
This happened a lot in the nineties. Think about Aladdin or Mulan. Directors loved the star power of a big Hollywood name for the dialogue, but they needed the technical precision of a stage veteran for the big ballad. Don Bluth, the director, basically split the character in two.
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Interestingly, Meg Ryan was super hesitant to even take the job at first. She didn't "get" animation. The producers actually took a clip of her audio from Sleepless in Seattle, animated a rough version of Anya speaking those lines, and sent it to her. She saw it, was totally floored by how much life they breathed into her voice, and signed on.
Why the Voice Split Actually Worked
Sometimes these voice-matching situations are jarring. You can tell it’s two different people. But with the Anastasia movie Meg Ryan performance, the transition is seamless. Liz Callaway managed to mimic Ryan’s slightly breathy, sincere tone while still hitting those massive, Oscar-nominated notes.
- Meg Ryan: Handled all the "sassy" Anya dialogue.
- Liz Callaway: Handled the "Once Upon a December" nostalgia.
- Kirsten Dunst: Wait, did you forget she was in this? She did the voice of young Anastasia in the prologue.
The chemistry between Ryan’s voice and John Cusack (who played Dimitri) is basically the reason the movie still holds up. They recorded their lines separately—which is standard—but their banter feels like a classic screwball comedy. It’s snappy. It’s kind of mean in a flirty way. It doesn't feel like a "kids' movie."
What Most People Get Wrong About the History
Look, this isn't a history documentary. If you're looking for factual accuracy regarding the Romanovs, you are in the wrong place. The real Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was killed alongside her family in 1918. There was no magical green reliquary, no talking bat named Bartok, and definitely no happy ending in Paris.
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The movie is essentially based on the legend of Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed for decades that she was the surviving princess. DNA testing eventually proved she wasn't, but the "what if" was too good for Hollywood to pass up.
The Anastasia movie Meg Ryan version took that dark, tragic mystery and turned it into a story about finding home. It’s basically Cinderella with a higher body count and better winter coats.
The Broadway Shift
When the movie was adapted for Broadway in 2016, they made a massive change. They cut Rasputin. They cut the magic. They replaced the undead wizard with a Bolshevik general named Gleb. It was a move toward "historical realism," but if you ask any millennial, they'll tell you they miss the bat.
The Making of a Legend
Meg Ryan once mentioned in an interview that she was surprised how hard the work was. She thought she’d just walk in, read some lines, and leave. Instead, Don Bluth had her do "breathing" takes. Literally just recording different types of sighs, gasps, and laughs for hours.
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Bluth was a perfectionist. He left Disney because he thought their movies were getting too "soft." He wanted Anastasia to have weight. He used a process where they filmed live actors in silhouette to get the movement right. That’s why when Anya walks through the ballroom in "Once Upon a December," it looks so fluid. It’s not just a drawing; it’s a performance.
Why We Are Still Talking About It
The movie was a gamble. Fox spent $53 million on it, which was a huge amount for a non-Disney studio at the time. It paid off. It made nearly $140 million and became a staple of the VHS era.
Honestly, the Anastasia movie Meg Ryan era was peak animation. It didn't rely on pop-culture references or Shrek-style humor. It leaned into the romance and the "Who am I?" existential crisis.
If you want to revisit the magic, here is how to do it right:
- Watch the movie on Disney+ (Yes, Disney owns it now, which is the ultimate irony).
- Listen to the soundtrack and pay attention to the difference between Anya’s speaking and singing voice. It’s a masterclass in vocal matching.
- Check out the 1956 version with Ingrid Bergman if you want to see where the "con man" plot actually started.
- Read up on the real Romanov history, but maybe do it during the day. It’s significantly darker than anything Meg Ryan ever recorded in a booth.
The legacy of the film isn't about historical facts. It’s about that specific feeling of belonging. Whether it's Meg Ryan's dry wit or Liz Callaway's soaring vocals, the movie remains a perfect capsule of 1990s ambition. It dared to be a little bit scary, a little bit romantic, and completely unforgettable.