Anya/Anastasia (character)

Anya is the fiery, feisty redheaded heroine of the 1997 20th Century Fox film Anastasia. She is voiced by Kirsten Dunst as a child, by Meg Ryan as an adult, and her singing voice is provided by Liz Callaway. The character also appears in the novelization of the film, as well as the Fox Interactive CD-ROM Anastasia: Adventures With Pooka and Bartok.

Historical basis and deviation
The character is based on Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, but deviates from the real life person's exection at the hands of Russian revolutionaries by having her escape. Nevertheless, The New York Times asks, "if the cartoon has the young princess (with the voice of Meg Ryan) meeting up with a handsome young con man (John Cusack) who persuades her to pretend to be the lost czarina, not knowing she really is the lost czarina, is it really much more farfetched than the real-life assertions of the best-known pretender, Anna Anderson, that she was Anastasia even though she could not speak Russian?"

Family
The Romanov is her royal family that has been assassinated by angry commoners when Anya was 8 years old.

Friends
Her best friends are Vladimir, her dog, Pooka and Dimitri. Dimitri is also her love interest. Vladimir, Dimitri and Anya met when she was spotted in the old Romanov palace, then they encouraged her to come with them to Paris to see if she was the Lost Romanov Princess. Anya and Pooka met when he started to play with her scarf when Anya was waiting for "a sign." At first, Dimitri and Anya don't get along until they began to spend more time with each other.

The Dowager Empress Marie is Anya's grandmother. On the night of the assassination, her and Anya tried to get on board a train but she lost hold of her hand. Then, 10 years later, she offered a 10 million rubles reward to whoever found her granddaughter.

Sophie is Empress Marie's plump cousin and friend, Vladimir's apparent true love and Dimitri and Anya's friend. She tried to help Anya meet the empress when they went to Paris.

Enemy
Rasputin is the Romanov family's arch enemy. He is obsessed with killing the Romanovs but drowns in frigid waters when he makes his first attempt. He later returns when he realizes that Anastasia was alive. He makes many attempts to kill her but was unsuccessful. When he tries to kill her personally outside Empress Marie's Palace, he is defeated by Anya with Dimitri and Pooka's help.

Personality/Appearance
Anya is portrayed as stubborn, bold and headstrong but she is also kind, playful and determined. She was the most playful in her childhood and is seen with red hair, sometimes seen in a short ponytail, long ponytail, let free or up in a bun. She is seen as skinny, is average height for her age and has many outfits throughout the film.

Anya's Outfits
1. Romanov Celebration - Anya, at age 8, is wearing a long-sleeved blue robe with ornate gold designs. Her accessory is a matching blue and gold kokoshnik. Her hair is worn free.

2. Russian Revolution - Anya is wearing a long white nightgown. Her accessories are brown boots and a brown coat. Her hair is worn in a partial ponytail with a white bow.

3. Orphanage - Anya, now 18 years old, is wearing a yellow tunic and brown tights. Her accessories are brown shoes, a black belt, a green trench coat, a purple scarf, purple mitts, a black and purple newsboy cap, and her Together in Paris pendant. Her hair is worn tied high on her head.

4. Once Upon A December - Anya is wearing a long yellow dress with a full skirt and transparent sleeves. Her accessories are a light blue sash, a long pearl necklace, and a bright gold kokoshnik. Her hair is worn in a ponytail with a blue ribbon.

5. On The Ship - Anya is wearing a blue dress that reaches her ankles and has short sleeves. Her accessories are the shoes and belt from the orphanage, along with pearl earrings and her Together in Paris pendant. Her hair is worn in a ponytail with a blue ribbon, but later is worn in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon.

6. Sleeping - Anya is wearing plain blue pajamas. Her hair is worn in a partial ponytail with a blue bow.

7. Dream - Anya is wearing a cream-colored sailor style swimsuit. Her hair is once again worn in a ponytail with a blue ribbon.

8. Paris Holds The Key To Your Heart Part 1 - Anya is wearing a light and flowy lavender cocktail dress. Her accessories are lavender high heels, pearl earrings, and her Together in Paris pendant. Her hair is worn up in a bun.

9. Paris Holds The Key To Your Heart Part 2 - Anya is wearing a light and flowy light blue cocktail dress. Her accessories are light blue high heels, pearl earrings, and her Together in Paris pendant. Her hair is once again worn up in a bun.

10. Paris Holds The Key To Your Heart Part 3 - Anya is wearing a purple dress reaching her knees. Her accessories are black shoes, a black sash, a fur coat, and her Together in Paris pendant. Her hair is worn in a ponytail with a purple ribbon.

11. Russian Ballet - Anya is wearing a strapless purple evening gown with transparent glittering cloth falling from the back. Her accessories are purple dress shoes, white evening gloves, her Together in Paris pendant, a diamond choker, and diamond earrings. Outdoors she wears a fur-lined teal opera coat. She also carries a purple drawstring evening bag. Her hair is worn up in a bun, held in place by a diamond-studded headband.

12. Loving Memories - Anya is wearing light pink pajamas with iridescent zig-zag designs. The top has a round neckline and short sleeves, and the bottoms are loose-fitting. Her hair is worn in a ponytail with a light pink ribbon.

13. Finale - Anya is wearing a fancy yellow court dress. It is trimmed in peach ribbons and has a low neckline; it also has angel sleeves and elaborate beading. Her accessories are yellow dress shoes, a blue presidential sash, a diamond choker, and pearl earrings. Her hair is worn in a regal upswept style, held in place by an exquisite glittering diamond kokoshnik.

Reception
Stephen Hunter writes, "With Meg Ryan and John Cusack voicing the roles, Anastasia and Dimitri have been simplified from the Bergman-Brynner cosmopolitan wariness into twentysomethings, with faces an uncomplex as Ohio cheerleaders." The New York Times reports that "Anastasia stops just short of making its title character a blonde. (She, like many of the other characters has auburn hair.) Otherwise, she has the slender curving body and peachy complexion of a small-town Miss America contestant dreaming of conquest in Atlantic City. Meg Ryan's voice gives her the slightly combative tone of a snippy, know-it-all cheerleader. In a beauty contest, she would definitely be docked points for lack of charm."

Merchandising
In 1997, 20th Century Fox and Galoob have released various dolls of the character.