History YMMV / BartokTheMagnificent

* OlderThanTheyThink: Creator/TimCurry previously portrayed a CGI animated character in a 2D animated film [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastTheEnchantedChristmas 2 years earlier]].

* TearJerker: When Bartok insults Baba Yaga after the third test, it causes the up till then villainous witch to cry from the remarks, which makes Bartok feel guilty and cry as well. This leads Baba Yaga to admit that she's actually very lonely, and reveals to Bartok that she had nothing to do with the Prince's disappearance and points him to the real culprit: Ludmilla.

** In the climax, has dragon!Ludmilla lost control of her actions and become a mindless beast, or is she throwing a temper tantrum and destroying the town [[NeverMyFault because she's frustrated over it not making her as beautiful as she wanted]]?

* MoralEventHorizon: Ludmilla crosses it by leaving Bartok, Ivan and Vol to drown, not to mention her initial plan was to have Prince Ivan be assassinated by Vol in the first place to gain the throne, and did the former action once she found out that Prince Ivan had been spared. To emphasis this more, she spends one more moment before her infamous BitByBitTransformation before rubbing how their deaths by drowning would be horrible.

* MoralEventHorizon: Ludmilla crosses it by leaving Bartok, Ivan and Vol to die to drown, not to mention her initial plan was to have Prince Ivan be assassinated by Vol in the first place to gain the throne, and did the former action once she found out that Prince Ivan had been spared. To emphasis this more, she spends one more moment before her infamous BitByBitTransformation before rubbing how their deaths by drowning would be horrible.

* DancingBear: Ignoring the presence of Zozi, the film originally carried itself on the fact that it starred a minor, comedic bit player from the then-hit ''Anastasia'' as the main character. Today, it is mainly remembered today because it is the ''only'' sequel to a Creator/DonBluth film that was directed by Don himself.

* SuspiciousSimilarSong: Baba Yaga's song "Someone's in my House" sounds like a malicious version of [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} Friend Like Me]].

* EvilIsSexy: Some people find Ludmilla hot, some even more in her dragon form.

* TearJerker: When Bartok insults Baba Yaga after the third test, it causes the up till then villainous witch to cry from the remarks, which makes Bartok feel guilty and cry as well.

** In the climax, has Ludmilla lost control of her actions and become a mindless beast, or is she throwing a temper tantrum and destroying the town [[NeverMyFault because she's turned into a dragon due to the potion she willingly drank so she's taking out her frustration due to it not making her as beautiful as she imagined it would do rather than the dragon being a reflection of her true evil nature]]?
** The magic potion. Was it intended for Bartok to transform into the inner hero he always was and Ludmilla stole it, which given how the potion worked- turned her into the destructive monster she was deep down? Or was its properties to always cause one to become a dragon and Baba Yaga used Bartok indirectly to turn into a dragon to be slain for the sake of Russia via manipulating her into wanting the potion, to not only punish her for causing harm to the prince, but also to prevent a potential tyrant for rising to power- with Bartok never needing it because he was always a hero regardless of appearance? Notably, a rat takes a sip of the potion and instantly becomes a dragon, which heavily implies the latter while Ludmilla's gradually admission in wanting to be a tyrant be spoken aloud highlights the former.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The film isn't considered bad at all and has pretty good animation, especially considering it's a direct to video release, and has well-received characters. That said few consider it to be anywhere as good as Anastasia, It's generally just seen as an [[SoOkayItsAverage average]] spinoff that is at least better than the other sequels done with Bluth's consent.

* TearJerker: Not immediately obvious given the comedic tone of the movie, but there are some sad moments.
** When Bartok insults Baba Yaga after the third test, it causes the up till then villainous witch to cry from the remarks, which makes Bartok feel guilty and cry as well.
** If one sees this movie as a prequel and not a spinoff, then Bartok will become Rasputin's minion, helping him to wipe out the Romanov lineage, including several attempts on the sole survivor, Anastasia- all of which are descendants of Prince Ivan, meaning that Bartok is aiding in the ruination of the family of his friend. A fact made more harrowing given their good-natured relationship.
** Zozi and Bartok's friendship, if one takes this as a prequel, will eventually end, and Bartok aiding Rasputin in his heinous crimes, with possibilities including a failing out from working with Rasputin, Zozi dying of natural causes, or [[MurderTheHypotenuse being killed specifically because he acts as Bartok's conscience against Rasputin's talk]].

** When Bartok insults Baba Yaga after the third test, it causes the up till then villainous witch to cry from the remarks, which makes Bartok feel guilty.

** Ludmilla's dragon form is hardly scary, but the preceding transformation is quite unsettling to watch, because it happens so gradually and happens in such a bizarre fashion. (Although, for better or worse, [[PopularWithFurries "Scalies"]] and TransformationFiction enthusiasts tend to have a bit of a different opinion of this scene, to put it mildly...)
** Not to mention that during her song, she twists a guy's neck, causing his eyes to pop out of their sockets!!!
*** While it was obvious she was a SmugSnake [[TheStarscream with treacherous ambitions from the start]] with the [[WouldHurtAChild the intent of killing Prince Ivan sooner or later to get the throne]], the Real Ludmilla gradually reveals she's truly [[TheSociopath sociopathic for a long time]] as well as a implied {{Sadist}} given that she strangles a rat for no real reason and has an apparent private chamber to torture prisoners behind Prince Ivan's back.

* PopularWithFurries: Ludmilla's Dragon form has a ''very'' strong following among the "Scalies" portion of the Furry Fandom and her infamous transformation scene is also quite popular among TransformationFiction enthusiasts...

* {{Sequelitis}}: The film isn't considered bad and has pretty good animation, especially considering it's a direct to video release, but few consider it to be anywhere as good as Anastasia. It's generally just seen as an [[SoOkayItsAverage average]] spinoff that's seen as more decent than the other sequels done with Bluth's consent.

* SoOkayItsAverage: The general consensus of the film--it's considered far better than the other sequels to Don Bluth films (this one being directed by Bluth himself certainly helped) but it's still considered a rather average kid flick, and not up to par with Don's best work.

* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: There's UglyCute and then there's this. The whole thing comes with a NightmareFuel warning due to how messed-up everything looks.
* VanillaProtagonist: Bartok is this compared to the more colourful characters surrounding him, with his usual brand of humor that made him a sarcastic foil to Rapsutin's melodrama being overshadowed by his supporting casts' over-the-top nature and being [[PinballProtagonist dragged along throughout the plot to do the requests of others without his own initiative]].

* EvilIsSexy: Some people find Ludmilla hot, even in her dragon form.

* UncannyValley: The Skull being rendered in early [=CGI=] moves and looks unnatural compared to the traditionally animated cast, which considering its otherworldly nature was deliberate.
** Ludmilla seems pretty at a first glance, but her proportions are too thin to be natural with her face being slightly exaggerated with her nose being slightly serpentine with an enlarged mouth that is forced to be smaller than it actually is.
*** Her transformation prior to the completed [[{{Narm}} clownish and cartoonish dragon form]] invokes this with her elegant features juxtaposed with the gradually obese reptilian form, initially with her tail, then cartoonishly large hands, wide reptilian bosom/hips to her beautiful head, then her face plastered like a mask over the dragon's head. Leading to several surreal moments.

* CompleteMonster: Once she realizes what Baba Yaga's potion did to her, Ludmilla goes full on feral- destroying everything, only speaking in roars and acting very animalistic as she does all of this.