Anastasia: Once Upon a Time is a 2020 fantasy adventure directed by Blake Harris.
The story starts with Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova (Emily Carey) being sent through time by Rasputin (Armando Gutierrez) after being threatened by Lenin (Jo Koy) during Red October, and finding herself in The '80s.
The cast also includes Donna Murphy, Brandon Routh (as Tsar Nicholas II), Amiah Miller, Shanna Collins, Kendall Vertes, and Jaime Adler.
It was released on April 7, 2020 on Netflix.
Tropes:
- The '80s: Anastasia ends up in 1988 where she meets Megan.
- Alternate History: Anastasia gets sent to The '80s instead of being executed with the rest of her family in Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918.
- Artistic License – History: Fantasy stuff aside, Tsar Nicholas II has no facial hair at all, whereas he had plenty of it in Real Life (a mustache above a beard, no less).
- Did Anastasia Survive?: Anastasia initially escapes her family's capture when Rasputin opens a portal to 1988, but after a brainwashed Rasputin nearly captures her, Anastasia is able to go back and save her family, the film concluding with Anastasia with her 1980s friend Megan after growing old and becoming a grandmother.
- Historical Domain Character:
- Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia.
- Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia and Anastasia's father.
- Grigori Rasputin, mystic who is a friend of the Romanovs.
- Historical Beauty Upgrade: Yes, they actually cast Brandon Routh, a former Superman, to be Nicholas II—whose looks are most charitably described as period-accurate.
- Historical Domain Superperson: Rasputin has magical powers and sends Anastasia forward in time to The '80s through a portal to save her from the Bolshevik revolution.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: In a notable inversion compared to previous portrayals (like Anastasia and even the more recent The King's Man), Rasputin remains loyal to the Romanovs just as in real life, even directly involved in saving Anastasia.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Subsequently, the villainous role is transferred to the (at least historically-consistent) Vladimir Lenin, who allegedly ordered the Romanov massacre.
- The Slow Path: The movie opens with Anastasia Romanova traveling to 1980s America via a portal, but after she returns to her time of origin to save her family, the film concludes with Anastasia's 1980s friend Megan learning that her new neighbor is the now-elderly Anastasia, who was able to get her family to safety and is now a grandmother herself.
