| “ | You think you can banish the great Rasputin? By the unholy powers vested in me, I banish *you*, with a curse. Mark my words, you and your family will die within a fortnight. I will not rest until I see the end of the Romanov line forever! | „ |
| ~ Rasputin to the Russian royals. |
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, simply known as Rasputin, is the main antagonist of the 1997 Don Bluth film Anastasia.
He was voiced by legendary actor Christopher Lloyd and his singing voice was done by popular voice-actor Jim Cummings.
He is based loosely on the real-life psychic Rasputin: however in the film he is depicted as a far more malevolent being of black magic than the real-life Rasputin, though the two share the common title of "Mad Monk". Rasputin was banished for treason by the czar, Nicholas Romanov.
Eager for revenge, Rasputin plans on destroying the Russian royalty. He sold his soul to the otherworldy forces of darkness in exchange for his amulet and for the power to destroy the czar and his family, in the process becoming a lich (a type of undead creature with magical powers). He then returns to the Russian palace and inflicts on the czar's family with the Romanov curse. All of the royals are killed by Rasputin and the Russian soldiers, except for the czar's mother, Mary Romanov, and his daughter, Anastasia. Rasputin eventually attempts to murder Anastasia while chasing her across a frozen river, but drowns after falling through the ice, losing his amulet in the process and he is unable to die until he completes his curse.
Return and Ultimate Death
| “ | Anastasia. Your imperial highness. Look what ten years has done to us: you, a beautiful young flower and me, a rotting corpse. Last seen at a party like this one, followed by a tragic night on the ice. REMEMBER?!? | „ |
| ~ Rasputin to Anastasia when he meets her again in their final battle on Pont Alexandre III. |
10 years later, Rasputin is trapped in limbo, then his amulet is back in his hands thanks to Bartok. Driven more by his desire for revenge, he wishes to finish off what he started before he rests in peace by killing Anastasia. Putting his demonic minions to work on finding and destroying her but failing, he is accompanied throughout the film by his reluctant minion Bartok - who is an albino bat who constantly tries to sway Rasputin away from his obsession but is largely ignored until Bartok eventually gives up.
After two assassination attempts, Rasputin grows tired of his magic constantly failing so he and Bartok return from limbo back to Paris to confront and kill Anastasia there in person. Bartok betrays Rasputin and becomes an entertainer in the cities of Moscow. Meanwhile, Rasputin confronts Anastasia on Pont Alexandre III and in the resulting final battle, he loses hold of his amulet and Anastasia shatters it underfoot, which in turn destroys the magic keeping Rasputin alive. As Rasputin dies, his body is reduced to dust while his soul is dragged away to Hell.
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Trivia
- It was because of Rasputin that Anastasia almost received a PG rating.
- He considered one of the most evil of Don Bluth's villains, next to Jenner, despite being far less dark and vile.
- Rasputin in Anastasia is one of among fictionalized versions of Rasputin being portrayed as villain. The others being Rasputin from the Hellboy franchise as an agent of Ogdru Jahad, Rasputin from Red Dwarf series, Rasputin from Shadow Hearts, and Rasputin from Drifters.
- In reality, the daughters/princesses of Czar Nicholas were good friends with Rasputin. When Rasputin died, the princesses were hurt greatly but the one who was hurt the most was Anastasia. So even though Anastasia was a great movie, the plot just needed a villain and they chose Rasputin. Rasputin is not why the Romanov family died. He had been killed more than a year and a half before the Bolshevik Communists murdered the Romanov family. So the villains should really be the killers of the family.