Original Soundtrack - Anastasia [Atlantic] (CD)

All Music Guide

Since Anastasia is animator Don Bluth's attempt at a sweeping epic along the lines of Disney's Beauty and the Beast or The Hunchback of Notre Dame, it's not surprising that its score duplicates the Disney formula of balancing big show tunes from the film with re-recorded MOR pop versions of the same song. In this case, it's Aaliyah singing "Journey to the Past," and Deana Carter's cover of "Once Upon a December," and the Donna Lewis and Richard Marx duet on "At the Beginning" -- fine versions of fine songs that sound better in their original incarnation (also included on the disc). Fortunately, the bulk of the album is comprised of selections from the soundtrack. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have written the songs for Anastasia, and their work is generally quite good; occasionally the lyrics are silly ("Rumor in St. Petersburg"), but perhaps that should be expected, given the difficulty of making the story of Anastasia into an animated musical. On the whole, Anastasia might not liv...e up to the high standards that The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast set, but it's as good as Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and that's not bad company at all. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read more Less