Voiced by John Cusack, Meg Ryan, Kelsey Kramer, Angela Lansbury and Christopher Lloyd Animated by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman Rated G Running time 90 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 7 out of 10

(Nov. 21, 1997) -- The story of Anastasia, the Romanov princess who supposedly escaped execution during the Russian Revolution, is the rather bizarre choice of subject matter for 20th Century Fox's first foray into animated family features.

But the creators of Anastasia have solved the problem of how to teach American youngsters the complex history of the Romanovs and the revolution by largely ignoring it. Purists who expect the cartoon to provide a history lesson can forget about it.

Still, if you allow your children to look at Anastasia as a fairy tale about a princess who breaks an evil spell on her family -- well then, Fox's first cartoon feature is a winner.

Certainly, as an example of cartoon artistry, Anastasia is a lovely, superbly crafted, wide-screen extravaganza filled with spectacular visuals, vigorous action, entertaining humor and some of the most expressive human characters ever seen in cartoon form. (Animators will tell you: Humans are much more difficult to make believable; ironically, we buy a talking mouse more easily than we believe in a pen-and-ink human.)

We first see Anastasia as the little, playful daughter of the Russian czar, leading a fairy-tale life as part of Russia's ruling dynasty. The girl has an especially close relationship with her grandmother.

But all the enchanted elegance comes under the shadow of the evil Rasputin, a once-holy man who has sells his soul to the devil in exchange for power. When he's spurned by the Romanov family, Rasputin puts a devastating curse on the royal family, which leads to their destruction by unexplained mass insurrection. (See what I mean about ignoring history?)

The movie shifts to ten years later and we meet two con men -- the young Dimitri and an older, former aristocrat named Vladimir -- who scheme to find a young woman who can pretend to be the missing Anastasia in order to collect a large reward. A poor young woman named Anya stumbles into their lives -- and becomes that woman. After all, she's the right age, and she has no memory of her life 10 years earlier.

Of course, as she begins to learn how to be Anastasia, the role fits her like a bejeweled glove. Ultimately, Anya and the two con men head for Paris, where they plan to introduce the girl to Anastasia's surviving grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie.

As the story unfolds, younger viewers will enjoy the opulent settings, the sweeping music and the wise-cracking relationship that develops between the young Dimitri and Anya. (It helps that they're voiced with verve and wit by John Cusack and Meg Ryan.)

Veteran animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have directed several memorable moments, including an exciting storm at sea and an action-packed sequence on a runaway train, steaming through the snows of Russia.

The tunes by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty are pleasantly serviceable, but not as memorable as the scores of the recent Disney films; and the antics of the film's two supporting animal actors (a dog and a bat) seem forced.

But the central saga of a princess in search of her family identity gives heart to this fable, and the Bluth-Goldman animation is often as vivid and artful as anything done recently in the re-emergence of Disney cartooning.

The Mouse still rules the world of animation.

But if he looks over his shoulder, he'll see a Fox gaining on him.