Anastasia is probably a name you've heard before. It's an animated movie from year 1997.
The movie is based on a "true story" or more like a rumor that was spread.
What takes place in the movie is written down below:

Spoiler alert!
Anastasia, an eight year old russian daughter in the house of Romanov, was one of
the survivors when the uprising, followed by Rasputin, took place. Rasputin was an
evil man who'd sold his soul to gain power to be able to put a curse on the Romanov
family. A young boy namned Dimitri who had earlier worked in the kitchen, showed
Anastasia and her grandmother a hidden door in a wall to escape through while the
castle was toring apart behind them. Her whole family was killed that day.

Rasputin follows Anastasia and the grandmother out on the ice but the ice cracks and he drowns.
The women later flees to the town and the granmother jumps on a tram. Anastasia fails to jump on
and runs after the trolley as fast as she can holding her beloved grandma's hand. "Don't let go" she
yells but the second right after they let go and she falls to the trails and hit her head badly. 

The movie continues when Anastasia turns 18 and is leaving the orphanage to search after the
truth about herself. She must come from somewhere, from someone, someone who loved her. 
She cannot remember the event that took place that day and not even her own name. She now
goes by the name Anya. She's wearing this neachlace. She knows she's had that her whole life.
"Together in Paris" it says on the back. She decide that it's Paris she's headed for, even though 
she has no passport and barely no money. She gets a tip by a strange old lady that she would go
to a Dimitri. She finally find him and tries to make up a deal. Though what she never got to know
by the lady was that Dimitri and his friend only wanted to go to Paris and had a spear ticket
only to trick the old countess on her money. They held auditions to find a good actor to play the
missing Anastasia but never found someone good enough. Anya tries to talk to Dimitri but they
do not get along as a start. They say to her, as she already doesn't know who she is, that she 
might aswell be Anastasia and that they'd find out if she belongs there, in Paris. They never mention
they are aiming to get rich. On the train they try to get along but Dimitri and Anya keeps fighting like
siblings with eachother. Dimitri's companion Vlad is trying to keep them respecting eachother but fails
as a start. 

When the train has been on the way for a while something feels wrong. They try to find out what it is 
and wents to talk to the driver. It turns out the driver is missing and the train is accelerating quickly. 
The bridge they are headed towards is totally damadged and it won't end well if they stay on the train.
They jumps off into the snow and survives. It was Rasputin behind the fact that the train failed but 
Anya has no idea, neither do Vlad or Dimitri
. 

On their way, now by foot, they learn Anya to walk pretty and behave like Anastasia did. Dimitri
slowly starts to like Anya but doesn't want to admit it even though Vlad sees it and asks him about it.
On a boat during the night Anya is having nightmares and starts to go in her sleep. It's Rasputin trying
to get her to kill herself by jumping from the boats edge. She believes it's her father and sisters down 
there and the sun is shining, summer is there and she wears a summery dress that flies in the wind.
But in the reality, it is windy, and dark. The waves crushes into the boat and platters over her.
Right when she is about to jump Demitri captures her in the last second and get her down in the big
boat to their beds in safety again.

The movie continues with the arrival to Paris. The grandmother refuses to get more visitors claiming it's her 
beloved Anastasia. She has admit it to herself that Anastasia died a long time ago.
Dimitri is stubborn and finally gets her to Anastasia by kidnapping the grandmother.
She sooner realizes it is the real one and offers the money to Dimitri. Demitri leaves and declines
the offer. Anastasia started to get in love with Dimitri too but changed her mind when she got to
know about the money they were after. She wasn't aware of the fact that Dimitri left without anything
until the grandmother tells her. The movie ends ofcourse with Rasputin's death and with Anyas escape 
from her grandmother, her only family, to Dimitri. 



The real story though doesn't quite matches with the movie.
Anastasia was born the 18th of Juni 1901. She was the youngest daugther and was a disappointment
to her parents since they wanted a son who would be able to inhernit the throne. Anastasia later got a
brother, Aleksej. 
Anastasia was a lively person and rowdy. She wasn't a pro at studying at all even though she was intelligent. 
Her and her sister's relation to Raspotin was well talked about. He claimed he could cure their brother's
hemophilia. The four sisters and their mother got a close and trustfull relation to eachother. Their nurse
though was very hesitant and questioning about the mother allowing Raspotin into their bedrooms when
they only were wearing their night robes before bed. It circuled rumors about how Raspotin probably
molested the four sisters and also their mother. When Raspotin wasn't around their mother sent strange
letters to Raspotin. Something sexual was never mentioned but they were really intimately loving letters.
When the letters came out in copies it woke up a scandal around about the family. 




During the russian revolution 1917 she got arrested with her family. They were held for a long time before
they were all killed. Anastasia died that day. The 18th July 1918 in the age of 17. She never survived. 
She got shot in a cold basement together with her family, some servants and even her own pet dog.

Soon the rumors got spread. Did Anastasia and her brother live? It was said that it was
jewellry into their clothing that was sewed in their to keep them safe and alive in case
of an attach. Multiple women turned up claiming they were Anastasia. Most known was
Anna Anderson, who began in 1920 to fight to prove herself to be the Grand Duchess. 
She wasn't rejected until 1970 but the mistory of Anastasia remained unsolved.



In 1970's an amateur archaeologist found a shallow grave containing a well aged amount of
skeletons. It was six adults and three children. A forensic investigation identified the bodies,
in 1991. It was Anastasia's family and servants. But Anastasia and her brother's remains
was still in an unknown place. It wasn't until 2007, 90 years mistery later, Anastasia and
her brother was discovered in a grave near the other one. Thanks to DNA they could close
the mistery of both her disappearens but also Anna Anderson. Teethrecords showed that
Anna Anderson was a fake. 



Drawing by me! You can find more drawing on instagram: TheRedMuffinMonster