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Show ··- 1ni . ·-··· .. THE ARTS AN D ENTERTAINMENT ( ~"a ftlssf119 ,,. ' THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1996 . ROGER EBERT Sack) 'Anastasia' sho-ws spirit, life, energy 583 S. Main •Coin-op Washer & Dryer -ComPuter Rental Service With Laser Printer & Xerox Machine •Internet Access •Pool Table & Soda Fountain •so-- Bis? Screen & 30.. TU •Throw in a load of wash & tan next door at Southwest Tannins? ,-----------------------------, : 1 ST Half Hour : of Computer Time FREE I FILM REVIEW aundromat : : : : L-----------------------------~ The legend of Anastasia would seem like unlikely inspiration for an animated musical, but Anastasia picks and chooses cleverly, skipping past the entire Russian Revolution but lingering on mad monks, green goblins, storms at sea, train wrecks and yout):iful romance. The result is entertaining and sometimes exciting- a promising l aunch for Fox's new animation studio, which has declared war on Disney. The movie is based loosely on the same speculative story as the 1956 feature film starring Ingrid Bergman; it assumes that when Russia's ruling Romanoff family was murd ered i n the upheaval of revolution, one child escaped the carnage and survived to make valid claim for the throne. This was Anastasia (voice by Meg Ryan ), beloved grandda ughter of t he Grand Duchess (Angela Lansbury), who herself escaped to Paris and now wearily rejects one impostor after another. Young Anastasia is seen wrapped in t he warm bosom of h er fami ly; then disaster strikes, and she spends years in a cruel orphanage, losing all memory of her earlier da ys before, as a lithe and spirited teenager, falling into the clutches of two con men named Dmitri !John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer). They both worked in the royal court and have insider knowledge; their scheme is to tutor an impostor until she can fool the Grand Duchess. The irony, which the m ovi e makes much of, is th at th is impostor is, in fact, the real thing. Anastasia tells the story within what has become the almost rigid formula of t h e m odern a nimated feature: The heroine and the hero both have sidekicks, th e villain co mma nds na s t y little minions, and romance blooms but doesn't get too soppy. The action is live and energetic, and the train sequence is genuinely thrilling. Animation is the road less traveled for the movies. Alth ough it offers total freedom over the inconveniences of space, time an d gravity, i t' s so tricky and difficult t hat animated features have always been rare- and Disney has always known how to make them the best. But with Anastasia, there's another team on the field. Anas tasia received three and a half stars. The movie is currently playing at Cedar City's Fiddlers Theatre. See listings o r ca ll 586· SHOW for fu rth er information. Give Yourself A Holiday Bonus Let's face it... spreading holiday cheer isn't cheap. So give yourself a holiday bonus this season ... by working for Iron County's largest corporate employer, MATRIXX Marketing. At MATRIXX Marketing, you'll not only earn extra cash for the holidays, but also a $200 hiring bonus*. !This bonus is yours for simply being hired by MATRIXX and working 60 days!!!) There's nothing that can put you in the spirit of the season more than a little extra jingle in your pockets. STOP BY TODAY 2460 W. Highway 56 867-3000 *Hiring bonus offer ends December 6th, 1997 Equal Opportunity Employ,er I ---...,~ --_ MATRIXX MARKETING INC. Move up to MATRIXX |