Stomping out their usual cuteness and carbon copying Disney's grand animation style to a T, directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (An American Tail) create a successful musical comedy from the story of the lost Russian princess. Adapting the story of imperialism and revolution is tricky, and subsequently the film's opening is weak. Once Anya (voiced by Meg Ryan, sung by Liz Callaway) is a teena…
In this 1999 documentary, Leslie Iwerks offers viewers a look at the work of her grandfather, one of the unsung giants of animation and film technology. Ub Iwerks (1901-1971) was a teenager in Kansas City when he and his friend Walt Disney taught themselves animation. In 1928, Iwerks designed Mickey Mouse's physical appearance and animated the first three Mickey shorts almost single-handed…