`ANASTASIA' AN ENDEARING STORY THAT DOESN'T QUITE MEASURE UP.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

A strange idea for an animated musical - a little girl's princess fantasy spun out of the Russian Revolution - has resulted in a predictably weird movie, ``Anastasia.''

Directed by Disney defectors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (``An American Tail,'' ``The Land Before Time''), this first big release from 20th Century Fox's full-tilt movie cartoon studio boasts some pretty pictures and impressively natural character animation, but not enough visual imagination to match the current Disney standard.

In attempting to turn the old Anastasia story - that the youngest daughter of Russia's royal Romanoffs might have survived her family's slaughter - into a formulaic fairy tale about a spunky orphan finding her true home, ``Anastasia'' follows the basic Disney plot formula. Tried and true - and why not, except that if you're going to work an established pattern, you should at least do it right.

``Anastasia'' doesn't build up the kind of narrative momentum all the recent cartoon hits depended upon. And even though some considered the fact-based ``Pocahontas'' and the dark-themed ``Hunchback of Notre Dame'' family film follies, at least they addressed the real issues in their stories.

Not that I expected a cartoon history lesson, but according to ``Anastasia,'' World War I, social chaos and communism had nothing to do with the Bolshevik Revolution (there isn't a mention of Lenin, or even a hammer and sickle to be seen anywhere in the movie). It was all the fault of that nasty monk Rasputin, who had supernatural powers, don't you know, and put a curse on the royal family that just messed up everything.

Of course, your kids won't be wondering where 20th century history went. But they may scratch their little heads over what a song like ``A Rumor in St. Petersburg'' could possibly mean to them (more generic tunes by the ``Ragtime'' team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, with titles like ``Journey to the Past'' and ``Once Upon a December,'' are more hummable, if not very memorable).

Anyway, little Anastasia gets separated from her beloved grandmother, Dowager Empress Marie (voiced by Angela Lansbury), and bonked on her head during the revolution. Ten years later, young, headstrong Anya (Meg Ryan) emerges from an orphanage determined to do her own thing and discover the past she doesn't remember.

Meanwhile, in rumor-bound St. Pete, attractive schemers Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vladimir (Kelsey Grammer) are ``auditioning'' Anastasia impersonators. Seems the Dowager, who escaped to Paris, will pay top ruble to anyone who produces a convincing granddaughter. Naturally, their paths cross Anya's, and they all make their way to the City of Light. The dead Rasputin gets wind of this while he's rotting away in limbo and dispatches evil spirits to block their path.

This results in an exciting, computer-assisted runaway train sequence and some sleepwalking-at-sea thrills. Not as good is a cliche-laden Paris shopping spree that concludes with a Chanel product placement so shameless it proves how truly satirical that ``Zero to Hero'' production number was in ``Hercules.''

Rasputin is icky/funny whenever his body parts fall off, but he fails to register as a truly formidable villain. As for the inevitable animal sidekicks, Hank Azaria's talking bat Bartok provides good laughs, and some cute puppy who adopts Anya takes up space.

Surprisingly for a cartoon, ``Anastasia'' is most effective during its intimate human moments. There is a real sense of tentative longing and fear of dashed hope in the scenes between Anya and the Dowager, and Dimitri convincingly grows from a lovable rake into a man whose heart truly loves.

If only they'd gotten a little socialist realism - or, barring that, more cartoon magic - into the mix, ``Anastasia'' might have been the new kind of success a new animation studio could define itself by.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Anastasia'' (G).

The stars: Voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsewy Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria and Angela Lansbury.

Behind the scenes: Directed and produced by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. Written by Susan Gauthier, Bruce Graham, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White and Eric Tuchman. Released by 20th Century Fox.

Running time: One hour, 28 minutes

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two and One Half Stars.

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Photo

Photo: The Russian Revolution is the backdrop for ``Anastasia,'' the animated story of a princess and the grandmother trying to find her.