A beloved princess is cast out of her lavish home into a cold and uncertain world. Orphaned by forces beyond her comprehension, she must find her way to a home and a family that will have her. This is the plot of the 1997 animated Anastasia and also something Disney+ literally just did to the 1997 animated Anastasia. The blog whatsondisneyplus.com reports that due to “pre-existing contracts,†the 20th Century Studios–née–Fox film had to be booted off of Disney’s streaming platform at the start of the month. The blog makes a point of noting that “this removal from Disney+ has nothing to do with the current crisis involving Ukraine and Russia.â€
Geopolitical motivations aside, it’s worth noting that Disney’s 1946 package film Make Mine Music, featuring a Peter and the Wolf adaptation, is also conspicuously absent from the streaming service, meaning the only Russian characters left on there are Rachel Weisz’s pig dominatrix and Florence Pugh from Black Widow and this guy. Bartok the Bat stans needn’t fret, though: Anastasia is moving to Starz on March 18.
Anyway, stream “Journey to the Past†(Aaliyah’s version).