1. Firstly, the music is lush, gorgeous perfection, and you have to click play before you read the rest of this post.
View this video on YouTube
2. The cast. Look at this cast.
3. Anastasia is wonderfully sassy and rough around the edges.
4. And she makes it clear early on that she doesn't need "saving."
5. But she's also into flowy dresses and twirling, proving a woman can be strong and still like traditionally feminine things.
6. And as down-to-earth as she is, she is also an unabashed dreamer.
7. And she has some baller costume changes.
8. Anya and Dimitri's love is actually perfect.
9. They rag on each other all the time and make terrific banter.
10. But they're also there for each other when it matters the most.
11. There are also some lovable secondary characters, like Vlad and Sophie.
(psssst: get it, grrrrrl)
12. Bartok is also the cutest minion of ALL TIME.
13. And this random puppy is just an added bundle of joy.
14. And there's this woman, who is an icon in her own right.
16. And this movie does not shy away from getting freaky and delightfully absurd at times.
What is even happening here??
17. But it's also SO PRETTY. Look at that background!
18. And it's not afraid to dole out the sparkles.
19. Or the mid-'90s CGI.
20. The Paris scene is nothing short of magic.
21. As is the St. Petersburg one.
22. And the film, while admittedly being pretty inaccurate, does lightly touch upon one of the most tragic and fascinating moments in Russian history.
The 1917 revolution forever changed the course of Russian history and marked the beginning of the Soviet Union.
23. For a kid's movie, it deals with the deeper and sadder topic of losing a family and trying to feel complete again.
24. And it suddenly makes you appreciate the family you do have and the people who care about you.
25. But, in the end, it's all about the extraordinary depths of the human heart and how anyone can become family to us if we let them in.
