Thanks to Joel for sending this in! It's pretty self-explanatory, so I'll skip the clever intro... ;D
When Twentieth Century Fox unleashed Anastasia in 1997, little did the general public know that in addition to being a thinly veiled attempt to overthrow Disney as the rightful ruler of the animation world, Anastasia was also a cheap plagiarism of Disney's greatest animated feature, Beauty and the Beast! Here are some of the "similarities" between the two films:
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast, 1991. | Twentieth Century Fox's Anastasia, 1997. |
| The film starts with a dark and stormy night, with the castle and its inhabitants being transformed. | The film starts with the Russian Revolution, where the palace is stormed by the "evil" Bolshevik soldiers. |
| The protagonist, Belle, is a young, beautiful girl with long brown hair and a lot of guts and spunk. She's around 18. | The protagonist, Anya, is a young, beautiful girl with long brown hair and a lot of guts and spunk. She's around 18. |
| Belle is a poor peasant, who lives with her father, her only parent. | Anya is a poor orphan, who lives in the orphanage. Her parents are dead. |
| In addition to a beautiful appearance, Belle has the voice of an angel and loves to sing. | In addition to a beautiful appearance, Anya has the voice of an angel and loves to sing, although her voice sounds strangely different when she does so. |
| Belle has an affinity with animals. She befriends birds, a dog, well, okay, a footstool named Sultan and has a really cool horse named Phillippe, who somehow understands that Belle wants to be taken to a castle he's never been to before. | Anya has an affinity with animals. She befriends a young puppy named Pooka, who understands when she's in trouble, and also attracts the attention of an albino bat who assists in an attempt to murder her. |
| Belle begins as a childish and petty girl, but becomes a mature woman who lets go of her dreams of "adventure in the great wide somewhere" to be with the one she loves. | Anya begins as a childish and petty girl, but becomes a mature woman who lets go of her dreams of finding and being with her family to be with the one she loves. |
| Despite their poverty, the villagers spend about five minutes singing about the girl who's "strange but special". During this time, the handsome stud of the film, Gaston, explains to his trusted companion, Lefou, why he wants the girl. | Despite their poverty, the proletariats spend about three minutes singing about the girl who's "part of their history". During this time, the handsome stud of the film, Dimitri, explains to his trusted companion, Vladimir, why he wants the girl. |
| Belle sings a one minute song about her wish for "adventure in the great wide somewhere" and does a great "Sound of Music" impression. | Anya sings a three minute song about her wish for "home, love, family" and skips along the road. |
| In the musical, Belle sings a whole song about home and brings it up at the end as well. | Throughout the film, Anya has this obsession with home. |
| The villain, Gaston, has a yes-man fall-guy, Lefou. | The villain, Rasputin, has a yes-man fall-guy, Bartok. |
| Girl meets boy, boy needs girl, boy makes girl an offer she can't refuse, girl reluctantly accepts, boy hates girl, girl hates boy, boy and girl encounter a dangerous situation, boy and girl survive, boy and girl stop hating each other, boy and girl go dancing, boy falls in love with girl but won't admit it, girl falls in love with boy but won't admit it, boy lets girl go, girl goes off to do what she originally wanted, boy and girl are reunited in a climatic battle, boy and girl defeat villain who wants girl, villain dies, boy looks dead, girl cries, boy turns out to be alive, boy and girl kiss and live happily ever after. | See opposite. |
| Gaston sings a detailed explanation of his plot and is backed and encouraged by the villagers. | Rasputin sings a detailed explanation of his plot and is backed and encouraged by the weird dead things. |
| At the end, Belle and her prince dance in the ballroom. | At the end, Anya and Dimitri dance on a boat. |
| Belle becomes a princess at the end by marrying the prince. | Anya becomes a princess at the end by finding the Dowager Empress. |
| The secondary character, the Beast, a male love interest, starts off as detestable and domineering, a selfish monster, but eventually shows his true goodness and capacity for love. | The secondary character, Dimitri, a male love interest, starts off as detestable and domineering, a selfish con-man, but eventually shows his true goodness and capacity for love. |
| Cogsworth is the bumbling but kind-hearted well-rounded supporter of Belle. | Vladimir is the bumbling but kind-hearted well-rounded supporter of Anya. |
| And the biggest similarity is: the friendly and warm Mrs. Potts... | ... has the same voice as the Dowager Empress Marie! How unusual. |