Dowager Empress Maria "Marie" Feodorovna (born as Princess Dagmar of Denmark) is one of the main characters from the 1997 animated film, Anastasia. She is the paternal grandmother of Grand Duchess Anastasia, Granduchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, as well as Tsarevich Alexei, mother of Tsar Nicholas II, both mother-in-law and predecessor of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna as Empress of Russia, the widow of Tsar Alexander III, and the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. Angela Lansbury provided both her singing and speaking voice.
Biography[]
Before she became the wife of Tsar Alexander III, Marie was known as Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was the second youngest daughter of King Christian IX and Queen Louise, as well as the younger sister of Princess Alexandra, who later became Queen Alexandra of the the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King Edward VII, son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Marie had another sister named Princess Thyra of Denmark, who would marry the exiled heir to the kingdom of Hanover, Ernest Augustus.
Every once in a while, Marie would visit St. Petersburg and spend time with her family, particularly her youngest and favorite granddaughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia.
The revolution soon began and an eight year old Anastasia had been with her grandmother, Dowager Empress Marie, during the palace siege, calling out for her father, and Tsar Nicholas tells his children to hurry. Everyone else was fleeing from the palace for their lives.
Anastasia leaves her grandmother's side when she forgets the music box that Marie gave her on the night of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov family reign and Marie follows her. Anastasia runs into her bedroom and grabs her music box, but both are now trapped in the midst of the chaos.
Soon, a ten year old servant boy named Dimirti crawls through a secret passageway in Anastasia's room and bravely risked his life to save them by sending them through the servant's quarters and out into safety.
After escaping, Anastasia and Marie are running across a frozen river and under the bridge where Rasputin is plotting his attack; as he is attempting to kill Anastasia himself. Marie helplessly watches as the evil man falls from the bridge with a terrifying yell on top of the young Romanov, clutching her foot between his bony hands, causing the girl lose ahold of her grandmother's hand and land on her stomach. Marie, frozen in fear, screams "Rasputin!" as he begins dragging the girl close. The Dowager Empress hurries to her granddaugher's side, grabbing her arms and trying desperately to pull her to away. Rasputin tugs on the frightened Grand Duchess's soaking wet foot and vows the young girl will never escape his clutches and she will die at his wrath. Just as hope seems lost for the two, the ice cracks admist the thrashing. Taking one hand off Anastasia's ankle and flailing his arm about, Rasputin tries crawling out, but before he could bring her down with him, the girl wretches herself free and Marie hurries her away from the river. Marie looks back as Rasputin's hand fails at reaching his reliquary and slowly drowns, leaving them to escape once more.
However, after narrowly escaping Rasputin's vicious rampage, she and Anastasia get separated at the busy train station, and never see each other again.
Ten years later, while living in exile in Paris, France, an elderly Marie files a reward of ten million rubles for the return of her granddaughter in hopes of being reunited with her. However, she is soon overwhelmed and upset by many imposters, including Anna Anderson. This causes Marie to nearly refuse a chance of reuniting with the actual Anastasia, now going by Anya. But, thanks to the growing persistence of Dimitri, Dowager Empress Marie reluctantly agrees to speak with her, and soon realizes that Anya is indeed her long-lost granddaughter.
Appearance and Personality[]
Physical Description[]
Dowager Empress Marie is first seen as a middle-aged woman with long, brown hair tied up in a bun, and light blue eyes. However, one decade later, she aged into an elderly woman with white hair. However, her physical facial features and hairstyle remain generally the same. She looks somewhat like an older version of her granddaughter, Anastasia.
Personality Traits[]
Marie and her first cousin, Sophie, after another woman tries to impersonate Anastasia.
Dowager Empress Marie is a generally kind and pleasant woman with an automatic regal and presence, but she can also be stubborn and outspoken, traits she shares with Anastasia. Although she can appear marginally stingy at times, she is in no way selfish nor ungrateful, considering that she is more than willing to reward 10 million roubles to whoever safely returned her granddaughter to her. Following the brutal execution of her son's family, the massacre of many Romanov members, and the banishment of the surviving Romanov family, including herself, Marie initially comes off as a rather cold-hearted old woman, although it is later revealed that she is simply sad and heartbroken by the brutal loss of her family.
Anya speaking with Marie directly for the first time since the palace siege.
Dowager Empress Marie is hard to fool, as well as hard to please. She was able to recognize the mistakes that many Anastasia imposters were making, to the point of which it was beginning to take an emotional toll on her. However, impressed by Dimitri's persistence and Anya's honesty, she soon realized that Anya is Anastasia, and the two are reunited after ten years.
Gallery[]
