"In the Dark of the Night " is a song written by lyricist

Lynn Ahrens Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle ...

and composer Stephen Flaherty for the 1997

Fox Animation Studios Fox Animation Studios was an American animation production company owned by 20th Century Fox and located in Phoenix, Arizona. After six years of operation, the studio was shut down on June 26, 2000, ten days after the release of its final film, ...

film ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

''. It is sung by Rasputin (

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

speaking, Jim Cummings singing) and serves as the villain song. The song was produced by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

, known for his work with artists such as

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

and

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

. Although the song is not used in the musical adapted from the film, the ending melody ("Come my minions, rise for your master...") is sampled extensively in the new song "Stay, I Pray You." Flaherty remarked that despite the drastically different context, the reused melody worked "surprisingly well."

Synopsis

Rasputin is stuck in

Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

because his

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particula ...

against the

Romanov family The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

has failed to kill the sole surviving member, the

Grand Duchess Anastasia Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

. When Bartok, an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

and his trusted sidekick, reunites with him in Limbo, Rasputin bemoans the loss of his enchanted reliquary, a gift from the dark forces with which to kill the Romanovs. The song begins as Bartok, having been taken to Limbo by the same reliquary, returns it to Rasputin. Rejoicing, Rasputin sings about his plan to take revenge on Anastasia for escaping his initial attack ("My curse made each of them pay / But one little girl got away / Little Anya, beware, Rasputin's awake!"), and vows that his "revenge will be sweet / when the curse is complete". As the song ends, he summons his demonic minions from the reliquary and sends them to destroy the train on which Anastasia is travelling.

Critical reception

FilmTracks wrote, "The villain's song for Rasputin isn't particularly popular, and some may even wish that Christopher Lloyd had attempted his own vocals. Yet, the deep male vocals paired with high female ghost hauntings are very creative, and outstanding lyrics and a fine balance between the Russian doom and gloom and the slight comedy needed for the genre is decently accomplished. The bass region is well treated in this song, too." DVDTalk describes the song as grand. AWN described it as "a wonderful mixture of rock and traditional Russian choral music, with a gaggle of wormettes providing backup."

References

Songs from Anastasia (1997 film) 1997 songs Songs written by Lynn Ahrens Songs written by Stephen Flaherty Jim Cummings songs Cultural depictions of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia {{1990s-song-stub