{{short description|1997 song from the film Anastasia}} {{Infobox song | name = Once Upon a December | cover = | alt = | type = | artist = Liz Callaway | album = Anastasia: Music from the Motion Picture | released = October 28, 1997 | recorded = 1996–1997 | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = 2:48 | label = Atlantic | composer = Stephen Flaherty | lyricist = Lynn Ahrens | producer = Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty | misc = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|koWKsgOSs1w|"Once Upon a December"}}}} }}
"'''Once Upon a December'''" is a song from the 1997 20th Century Fox animated film ''Anastasia''. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9712/18/golden.globes.list/index.html |website=CNN |title=Nominees for Golden Globe Awards - December 18, 1997 |date= December 18, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030325221501/https://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9712/18/golden.globes.list/index.html |archive-date=2003-03-25 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="filmtracks1">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/anastasia.html |title=''Anastasia'' (Stephen Flaherty/David Newman) |publisher=Filmtracks |date=1997-10-28 |accessdate=2014-07-20}}</ref>
==About song== The song and its lyrics are heard three times through the course of the story, twice as a lullaby, and once as a complete song with a bridge. The lullaby is heard first during the film's prologue (performed by Angela Lansbury as the Dowager Empress Marie, and Lacey Chabert as the young Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia), then as an a cappella version toward the end of the film when the Dowager Empress and the adult Anastasia are reunited (sung by Lansbury, and Liz Callaway as Anastasia). Callaway also sings the complete version (which does not include the lullaby lyrics) during the film's second act.
A pop version with vocals by country singer Deana Carter was also featured on the film's soundtrack and was released as a music video.
Acapella group Pentatonix also covered the song on their 2020 Christmas album, ''We Need a Little Christmas''.
==Production and synopsis== The melody of this song reprises a lullaby sung to Anastasia herself by her grandmother: {{poemquote|On the wind, 'cross the sea, hear this song and remember Soon you'll be home with me, once upon a December}} The Dowager Empress commissions a music box that plays the lullaby as a gift for young Anastasia, to comfort her while her grandmother is away. The recurring melody serves as a narrative device in the film since Anya's memory of the lullaby, and the music box's necklace key are her only ties to her forgotten past. The theme of memory is further enhanced by composer David Newman's recurring use of the melody throughout the film's score, also incorporating variations of the song "Journey to the Past".<ref name="filmtracks1"/>
The full version of "Once Upon a December" is sung by Anya after entering the now derelict Catherine Palace. The repressed memories of her past are stirred by her unknowing return to her childhood home, triggering a musical dream sequence in which the palace is returned to its former glory, and she remembers singing the tune as a child with her grandmother.
==Critical reception== DVDReview describes it as "the showstopper in the film". FilmTracks argues both these songs' "appeal as the 'leading lady's songs' are equally attractive. The site compared ''December'' favorably to ''Past'', writing that "''Once Upon a December'' better tells the film's story. Appearing in short vocal reprises throughout the score, this song is the connecting element between Anya and her lost grandmother, and the Russian sensibilities of the waltz are far more interesting than the rather straightforward ballad".<ref name="filmtracks1"/> DVDTalk described the song as intimate <ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20609/anastasia-family-fun-edition/ | title=Anastasia Family Fun Edition}}</ref> DarkRealmFox said it was "a fabulous musical number".<ref>{{cite web|author=Dark_Fox |url=http://www.darkrealmfox.com/film_reviews/blu-ray-film-reviews-anastasia/ |title=Blu Ray Film Reviews – ''Anastasia''|publisher=Darkrealmfox.com |date=October 22, 2013 |accessdate=2014-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425021405/http://www.darkrealmfox.com/film_reviews/blu-ray-film-reviews-anastasia/ |archive-date=2017-04-25 | url-status=usurped}}</ref> CineMatter said "only two [of the film's songs] ("Journey to the Past", and "Once Upon a December") have any lasting presence".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinematter.com/movie.php3?movie=anastasia |title=''Anastasia''|publisher=Cinematter.com |date= |accessdate=2014-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525232451/http://www.cinematter.com/movie.php3?movie=anastasia |archive-date=2014-05-25}}</ref> FilmVault says it is "fairy-tale lovely".<ref>{{cite web|first1=Jeffrey|last1=Gantz|url=http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/boston/a/anastasia1.html|title=''Anastasia''|work=The Boston Phoenix|date=24 November 1997|publisher=Filmvault.com|accessdate=21 February 2018|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727200836/http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/boston/a/anastasia1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
FilmTracks said the pop version is "the highlight of all the songs, despite the somewhat lazy vocal rendering".<ref name="filmtracks1"/> AllMusic describes it as an example of copying the "Disney formula of balancing big show tunes from the film with re-recorded MOR pop versions of the same song".<ref>{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/anastasia-music-from-the-motion-picture-mw0000595915 |title=Anastasia [Music From the Motion Picture] Lynn Ahrens / Stephen Flaherty / David Newman |publisher=AllMusic |date=1997-10-28 |accessdate=2014-07-20}}</ref> DVDReview describes it as a "karaoke-style sing-a-long".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdreview.com/reviews/pages/1072.shtml |title=''Anastasia'' |publisher=DVD Review |date=1998-11-01 |accessdate=2014-07-20 |archive-date=2014-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525220510/http://www.dvdreview.com/reviews/pages/1072.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Anastasia (franchise)}}
Category:1997 songs Category:1997 singles Category:1990s ballads Category:Songs from Anastasia (1997 film) Category:Songs written by Lynn Ahrens Category:Songs written by Stephen Flaherty Category:Cultural depictions of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Category:American Christmas songs Category:Atlantic Records singles Category:Deana Carter songs Category:Liz Callaway songs Category:Film theme songs