Magnificent entertainment, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT takes animated movies to a new level as it dramatizes the biblical story of Moses and his call from God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
The Prince of Egypt - The Making Of (Part 1 of 3)
The artwork in THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is beyond what has ever been done in an animated film before. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who used to head production at Disney, wanted to do it better, and he has. Magnificent, groundbreaking art, music, story, and direction combine to make THE PRINCE OF EGYPT an entertaining masterpiece.
The Story of Moses
In the beginning, the Israelites are slaves in Egypt. From God’s perspective, as the Egyptians kill the first born infant sons of their Israelite slaves, Moses’ mother, sister and brother rush to the river Nile to set him afloat in a basket so that he will have a chance to survive the bloody holocaust. By the grace of God, Moses is rescued from Pharaoh’s command to kill the firstborn of Israel. Ironically, he is brought up in Pharaoh’s home as one of his sons.
Miraculously, little baby Moses escapes all of the tribulations of the river and is rescued by the Queen of Egypt. Moses instigates mischief, and Ramses gets blamed for it. The Pharaoh explains that Ramses is going to have to accept the responsibility of the crown and the Egyptian kingdom that goes with it, a burden that Moses does not have to bear. Pharaoh explains that he is tougher on Ramses because there cannot be a weak link in the dynastic chain. At the ensuing banquet celebrating the Pharaoh’s passing of more authority to Ramses, the Egyptian priests present Ramses with a beautiful Midianite slave. Confused, Moses confronts Pharaoh.
Realizing the truth, Moses tries to protect one Israelite slave, only to kill an Egyptian in the process. Distraught, he escapes into the desert where he eventually rescues three little Midianite girls from brigands. Tzipporah’s father Jethro, high priest of the Midianites, teaches Moses that every person is valuable, and that he must look at himself from God’s point of view. Years later, while searching for a lost sheep, Moses comes face to face with his destiny and with his God, in the burning bush.
Read also: Exploring The Prince of Egypt's Impact
Ramses is happy to see Moses back. Eventually, however, Ramses understands that Moses is serious, as he recalls that he cannot be the weak link in the dynastic chain of Egypt’s Pharaohs. Thus, the power of God confronts the false powers of Egypt to free His chosen people.
Music and Animation
The music is Broadway quality, uplifting, powerful, singable, memorable, enjoyable, and relevant. Stephen Schwartz' songs combine elements of Broadway-esque show tunes with native Hebrew and Egyptian music. The songs are powerful and moving, sometimes no more than one verse in length, sometimes full-blown seven-minute extravaganzas like "Let My People Go." The one weaker song, surprisingly, is the theme "When You Believe." Even freed from Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston R&B cheese as it is in the movie, it's a watery definition of faith at best. Still, the scene in which it takes place is powerful and the song is beautifully performed.
The animation style owes a small debt to Disney's house style, but goes above and beyond in the details in character design (the Hebrews and Egyptians and Midians are clearly of different ethnic backgrounds, and no character suffers from the doe-eyed Disney Belle syndrome). Computer Generated Imagery blends -- for the first time in an animated film -- seamlessly with traditional cel animation. The film also takes some fairly audacious risks; Moses has a dream sequence in stiffly animated hieroglyphics, completely switching animation styles for about five minutes, which I believe is completely unprecedented in animation. There are moments when the visual effects made me forget to breathe. If you blink during the parting of the red sea, you'll regret it. There is, I believe I can safely say, not a second of the film that does not offer some sort of visual delight -- from the deep symbolism of the hieroglyphics to the dizzying chariot race in the opening sequence.
Themes and Impact
The good news is that, at a time when false religions are rampant, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT proclaims the sovereignty of God and His miraculous intimate involvement with mankind. It shows the need for virtue, integrity, character, and the Ten Commandments. The movie also clearly shows God acting in history. It foreshadows the Prince of Peace, who leads all those who ask out of their contemporary bondage into freedom in the kingdom of God.
There are some frightening scenes in the movie: the plagues, the angel of death visiting the first-born Egyptians, and the hieroglyph showing the death of the first born of the Israelites. The Egyptian priests are dark and sinister. Their gods are frightening. The confrontations with the true God are awesome in the traditional sense. Although the movie contains some scary scenes, it contains nothing that little children can’t watch as long as parents are involved. Therefore, this is an animated epic aimed at an older audience.
Read also: "When You Believe" analysis
The main characters are well-realized, three-dimensional characters. The focus of the film is the conflict between Ramses and his adopted brother, Moses, set against the backdrop of the epic events in the book of Exodus. The result is a religious tale that treats the oft-ignored human element. Instead of merely relating the tale as it is, the story asks "how would a person *feel* if God appeared to them and told them to do this? How would others react?" The script is light-years beyond any past biblical epic.
The movie is not shy about being entertaining, but it maintains a certain seriousness. In place of the usual twosomes and threesomes of little characters doing comic relief, we get two temple magicians (voices of Steve Martin and Martin Short), and a duet (“Playing With the Big Boys”). Moses turns his staff into a snake to impress Rameses, and magicians show how the trick has been done.
Critical Reception
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT takes animated movies to a new level of entertainment. Magnificent art, music, story, and realization combine to make THE PRINCE OF EGYPT one of the most entertaining masterpieces of all time.
Contemporary animated movies mostly feature the visual style known as computer animation, also known as 3D or CG animation. But, before audiences preferred that style, such movies were dominated by “traditional animation”, also known as 2D or hand-drawn animation. During that decade, the newly launched studio Dreamworks delivered The Prince of Egypt, an adaptation of the Exodus narrative about God appointing Moses to help liberate the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. This animated musical became the most remarkable one ever to come from a studio other than the Mouse House.
It received positive reviews, gathered a then-strong $218.6 million worldwide, and was honored at the 71st Academy Awards with a nomination for Best Original Score and a win for Best Original Song (“When You Believe”). At the same time, The Prince of Egypt was ahead of its time, being a biblically-grounded production long before The Passion of the Christ commenced the ongoing movement among Christians to adamantly support films that uphold their worldview. Plus, it boasted mature themes and a serious tone prior to the public truly understanding that animation can work for adults just as well as for kids.
Read also: "The Prince of Egypt" Streaming Guide
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Director(s) | Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells |
| Music | Hans Zimmer |
| Songs | Stephen Schwartz |
| Worldwide Gross | $218.6 million |
| Academy Award | Best Original Song ("When You Believe") |
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