The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Directors:

Brenda Chapman
Steve Hickner

Writers:

Philip LaZebnik (screenplay)
Nicholas Meyer (additional screenplay material)

Release Date:

18 December 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Musical

Tagline:

Two brothers united by friendship divided by destiny

Plot:

An Egyptian prince learns of his identity as a Hebrew and, later his destiny to become the chosen deliverer of his people.

Plot Keywords:

Moses | Hebrew | Ancient Egypt | Pharaoh | Religion

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Val Kilmer	...	Moses (voice)
Ralph Fiennes	...	Rameses (voice)
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Tzipporah (voice)
Sandra Bullock	...	Miriam (voice)
Jeff Goldblum	...	Aaron (voice)
Danny Glover	...	Jethro (voice)
Patrick Stewart	...	Seti (voice)
Helen Mirren	...	The Queen (voice)
Steve Martin	...	Hotep (voice)
Martin Short	...	Huy (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Avery	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Aria Noelle Curzon	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Ofra Haza	...	Yocheved (voice)
Bobby Motown	...	Rameses Son (voice)
Eden Riegel	...	Young Miriam (voice)
Shira Roth	...	Hebrew Child (singing voice)
Stephanie Sawyer	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Francesca Smith	...	Additional Voices (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for intense depiction of thematic elements.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Philippines:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:6 | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG | Egypt:(Banned) | Malaysia:(Banned)

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The original lyrics "You can do miracles when you believe" were changed to "There can be miracles when you believe," to avoid the implication that you (not God) can work miracles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Moses and Tzipporah are wed, they go off to dance. As the camera starts to zoom between them towards Jethro, the animation of Tzipporah freezes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Overseers: [chanting] Mud... Sand... Water... Straw. Faster! Mud... and lift... sand... and pull... water... and raise up! Straw... Faster!
Hebrews: [singing] With the sting of the whip on my shoulder, with the salt of my sweat on my brow... Elohim, God on high, can you hear your people cry? Help us now, this dark hour... Deliver us, hear our call, deliver us, Lord of all! Remember us, here in this burning sand! Deliver us, there's a land you promised us! Deliver us to the promised land!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Queen's Reprise

Credit where credit is due

This is very possibly the finest animation I've seen. Before commenting on the film as a whole, I want to make that clear, because in the inevitable rush to pick this film apart (the plot, the voices, the religious significance, the literary accuracy, the moral issues, the music, the comparisons with Disney and de Mille, etc...) one might easily become distracted from the aesthetic and technical triumphs of The Prince of Egypt, and that would be unfortunate. As someone who has an interest and appreciation of animation, I can say that this is the first film I've seen that successfully integrates computer-generated animation and traditional animation (and I've seen many attempts). More importantly, as someone who has eyes, I can say that the result is a visual experience of intense style and beauty. In fact, the initial depiction of Egypt is so breathtaking, that it seriously hinders the film's later efforts to vilify it.

Comparisons with Disney are inevitable, especially because Prince of Egypt employs tired Disney formula in an attempt, I assume, to remain economically viable. What a shame, since Disney hasn't made a decent film since Aladdin. I am referring, of course, to the unnecessary musical numbers and the two high priests, the film's comic relief, who are drawn grossly out of proportion to the other characters. Even worse than their unoriginality, however, is the open mockery of ancient Egyption religion and culture, which these two characters embody. I found their musical number especially appalling. On the other hand, it's a story in which the protagonists succeed only through a greater capacity for cruelty and destruction and the slaughter of innocent children, so it's kind of hard to nail down any concrete moral standard here.

In general, I thought the story was well told, with solid direction and a good script. The only complaint I have about the voice acting is that Jeff Goldblum's unmistakable mannerisms seriously distract from his character. I suspect that I wasn't really bothered by the others only because I hadn't seen a cast list before seeing the film. I wish they would stop relying on celebrity voices for animated features. No character can be effective if the viewer can't separate the voice from the actor supplying it.

The bottom line is, despite any objections, complaints, or concerns I might have about this film, despite the moral, religious, or idealogical issues it brings up, and despite the $8 and two hours you'll spend, this film is worth seeing. It's worth seeing because of the animation. I hope it sets a new standard for feature-length animated films. At the very least, I think it will show the movie-going public what the medium is capable of.