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Wonderfully put together

I enjoyed this movie immensely, except for the songs. The story of Moses is timeless and would flow a lot better if not for cheesy tunes breaking up the action. The songs were not well done and seemed forced, as if DreamWorks felt they had to follow the animation model that Disney has perfected. This movie could have stood on its own two feet as a regular movie that happen to be animated. The animation in this movie made it possible to depict scenes that just would not have been as powerful in the traditional live-action genre. Take out the songs, and DreamWorks would have had a classic. Coupled with Saving Private Ryan though, this puts Spielberg and pals on the map.

Excellent Film For The Entire Family

The story of Moses is a compelling one. "The Prince of Egypt" manages to meld that story into a very easily digested tale for the whole family. Though some liberties are taken, "Prince" keeps the basic elements of this wonderful tale intact. The only truly noteworthy changes are that Moses confronts Pharoah instead of his biological brother, Aaron, doing most of the talking and Moses and Ramses are raised as brothers by the Pharoah. In the Bible, Moses is raised by Pharoah's daughter, and Aaron plays a larger role in the overall story, doing most of the speaking to Pharoh as a representative of Moses.

With those minor details out of the way, "Prince of Egypt" is one of the best films around for the entire family to watch. It begins with the finding of Moses on the Nile River by Pharoah's wife, then shows him grow up as royalty in Egypt. He and his brother, Ramses, pretty much have full run of the roost. They get into plenty of trouble with each other, and their chariot race sequence is one of the best "chase" scenes in cinematic history. When Moses finds out that he is Hebrew, and that most of his people are slaves to Pharoah, he begins to notice the horrible things happening to his people. He accidentally kills one of Pharoah's guards when he attempts to protect one of the slaves, and, upset, he leaves his home in search of himself. God reveals to him that he is to lead his people out of Egypt, and he must go and tell Pharoah (who, by now, is Ramses) to, "let my people go."

The tale then takes us through the plagues that wreak havoc on Egypt as long as Pharoah refuses to free the Hebrews. The final plague, and definitely the most chilling, is the Passover. This, for those uninformed, is the time when the Angel of Death comes down into Egypt and takes the life of the first born children in every home that is not painted by the blood of a lamb on the door. This sequence was very moving, and the worst part is when the actual Passover has been completed, and the unbelieving families realize what has happened. The finale, the epic parting of the Red Sea, is just as, if not more, moving than the same event in "The Ten Commandments." It ties the characters of Moses and Ramses together in a most painful way. Moses and Ramses share a great love for each other as brothers, but neither can deny their true calling in life. The final moments showing Ramses on the banks of the Red Sea are very moving, and almost brought me to tears.

I've rarely seen an animated feature in which the voice actors have done such a grand job. Val Kilmer is wonderful as Moses, making you feel the pain and joy in his voice. Ralph Fiennes portrays Ramses with plenty of regal flare, but there is a constant hint of grief in his voice. Danny Glover, , Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer and Patrick Stewart are amazing in their respective roles of Jethro, Miriam, Tzipporah, and Seti. Steve Martin and Martin Short are hilariously devious as Pharoah's high priests intent on proving that their gods are much more powerful than Moses' God. The standout of this group, however, is Jeff Goldblum as Aaron. In my opinion, his performance in this limited role is one of the best voice acted roles I've ever witnessed. His character made the film for me, and, other than Ramses, had a strong effect on me as I watched the film unfurl.

The animation in this flick is on par with Disney's giant animated flicks of the last couple of decades, namely "The Lion King." The music is wonderful as well.

In all, this is simply one of the best animated stories ever. I place it well above plenty of Disney's top films, and feel that it deserves much more respect than it has ever received. Well done, SKG, this is a premier piece of animated work.

Movie was a surprisingly accurate version of the Exodus

Because the character of Moses is a central religious figure of the Jewish and Christian faiths, I was surprised to see the modern media be as accurate as the great masters of old films were with The Ten Commandments. The music is delightful and central to the plot, not songs just for entertainment and promotional rights. The writers and directors were true to the Torah in many respects and deserve admiration for not changing the story to be one without Jehovah. Bravo!!!

What "The Ten Commandments" could have been today

"The Prince of Egypt" is a treat of a film, using animation to tell the story of Moses from the time of his birth to his descent from Mount Sinai with the ten commandments handed down to him by God. It is a triumph not just on a visual level but also in its storytelling.Three decades ago we had "The Ten Commandments", still hailed today as one of the great films of the century. As a critical film it had its flaws, but it also had the commanding presence of Charlton Heston. Heston has since gone on to a less commanding presence as NRA spokesman, but the memory of his performance lives on. But what that film lacked was convincing special effects for a contemporary audience. People may have been wowed by the effects of the Red Sea parting back in the 60's but today the appearance of Heston standing in the animated water moving aside before him is less profound."The Prince of Egypt" takes the same story, and applies the magic of animation to transform it into its full glory. We see the full wrath of God brought down on Egypt in the form of the 10 plagues with a vengeance. The fluidity of water like nothing seen before in the form of the Nile. The majesty of Egyptian architecture, splayed out in a glorious profile as a backdrop to the drama. Even the expressions on the character's faces are wondrous to behold. This is a story that begs to be told in animated form.
It is the first animated film from Dreamworks, and the effort they have gone to shows.It has big names for voices as well. Ralph Fiennes voices the stubborn Rameses, Patrick Stewart is commanding as his father, Seti, Helen Mirren as the Queen, Steve Martin and Martin Short as villianous court magicians, even Danny Glover as a Midan high priest. Val Kilmer has the interesting double role as both Moses and God. I hope it doesn't go to his head.Most people know the story of Moses, so I won't summarize it here. What sets this version apart from other interpretations of the story is the focus it has on the relationship between Moses and Rameses. I admired the way it emphasizes the conflict between the two, who are first seen as young men creating havoc in the streets with their chariot racing, inseparable. Later on, after Moses flees when he discovers his true origin, and returns to request the release of his people, the Hebrews, Rameses is crushed when he learns of his transformation, and hardens his heart, tragically, against the demands of Moses' strange God. This mission of Moses wasn't just about the commandments of God but his defiance of his assumed parentage, as a prince and brother to Rameses.So many movies about Biblical events are underwhelming because they have breadth of vision but lack the capacity for conveying convincingly the miraculous sights involved. "Prince of Egypt" is able to use its vision and animation to communicate these things. It is a rare achievement.

A triumph of graphic excellence

As the author of THE WORLD OF ANIMATION, an Eastman Kodak book which won three international book festival awards and as an animation writer-director, I have for many years longed for the U.S. animation industry to remember that Walt Disney, nor any of the pioneers of animation limited their art to children's audiences.With THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, the DreamWorks animation team has finally taken us full circle and helped the United States join the rest of the world in offering us the first U.S. animated feature since, perhaps, FANTASIA, created for mature audiences while remaining child-friendly. If you aspire to art in any form, and/or specifically love line art and graphics as I do, you must not miss seeing this film on the big screen. I applaud DreamWorks for this triumph in graphic excellence.Two brief critiques: First, the choice of story. The story is based on Exodus from the Old Testament (and other Scripture) which is scanty, to say the least. Although the studio made an effort to flesh out the story with the Ramses/Moses relationship there is simply not enough meat to go around. This opinion is debatable, a very minor aspect and only my view as a story teller. At the bottom line the overall work is so extraordinary any possible lack in literacy is more than made up for in the visual mounting and production of the film, something which is nothing less than inspiring.The other criticism is in the highly questionable use of "name" voices for casting, a puzzling development since there is no meaningful box office data supporting it. This practice is known to conflict the viewer psychologically as the drawn images begin to do battle with the ones in the audience memory with the cerebral bridge of highly recognizable photo images of known voices. Walt Disney knew this quite well and avoided it. Indeed, he used the voice of a complete unknown for Snow White, Adriana Caselotti, (who passed away in 1997). Disney was careful to avoid the existing Hollywood queens of song of the period, Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin, the latter, whose prodigious vocal talent actually saved Universal Pictures from going belly up a short time later.However, at the bottom line, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT will become a true classic and has taken the art of animation up to a new threshold, a model to which future animators will aspire.Raul daSilva, New Haven, CT, USA

New animation standard

The Price of Egypt isn't a cartoon !!The characters, animation techniques and overall graphics seem weird at first but it really is intended that way. Compared to the graphics of Aladdin & The Lion King they are more adult, realistic and therefore non-cartoon. This might be disappointing to some people because they expect to see something like The Lion King or Aladdin.I was sold 10 seconds after the movie started. The fantastic opening ( Deliver Us ) set the mood for the entire movie. I remained seated, expected to see a great movie and that is exactly what i got.The music was overwhelming and the lyrics are fantastic.If you don't like this movie, stick to Tom & Jerry.DreamWorks has set a new animation standard and has created a true piece of art and entertainment.

Timeless Story for a New Audience

I am tremendous fan of good-quality animation but a movie is only worthwhile as long as it is accompanied by good-quality storytelling. "The Prince of Egypt" tasks some risks in altering the text of the story of Exodus but it manages to deliver both on its big-budgeted epic scale. No one can replicate Charles Heston's 1956 performance yet I found this film to be a respectable homage to DeMille's "The Ten Commandments". Plus the kids will learn a thing or two.

In the past 10 years we've seen far too many computer-animated slapstick films spurted out like candy bars from a vending machine. Disney took us "to infinity and beyond" with Toy Story and "Antz" was a good laugh. But honestly, it's sad to see how many companies are cutting corners and neglecting the beauty that traditional animation can capture.

"The Prince of Egypt" does neither. It maximizes the potential of its time by using hand-drawn animation to capture the beauty and details of the Egyptians' tunics and the woven tents of Midian. At the same time computer effects bring an intricate nightmare of hieroglyphics to life. It looks more than neat. It looks damn good. And the other factor is the degree of brutality that this film can push into a PG rating without overdoing it. (They come pretty close, though.) The slaves are beaten and we see the weariness in their sagging eyes. Moses' face shows utter horror when he kills a man. The Egyptians scream with fear when plagues manifest their lives. We're not in Disneyland anymore, kids. (And even the first Disney films were creepy: "Snow White", "Pinnochio", and even "Dumbo" just to name a few.)

I was more nitpicky about the character alterations, especially Aaron, who is depicted as the skeptic one. No doubt it is intended to contrast Miriam's rock-like belief in Moses but I found it offensive. At least Dreamworks stayed clear of annoying sidekicks and had two oily scheming magicians-Steve Martin and Martin Short need no introduction-with a few tricks up their sleeves. Ramses' transformation into Pharaoh consumes him with pride until his empire is destroyed. As for Moses, his journey is an extraordinary tale and yet relatable to anyone who embarks on a new challenge be it personal, social, moral, or spiritual.


I found the music heart wrenching and unforgettable. Many of the songs are a blend of prayers asking for help and the lyrics only amplify what they are saying, especially when the children sing "Song of the Sea" in Hebrew in gratitude as they leave Egypt. The splitting of the sea IS the impression that DeMille would've done if he could've done it in his time. I was overall impressed with this film adaptation of Exodus. The catchphrase "family film" doesn't do it justice. It is a work of art in itself and a respectable piece of faith and effort in its time.

good animation

Good animation, an excellent basis for a story, and a great voice cast highlight this masterpiece. Val Kilmer is a good choice to voice Moses, and the rest of the cast (including Jeff Goldblum and Sandra Bullock) does a good job. I was very impressed!*** out of ****

Flawed, but awesome all the same

Okay. I'll admit that this movie won't appeal to everybody. It's not exactly a great movie to show to young kids, and it is slightly about religion. The attempts at humor in this movie were rather hokey, and some of the songs were kinda bad. It's also too musical. The computer images were overdone, and there was a tad too much Hollywood in it. But once you push all that and the voice acting aside, this is an awesome movie. Some of the scenes are breathtaking and awe inspiring. Other scenes will move you. Still other scenes will invoke sheer terror. Despite what many people say, watch this movie for yourself if you haven't already. Odds are good you will like this. It may not be perfect, but it is still awesome.

very good movie

v e r y

g o o d m o v i

Great Movie

I´ve seen this flick nearly 3 weeks ago in Pasching/Austria with my friend Pete. It´s great but it´s not recommended for children.

Awesome..One of the best animated movies ever

When I first saw this movie I'll admit I was truly amazed. I'm a Christian,and though it might not be as Biblically accurate as the Ten Commandments, it still remained true to some things. My favorite part would have to be the burning bush. It still gives this feeling of God's presence. To me the all-star cast and the unbeatable music is the highlight of the movie.SpoilersAlthough I truly think this is an awesome movie, I noticed a few errors in the film:1.Why didn't they show all 10 plagues? 2. Although this could've very well happened, the Bible says nothing about Moses and Ramses chariot racing.Overall animation:10 Music:10 Plot: 9 actors: 10

Full of Hope and Courage

This review is dedicated to the children of Israel from way back in the mists of time to the present day and the future.
To little Miriam-seen here in the movie- crouching by the River Nile waiting to see what would happen to the basket where her baby brother Moses was sailing down the River Nile in.
Here the pretty little tyke sings the song of hope blessing her baby brother - sung by the talented young actress Eden Riegel
To the children of Israel today - all of them!

The dedication was inspired by the lovely voices of the blessed Israeli children who sung an exquisite melody in Hebrew during the part of the film where the Israelites where departing from Egypt-it were part of the song: "When You Believe"
This was perhaps the most touching and beautiful part of "Prince of Egypt".


The hardship of the Israelites whose life was embittered by their Egyptian oppressors is perfectly displayed here, and Moses life as a swashbuckling Egyptian Prince, and a close friend of the young Ramses is an interesting one.
The animation was amazing, both the people and the Egyptian landscape.


Particularly outstanding and memorable scenes:

When the Pharaoh Seti's Egyptian storm troopers charge into the Israelite slave quarters to cease the first-born sons of every Jewish woman, and Yocheved (Ofra Haza) flees, with the baby Moses in her arms, accompanied by her small children Miriam and Aaron. Beautiful songs by the magnificent Ofra Haza , who was taken from us so young , and Eden Riegel

Where Miriam (read with heartfelt sincerity by Sandra Bullock) tells Moses (Val Kilmer) that he is their brother, while a nervous Aaron (Jeff Goldblum) assures Moses that Miriam is not well and should be excused her impudence.

When Moses go's into the Temple where the whole sage unfolds through his eyes about what the Egyptians did to the Hebrew babies and what happened to the infant Moses himself, he confronts Pharaoh Seti ((Patrick Stewart) about the diabolical mass murder of the Israeli babies Seti replies: " Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the common good'. The same evil refrain used by tyrants through the ages from Pharaoh Seti to Hadrian, Torquemada, Robespierre, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, the mass murderer Arafat, Mugabe and every other bloodthirsty tyrannical monster ever.

Moses' sojourn with the family of Jethro in Midian, where he marries Tzipporah. The dancing and singing there was incredible. (...).


Where G-D appears in the blue translucent light of the burning bush and instructs Moses to lead the Israelites to freedom. : `I have indeed seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard its outcry because of its taskmasters, for I have known its sufferings. I shall descend to rescue it from the hand of Egypt and bring it from that land to a good land flowing with milk and honey.'

Moses confrontation with Pharaoh Rameses and the long struggle to free the People of Israel from Egyptian bondage, his struggle with Pharaoh's magicians (who provide some humor) , and finally the angel of death sparing the Hebrew children and slaying each Egyptian first born son. Leading to the most beautiful scene, the triumphant march of the Hebrew people to freedom, full of love and hope!

The most incredible animated movie, ever.

If you can overlook the fact that Katzenberg's version of the Moses story is not entirely in agreement with the book of Exodus, you should be able to enjoy this amazing film. The animation is superb... traditional animation, computer animation and computer-assisted animation are blended in a way that makes for some breathtakingly realistic scenes. The music is better than most other films.

An Animated Feature to be enjoyed by both children and adults.

My husband and I saw the film at a preview in Randolph (stadium seating, which adds to your viewing pleasure immensely) and with a theatre full of children. There were lots of songs by well known R&B Artists (Mariah Carey, Boys II Men, Whitney Houston etc.) The visuals were really beautiful, detailed and flowing - the story was very very inspiring - the film opens with a note that it is based on the story of Moses to be found in the book of Exodus in the Bible and that many people of many faiths of the world are inspired by the story of Moses' life and faith. The movie does not show evey single detail of Moses' life but the heart of the story is there. Val Kilmer's Moses the rebel and Ralph Feinnes' Rameses the young pharoah were perfectly cast; I thought the artwork on Zipporah, Moses' wife was beautifully realized as a portrait of Michelle Pfeiffer, as was Sandra Bullock as Miriam, Moses' sister -- kudos to Dreamworks SKG. I'll see this again.

The tradition continues

Disney has pulled off another masterpiece of animation. This movie may look like a cartoon, but it isn't just for children. I will recommend it to all my friends.

Undone by its amibitions

Grand and epic adaptation of the story of Moses, courtesy of the DreamWorks animation division, starts well with many of the set-piece elements of the biblical story (the baby in the basket, etc.), but slowly turns didactic and dull. Incredible visual imagination is at work here -- the parting of the Red Sea far outdoes the live-action "Ten Commandments" -- but it's at the service of a story which takes such heavy liberties with its source material that it becomes unwatchable. Also, there's the added problem of the movie using a somewhat stacked deck of one kind of "pagan magic" vs. another -- instead of seeming divine and disturbing, as it did in "Commandments", it simply seems petty. The movie also suffers from an unmemorable musical score (best moment is the tongue-in-cheek "Playing With The Big Boys Now", but that's about it). A shame, since there's so much good work here in the service of a mediocre story.

the best animation ever...

this movie, from Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Pictures, is a great achievement in animated movies. It tells a story of biblical proportions (literally!) about slave Mozes' life as The Prince of Egypt, and does it in a great way. The animation is truly stunning, especially the scenes when Mozes splits up the Red Sea, and when he turns the Nile into blood (which was really kind of scary). I can't really recommend the whole family (including 7-year old kids) to go see this, but if you're over 12 years old and you know something about the story of Mozes, you'll definitely appreciate this film. I give it a 9.

Bravo!

Well, the holidays are once again upon us, and along with the onset of all of the shopping frenzy comes the holiday movie rush. "The Prince of Egypt", with its impressive cast and absolutely fantastic imagery looks to make a good run over the Christmas break, as well it should. Joining Val Kilmer (as Moses) on the role call is Ralph Fiennes as Ramses, Sandra Bullock as Miriam (Moses' sister), and Michelle Pfieffer as Moses' wife, Tzipporah. Indeed, none of the acting talent of the voicers is lost in any possible limitations of animation. The characters do express emotion thoroughly, lending to the conclusion that Dreamworks SKG really were paying extreme attention to making this movie more than just a cartoon.Some of the old crutches of feature-length animated films are still in place, however. The bumbling sinister sidekicks are in place, but thankfully aren't used enough to become extremely tiresome. SKG must've realized that in a movie such as this, there was no need for such characters.What SKG stumbles over most in this otherwise fantastic film is the music. The themes in the songs don't seem to convey the themes brought up in the script very well, and many of the lyrics seem contrived. However, what directors Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner lose in the musical direction is made up for in plenty with the awesome animation. A beautiful blend of digitized and hand drawn animation, the vivid scenes and landscapes in "The Prince of Egypt" seem to jump off the screen with their vibrant rendering. Never before have I seen an animated movie with such breathtaking artistry. If for nothing else, go see this movie for its incredible animation. In essence, though, "The Prince of Egypt" is a (welcome) retelling of the story of Moses and the liberation of the Hebrews from their enslavement by the Pharaoh Ramses. Moses' tale is an Easter story by nature, as evidenced by the broadcoast of Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" on ABC every year. Hopefully, by Easter 2000, ABC will have the rights to broadcast "The Prince Of Egypt", because Val Kilmer and Moses' animators do a job Charlton Heston never could have. The story itself is different from The Bible and DeMille's classic in several ways, but doesn't suffer too much from it. Unfortunately, the story isn't conveyed extremely well for newcomers, as it is fairly choppy from theme to theme, although those who do know the story will have no problem following and enjoying this one. The writing and emotional subplots are well wrought, and surpass many previous attempts at making cartoons seem more human. Hopefully, this movie will set a tone for future animation directors to go beyond the formula that seems to be dragging down many of today's cartoons. Overall, a wonderfully enjoyable film and extremely deserving of a rating of four stars out of five.

The Prince of Egypt DVD

One of our all-time favorite movies!!! Great job making a true Bible story into an animated movie for both kids and adults. It's VERY WELL done!