This time of year, in the lead-up to Easter (aka Lent), I always seem to hear about The Prince of Egypt. I'd never seen the 1998 Dreamworks animated film but considering the praise coming from people I know to be Jewish and Christian it appeared to be worth assessing. So on Easter Sunday we bought it on Amazon and watched it with our son.
If you don't know, the biblical story of Moses and the Exodus does have a pretty big connection to Easter. The last and most intense of the plagues inflicted on Egypt was the death of the firstborn. Moses instructed the Israelites to spread lamb's blood over their doorway and the Angel of Death would pass over them. As a result, the Israelites were spared while the Egyptians suffered. This was the first Passover, something still widely celebrated by the Jewish people. In the New Testament the Last Supper take places during Passover. And more importantly, Jesus becomes the new lamb, his crucifixion (and blood) cleansing and saving us from an eternal death. It's a direct reference and renewal of Passover. This is why The Ten Commandments (1956), the Charlton Heston classic, was always broadcast Easter weekend. My family frequently watched that when I was young. But it's very long and a little too scary for our kids right now.
Luckily there's another option. And the rumors about it being very good are true, somehow tackling the complicated story in only 90 minutes. To do this some parts of the story need to fly by. One example is the very beginning, where Moses' mother has to give him up or else watch his death on order of the Pharaoh. Because of the speed it can be a little confusing why she's putting a baby in a basket into the river among the reeds. Even so it's emotional.
The film only gets better from there. Its best aspect may be the focus on the relationship between Moses, now a Prince of Egypt, and Ramses, his adopted brother who'd later become Pharaoh. While a bit of a troublemaker and certainly more carefree than Ramses, Moses as a young man is shown to be a standup and loyal guy. He attempted to (rightfully) take the blame for their hijinks and owned his actions to their father. Shown clearly is the love the two shared, they'd do anything for each other. Ramses, and the weight of the family legacy, is almost as important to this story as Moses himself and the later developments are all the more heart-wrenching because of it.
The film also manages to show the plight of the Israelites without being all that graphic. Another bit of background if you don't know. The Israelites, as they're called here, were descendants of Abraham and Jacob (later called Israel) who moved to Egypt during the story of Joseph, best known for his colorful coat. This group was later enslaved by the Pharaohs during the peak of ancient Egypt's empire (see The New Kingdom of Egypt). The story of Moses and the Exodus takes place a few hundred years later (concurrent with Ramesses II). Seen here the Israelites are used for massive construction projects, including monuments in the image of the Egyptian rulers. They're constantly toiling in the mud, making bricks as more materials are dumped over them. They're beaten and whipped and have scars on their backs. At first Moses doesn't even notice these people. Then he learns where he came from.
The triumph of this film is the development of Moses. Once carefree royalty he can no longer bear watching his people abused any longer. He flees into the desert, his life a lie. He's reborn, gets married and is clearly happy. It's at this juncture he meets God, as a burning bush. Told directly by the Almighty himself to return to Egypt and free His people, Moses has a massive burden of his own thrust upon him. It's something he must do, though at first he doesn't want to be the one and is entirely unsure he's capable of such a mission. Encouraged that God will be with him, Moses briefly can't contain himself.
He journeys back to Egypt to find his brother Ramses now Pharaoh. Unlike their competition as youth, their actions now have real consequences and their great burdens are in direct conflict. Moses is relentless in his mission and the plagues come fast and furious. Ramses ultimate turn and threat is chilling as Moses is horrified about what will happen next. Even though Ramses is misguided, arrogant and entitled, you can't help but sympathize with him. I can't contemplate losing a child like that.
I'm very impressed with how well the big moments were handled, especially God's interventions. You fret as the released baby Moses travels down the river. You're stirred by the direct call to action by the burning bush. You're overwhelmed by the suffering and terror of the plagues. You're overjoyed at the sudden freedom of the Israelites. You're awed by the pillar of fire and the parting of the Red Sea. The biblical story is done tremendous justice and all in such a short timeframe.
Great storytelling is aided by some incredible art involved too. The original songs fit the high and low beats and are very well done. I later found myself singing When You Believe. There were quite a few cool shots and short effective scenes. I had to include (above) the framing of Seti, the old Pharaoh, against the monuments behind him to establish his place in the chain. Moses dream that's all hieroglyphics is really cool. I quite enjoyed the Egyptian high priests putting on a show trying to demonstrate their skill and dominance. The entire Angel of Death sequence is haunting, in particular the sound when it takes a soul. My favorite (also above) is when Moses tells his wife Zipporah about the burning bush, his excitement playing against her realization and trepidation.
On top of everything else it's pretty ridiculous looking at who was involved with this film. Val Kilmer as Moses. Ralph Fiennes as Ramses. Patrick Stewart as Seti (he should do more voice acting). Helen Mirren as Moses adopted mother. Sandra Bullock as Moses birth sister. Steve Martin and Martin Short as the Egyptian priests. The only one that doesn't work for me was Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Moses birth brother. It's hard to hear him and not expect something funny. Then there's the music. Hans Zimmer did the score. Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey performed When You Believe. Boys II Men did I Will Get There (end credits). Let's also not forget this is Dreamworks, Steven Spielberg's film company. It was the first animated film by the label, which had only started putting out movies the year before. I guess I'm surprised this group came together to make this film.
I've heaped enough praise here. You should see it! If you aren't amazed by this tale I don't know what else to say. It's powerful stuff, even in animation. We may have a new tradition.
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