The second animated movie to come from DreamWorks Pictures was one of their riskiest animated movies to date, and possibly one of the riskiest animated movies ever to be made. The Prince of Egypt is an adaptation of a story in the book of Exodus, a big religious story, and it doesn't sugar coat a whole lot. DreamWorks took a large risk with The Prince of Egypt, and in a lot of ways, it paid off.
The story of Moses is a well known tale. After the Pharaoh of Egypt demands that the newborns of the Hebrew slaves be killed, a mother puts her infant son in a basket and sends it down the river. The infant is found by the queen, who names him Moses and raises him alongside Rameses. Years later, Moses learns of his true identity, not of an Egyptian prince, but of a Hebrew descendant, which causes him to run away, finding a new life and family. Eventually, God himself reaches Moses and tells him to be the deliverer of his people to the Promised Lands, which creates conflict between Moses and Rameses. It's a tale literally from Biblical times, and the plot is done beautifully here. While it does partake in the well-loved trope of "Time-skip Montage" the plot is mostly cohesive, and we see how each and every action leads to the other.
This movie really shines with its characters, especially how they interact with each other. Seeing Moses talk with the pharaoh about the murder of the Hebrew children, we see and hear the emotion and weight in the conversation. Every talk between Moses and Rameses is incredible, especially how they go from the best of friends to the worst of enemies. On top of that, we also see how these interactions effect each character, how Rameses' treatment from his father turns him cold and ruthless, a "win no matter the cost" kind of person. How Moses' new life and meeting with God has made him more humble. To see these characters change and the catalyst for these changes is what makes this movie special, but a lot of the character is also given within the animation.
The problem with writing a blog of text is that, a lot of readers are going to have to take the word of the writer for what is said, unless they provide some kind of visual aid to show what they are talking about. The animation of The Prince of Egypt is one such topic that, anyone could write about, but without visual assistance, the reader can only take the writers word for how amazing the animation is. For how expressive it is, for how beautiful the movie is. To describe scenes like when Rameses and Moses first speak after years of having not seen each other, without showing it to you, would be a disservice to the scene. Scenes like the Burning Bush, Rameses laying his child to rest, the parting of the Red Sea, they are all visually stunning to witness. This is a movie that demands to be watched in the largest screen you can.
The animation also shine in the musical numbers. While the visuals are stunning though, the musical numbers are overall mixed. Songs like "Through Heaven's Eyes", "When You Believe" and "The Plagues" are all amazing tracks, but most of the others I kind of needed to be reminded of what they were in the movie. On the Orchestral part of the soundtrack, it really shines. The background music does what good background music should, it enhances the mood and atmosphere of the scene without being to distracting. The track for the burning bush scene is one of the favourite pieces in animation history, up there with "Last Agni Kai" from the series Avatar: The Last Airbender. This movie has an amazing soundtrack, and it always compliments the scenes perfectly, even in the darker moments.
Yeah, this movie gets dark. I think this is one of the last truly PG movies, as it gets disturbing sometimes and children really should have parents or legal guardians when watching this movie. This movie gets dark, it opens with the murder of the Hebrew infants, and while we never do see it happen on screen, we see mothers get pushed and shoved out of the way and a soldier raise a blade in front of a crib. A drawing depicts them throwing the infants to crocodiles, and the movie even shows the deaths of the Egyptian first-borns. The movie can get really intense at times, and I can not stress enough that this movie should be viewed with a parent or legal guardian in the room.
Despite the darker imagery, The Prince of Egypt is one the best examples of why DreamWorks is as prominent a name in theatrical animation as Disney and Studio Ghibli. With the amazing soundtrack, breath-taking animation, understandable and tragic character arcs, and some of the darkest scenes in animation, it can not be a question as why this movie is one of DreamWork's most well loved. It really is an animated epic, and a movie that nobody should pass up.
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