Review of The Prince of Egypt (1998) by Ryan H — 26 Jul 2014

As far as biblical film adaptations made for large audiences go, this is actually pretty good.

This is a good introduction to the story of Moses and the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, particularly for children. It's gets the point across, and even includes some legitimate peril, which is pretty sorely absent from most family-oriented films nowadays.

The music is well-crafted and avoids being overly hokey, even snagging an Oscar for best original song "When You Believe.".

The film is visually stunning, excellently composed, and the climax of the film is truly epic in scope. The movie only missteps in this area when it depends too highly on CGI animated elements. The technology was still a little too new to blend seamlessly with hand-drawn animation.

Although some story elements were changed to accommodate the format, the only one that really bothered me was the criminal minimizing of Aaron, Moses' brother. They might as well have omitted him. Not to mention the final shot of the film has a different connotation when you're aware of the context (golden calfs, anyone?).

It will be interesting to see what Ridley Scott does with the same subject matter this holiday season with "Exodus: Gods and Kings.".