Review of The Prince of Egypt (1998) by Cattails — 24 Oct 2018

As a former Christian who no longer believes in these stories, I still find this to be an excellent movie. It does take certain artistic liberties, but the spirit, message, and key incidents in Moses' story shine through. Watching it as a Christian, I was blown away and finally able to empathize with the suffering of the Israelites in a way that Biblical writing is too dispassionate to portray. Even though I'm not Christian anymore, I still recognize and appreciate the messages in the story. From both secular and religious standpoints, viewers are exposed to important lessons about anti-slavery, acceptance, forgiveness, steadfastness, perseverance, and unconditional love. For other non-religious people, it isn't hard to view the story in the same vein as Star Wars or Hercules - movies and stories technically centered around a religion but easily enjoyable as they are.

My issues with the film: All the voices seem to have been cast solely because they're celebrities, as evidenced by Sandra Bullock and Jeff Goldblum sounding like they've never voiced an animated character before; all but two or three of the character voices are white (I mostly love the voices, but they don't really work for Egyptian characters); I have personal issues giving Val Kilmer money; Steve Martin's and Martin Short's characters are so unnecessary and, at times, make me feel embarrassed for them.

Music is beautiful, voice acting is generally performed well, animation is gorgeous, and story is timeless. As an adult, I still watch this movie several times a year with my religious and non-religious friends.