Review of The Prince of Egypt (1998) by Ashlee C — 20 Sep 2013

Moses was born to the mother of a Hebrew slave who wanted a better life for him, so she wrapped him up in a wicker basket and placed him in the Nile River. He floated down the river until the Pharaoh's wife found him. Upon finding the baby the Pharaoh's wife fell in love with him and took him into their family. During a ceremony, Ramses was presented with a beautiful woman as a gift who had been captured, finding her to disagreeable he passed her onto Moses. Later that night when the woman escaped, Moses followed after her. Upon following her, he unknowingly came upon his sister and brother; the woman revealed their identity to him and upon hearing he was not a prince but the son of a Hebrew slave who God had chosen to free them, he angrily denied this. Hearing the song that his mother sang to him as a baby caused visions of his origins to came to him. The next day while Ramses was working on a project, Moses saw an elderly man being whipped; disturbed by this he went to intervene. While assisting the elderly man he accidentally caused the death of an slave overseer, he was so upset by this he fled from the the kingdom. God came to Moses in the desert and spoke to him through a burning bush, telling him that he would free the Hebrews from their oppression. Moses came back to Egypt to plead with Ramses to let his people free and to warn him of God's wrath that was to follow if he did not submit, Ramses would not consent with God's request. Ramses willful disobedience resulted in God turning the Nile's water into Blood, Ramses still ignored Moses. Despite Moses's repeated pleas Ramses continued to rebuke God, thus resulting in plagues which included darkness, boils and the death of Ramses's first born. God parted the red sea allowing Moses and his followers to safely cross, but when Ramses and his soldiers tried to cross God caused the sea to swallow them. The Hebrews feeling free at last began to establish a new life but God had more plans for his people and sent Moses upon a mountain to write his Ten Commandments to guide them in their new life.

This movie relates to World Religions class because later in the course we will be studying Judaism and Moses plays a vital role in this religion. Most people are familiar with the story of Moses due to exposure to Christianity and Judaism. However if you are not; watching "Prince of Egypt", is informative because it so closely follows the story of Exodus. Exodus is a chapter in the Bible which portrays the story of Moses's life and his impact on God's people. These events shaped how future events unfolded in later chapters of the Bible.