They even bring on religious consultants and still manage to not tell the story correctly! Oh, they get the basic gist correct but there are many details in which the film gets it so wrong. That’s the thing with movies that draw from the Torah: they never get it right. Once we get to this aspect of the film, it features too many flaws for my comfort. Both have their many flaws when it comes to the storytelling itself. Some might prep for the holiday with the DeMille classic or they could turn to this film instead.
My rewatch comes days before Jews across the globe will retell the story of the Exodus during Pesach/Passover. Both would earn Oscar nominations for Musical/Comedy Score with Schwartz winning for Original Song with “When You Believe.” When Miriam and Zipporah sing the song in the film, the bridge includes excerpts from the “ Song of the Sea.” Stephen Schwartz pens the songs while Hans Zimmer provides the score. It was never going to be a large-scale animated remake of The Ten Commandments. Musically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with this aspect of movie. They make the sea splitting happen quickly. However, it was an all-night affair–per Exodus 14 but you would not realize this from watching any of the films. It’s always fascinating to see how the different films split the Sea of Reeds/Red Sea. Take the splitting of the sea, for instance. That’s one thing about animation, you have a larger canvas to do things that are next to impossible in live-action without a lot of visual effects or building a lot of sets. In terms of animation, the film is solid with beautiful visuals that paint a picture of the era. With a no-go at Disney, Katzenberg would soon see it happen but only after joining with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen to form DreamWorks. No matter how many times he mentioned this to then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner, the answer–like the many requests of Moses to Pharaoh–was always no. While working as Chairman of Walt Disney Studios Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted to do an animated adaptation of the 1956 classic, The Ten Commandments. By all means, see it with the children in your life-and be prepared to discuss it with them afterward.The Prince of Egypt may have beautiful animation and music but in retelling the story of the Exodus, they get part of it wrong.
(After all, the Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years after that, and Moses ultimately is not allowed to enter the Promised Land-perhaps not the uplifting ending the filmmakers had in mind.) Some of the subject matter is dark and disturbing, and there is no shying away from the harsh realities of the original texts. The storytellers wisely chose to end their tale at the climactic crossing of the Red Sea even the delivery of the Ten Commandments is portrayed only in an epilogue vignette. The voice work is especially good-Val Kilmer is fine as Moses, and Pharoah, voiced by Ralph Fiennes, positively seethes with arrogance and hubris. One truly astonishing, harrowing sequence recounts the slaughter of firstborn Hebrew children by bringing hieroglyphic drawings to life on the walls of an Egyptian temple. The action sequences are truly exciting, overall pacing is excellent, and the miracles wrought by God are depicted with awed and respectful wonder. The Biblical story told in the books of Genesis and Exodus is followed very faithfully, with only minor changes made for dramatic reasons. (I do wonder, though, if three soundtrack albums-the film's soundtrack, an "inspirational" album, and a "country" album-were really necessary.) The animation team has accomplished something truly spectacular watching "The Prince of Egypt" is like seeing life breathed into a rich, luxurious tapestry. As with "Antz," released earlier this year, DreamWorks has successfully resisted the temptation to populate this film with characters that can be turned into further revenue through toy sales. With "The Prince of Egypt," DreamWorks makes good on its promise to deliver a state-of-the-art animated film that will compete favorably with the best Disney has to offer. For sheer spectacle, it's tough to beat the Bible.