The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Touches You

So much average

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

When it comes to talking about DreamWorks films, most people tend to think of the 3D-animated film franchises, like How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda. And while I do think those are good film franchises as well (I personally adore both HTTYD films and regard them as excellent films as well), I do not think any of them reach the level of DreamWorks' 2D-animated film, one of their first films, The Prince of Egypt.I think this is an underrated masterpiece, and is absolutely my all-time favorite animated movie. I'll even go to say it's one of my favorite films of all time.I cannot find a single element of the film that is less than stellar.The animation is gorgeous. Dare I say it's some of the best 2D animation I've ever seen.The voice acting is phenomenal on all fronts. Even some actors that could have potentially been distracting, like Steve Martin and Martin Short as the two Egyptian priests, work very well.The characters are all identifiable and complex. Moses and his family are all likable and charismatic. Even the villain, Rhamses II (voiced by the wonderful Ralph Fiennes) is very sympathetic and is one of my favorite interpretations of the famous character.The story (based on the Book of Exodus) is adapted beautifully. I have read the story of Exodus many times, and while there are changes and creative leaps to the story, they are inserted into places that the Bible does not touch on. What I mean by this is that there are things added in that are in places that the Bible skips over, and I think this is brilliant.The music is undoubtedly phenomenal. The burning bush scene where God speaks to Moses (one of my favorite movie moments of all time) has one of the most soothing, lovely melodies I've heard in my life.One more thing to add: I did not grow up with this film, and I still cannot recommend it more. Honestly, I never even heard about it until my mid teen years.Of course, the rating is an 10/10 from me. If you haven't seen the movie, go see it as soon as you can.

First off, if you didn't already know, the movie is based on the story of Moses from the book of Exodus. This might seem like heavy stuff for an animated movie, but I think it's handled well; the writing ensures darker implications of the story aren't skimped out on to make it more child-friendly but the movie still managed to rein enough in to make it so even young children can access the message in the story. I think there needed to be a little more fleshing out of Moses and his childhood and some downtime with the protagonists to slow down the (in my opinion) very quick pace of the movie and let the movie breathe a bit, but on the whole the story hits all the key points and takes itself seriously (particularly in its dramatic flair), which might be for the best since it proclaims itself as a respectful and accurate recount of the story of Moses.Now in terms of visuals and animation, this movie looks really good even by today's standards. For me it was the greatest achievement of the movie; the movie looked like a mix between beautiful hand-drawn and painterly style with a little bit of CGI thrown in and I have great respect for those who worked on it. If you have a problem with the movie, it will definitely not be the animation because it is really, really outstanding and the attention to detail put into the animation really helps sell the characters and story.Another aspect that the movie shined in was the soundtrack - it was phenomenal. This movie has one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a long time, with the fantastic art and animation, the music goes a long way in helping you connect with the characters in the relatively short time they have on-screen.The movie is definitely worth watching, the dramatic story, masterful animation and moving soundtrack all ensure that but the one shortfall that the movie suffers is that far too many things are brushed over; years are skipped over, significant events happen in quick succession before you have time to digest their consequences and there isn't enough quieter moments to disperse the high emotion, energetic scenes. Still... I recommend it, it's a good watch.

This is a great family film and not just for Christians. It has great animation for the time it was made and amazing music!

This is easily one of my favorite American non-Disney movies, and by far the best Dreamworks movie along with How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2. Everything is good in this movie. The animation is nicely drawn with the right amount of brightness and darkness at the right times. The story is moving and well told. The voices of Ralph Fiennes (Ramses) and Val Kilmer (Moses) are superb! Especially Fiennes. While not being in the movie, I also liked Patrick Stewart as Seti.But without a doubt! Hans Zimmer's musical score is amazing and haunting right from the start. "Deliver Us" is still my favorite along with "Through Heaven's Eyes". "When You believe" is also a beautiful song, but not a personal favorite. The scene in which Moses leads his people through the red sea is still one of the most epic scenes in any animated movie! I get blown away every time I see it. Honestly, I am a little shocked about the low user rating compared to Shrek, which I think is overrated. Go watch The Prince of Egypt and experience some truly amazing and timeless movie magic!