THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (U)
Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner & Simon Wells

Film Review by Malcolm E. Wright

This feature-length cartoon takes the Exodus story from the Bible and gives it the Disney treatment. Although that sounds like an insult, one can’t help but be moved by the story of Moses and how he was abandoned in a basket on the river Nile to escape the legalised child-killing of the Egyptian rulers; how he was found by the Egyptian queen and brought up as one of her own. She regarded him as a gift from the gods. Moses is always getting his ‘brother’ Rameses into trouble, but they are very close. Later, Moses discovers his true origins - that he is not of royal blood at all, but a member of the class of slaves. Fitting comfortably into neither camp, he feels rootless and wanders the desert, where he sees a vision in a ‘burning bush’ and discovers his destiny - to liberate his people from their shackles.

Being the adopted brother of Rameses gives Moses a lot of influence and protects him at first from the cruelty of the regime. However, Rameses has no wish to be the ‘weak link’ in the chain of despotism and will not change from the traditional ways. Moses urges Rameses to ‘let my people go’ but it is only after Egypt is visited by plague and pestilence that Rameses relents long enough for Moses to march his people to the coast, where famously he parts the waters of the Red Sea, so that they might leave Egypt. Rameses changes his mind and his soldiers pursue Moses to the Red Sea. Rameses makes the mistake of trusting someone else’s God and his army is drowned when the sea assumes its normal shape.

The miraculous explanation for these events is easily assimilated into the cartoon format. For instance, the plague visited upon Egypt appears out of what looks like a worm-hole in space (a la Star Trek/Babylon 5). Whatever you feel about Christianity - whether you believe all of it, some of it, or none of it - the Exodus story is a very powerful one, for which the creators of The Prince of Egypt can claim no credit. I’d be hard put to find another story quite as powerful as this one in the Bible. Aside from the story, the film also benefits from some very fine drawing. Years of work by hundreds of people have gone into the making of this film. The songs by Stephen Schwartz, while not the best ever, are uplifting. Some of the words are in Hebrew, which gives it an authentic ‘ethnic’ feel. Some very good actors have supplied the voices. There is Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek - the Next Generation fame), Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, The Fly etc) to name just a few. This is a film I can thoroughly recommend. My two-and-a-half year old son sat quietly entranced throughout, so it must be good! A film for children of all ages, as they say, and indeed for all Ages!

Rating: Very good.