Don't let this movie go
"The Prince of Egypt"
Overall Rating: ***½
"The Prince of Egypt" faces a serious problem; as one radio commentator put it, "Moses action figures will be a tough sell." To a certain extent, he was right. Most biblical epics are extremely serious; biblical miracles lend themselves to grand special effects and exciting cinema--but are, perhaps, too cerebral for children. "The Prince of Egypt," however, is an animated film. Though older kids will almost certainly enjoy it, I'm not sure it's fair to call it a children's movie.
On the whole, the story stays surprisingly true to the Bible; though from the promotions for the movie, you'd never know it. The really big difference, however, is central to the movie; "Exodus" says little about Moses' upbringing; only that he was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter (the movie implies that the character is his wife, but doesn't say explicitly). "The Prince of Egypt" goes further; in the movie, Pharaoh's son Rameses (sic) and Moses (voices of Ralph Fiennes and Val Kilmer respectively) are raised as brothers. Tensions arise when Moses learns the truth from his natural sister Miriam (Sandra Bullock). After Moses kills an overseer for brutally beating a Hebrew slave, he flees Egypt. Later, when God commands him to return to Egypt to free his people, he must confront his stepbrother, now on the throne.
"The Prince of Egypt" has some pretty spectacular animation. Egypt looks grandiose in this movie, and the biblical miracles portrayed in the second half of the movie are also spectacular. It's not all overwhelming. The hieroglyphic dream sequence is clever, and baby Moses is extremely cute. Further, the movie refrains from the vice of inappropriate singing animals and objects. In "Bambi," it may be appropriate; but previews of dancing gargoyles kept me away from the Disney's recent "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." In "The Prince of Egypt" a few camels slobber here and there, but, thankfully, they don't sing.
Not that the songs are bad. On the whole, they're just fine. The two highlights are the Egyptian clerics' number "Playing with the Big Boys" and Moses' natural mother's last lullaby. The voice performances of the various actors are also good. Ralph Fiennes and Val Kilmer are both very good in their roles; the all-star supporting cast (which includes Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Patrick Stewart as the pharaoh Seti, Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah, Danny Glover as Jethro, and Steve Martin and Martin Short as the clerics Hotep and Huy) makesthe show.
In terms of story, "The Prince of Egypt" is very well executed. There are some good light moments early on--Rameses' and Moses' jocular chariot race is very enjoyable. Even better, the emotional impact is quite strong when Moses must return to face Rameses and demand that his stepbrother free the Hebrews.
"The Prince of Egypt" does have a serious flaw. The film sends some mixed messages on responsibility; Moses takes the blame for damage caused during the chariot race, claiming that he goaded Rameses on--which is true--and subsequently, he admits that he was closing his eyes to the plight of the Hebrews, and takes responsibility for leading their Exodus. While he does make some good statements about responsibility, he also sets up Rameses to be blamed for a prank he plays (though Rameses joins in), and after that, flees when he kills the overseer. I should mention the situation with the overseer is further complicated by the facts that Rameses pardons him legally, that the episode is biblical (though somewhat reworked), and that what is portrayed may have been an accident, rather than murder. All told, however, the message on responsibility is a bit muddled.
Additionally, pharaoh's massacre and the plagues God brings on Egypt might be too intense for some children, especially younger ones. The deaths aren't portrayed in a gory manner, the impact is primarily emotional, and the biblical origin may be a mitigating factor. Still, it's clear that children die, and we do see a couple of dead bodies. I'd be concerned that some young children may find this extremely frightening--though I don't imagine older children would have any problems.
All said, "The Prince of Egypt" is a good show. Maybe I'm misreading its target audience, but it seems to have more for adults than children, but I think older children will get plenty out of it. In the end, "The Prince of Egypt" is not a plague, but rather a movie fit for a pharaoh.
Title: The Prince of Egypt
Release date: December 18, 1998
MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ***½
Aprox. run time: 99 min.
Directors: Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells
Stars: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Pr_Egypt.htm
Added to blog site: 8/4/09
Overall Rating: ***½
"The Prince of Egypt" faces a serious problem; as one radio commentator put it, "Moses action figures will be a tough sell." To a certain extent, he was right. Most biblical epics are extremely serious; biblical miracles lend themselves to grand special effects and exciting cinema--but are, perhaps, too cerebral for children. "The Prince of Egypt," however, is an animated film. Though older kids will almost certainly enjoy it, I'm not sure it's fair to call it a children's movie.
On the whole, the story stays surprisingly true to the Bible; though from the promotions for the movie, you'd never know it. The really big difference, however, is central to the movie; "Exodus" says little about Moses' upbringing; only that he was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter (the movie implies that the character is his wife, but doesn't say explicitly). "The Prince of Egypt" goes further; in the movie, Pharaoh's son Rameses (sic) and Moses (voices of Ralph Fiennes and Val Kilmer respectively) are raised as brothers. Tensions arise when Moses learns the truth from his natural sister Miriam (Sandra Bullock). After Moses kills an overseer for brutally beating a Hebrew slave, he flees Egypt. Later, when God commands him to return to Egypt to free his people, he must confront his stepbrother, now on the throne.
"The Prince of Egypt" has some pretty spectacular animation. Egypt looks grandiose in this movie, and the biblical miracles portrayed in the second half of the movie are also spectacular. It's not all overwhelming. The hieroglyphic dream sequence is clever, and baby Moses is extremely cute. Further, the movie refrains from the vice of inappropriate singing animals and objects. In "Bambi," it may be appropriate; but previews of dancing gargoyles kept me away from the Disney's recent "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." In "The Prince of Egypt" a few camels slobber here and there, but, thankfully, they don't sing.
Not that the songs are bad. On the whole, they're just fine. The two highlights are the Egyptian clerics' number "Playing with the Big Boys" and Moses' natural mother's last lullaby. The voice performances of the various actors are also good. Ralph Fiennes and Val Kilmer are both very good in their roles; the all-star supporting cast (which includes Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Patrick Stewart as the pharaoh Seti, Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah, Danny Glover as Jethro, and Steve Martin and Martin Short as the clerics Hotep and Huy) makesthe show.
In terms of story, "The Prince of Egypt" is very well executed. There are some good light moments early on--Rameses' and Moses' jocular chariot race is very enjoyable. Even better, the emotional impact is quite strong when Moses must return to face Rameses and demand that his stepbrother free the Hebrews.
"The Prince of Egypt" does have a serious flaw. The film sends some mixed messages on responsibility; Moses takes the blame for damage caused during the chariot race, claiming that he goaded Rameses on--which is true--and subsequently, he admits that he was closing his eyes to the plight of the Hebrews, and takes responsibility for leading their Exodus. While he does make some good statements about responsibility, he also sets up Rameses to be blamed for a prank he plays (though Rameses joins in), and after that, flees when he kills the overseer. I should mention the situation with the overseer is further complicated by the facts that Rameses pardons him legally, that the episode is biblical (though somewhat reworked), and that what is portrayed may have been an accident, rather than murder. All told, however, the message on responsibility is a bit muddled.
Additionally, pharaoh's massacre and the plagues God brings on Egypt might be too intense for some children, especially younger ones. The deaths aren't portrayed in a gory manner, the impact is primarily emotional, and the biblical origin may be a mitigating factor. Still, it's clear that children die, and we do see a couple of dead bodies. I'd be concerned that some young children may find this extremely frightening--though I don't imagine older children would have any problems.
All said, "The Prince of Egypt" is a good show. Maybe I'm misreading its target audience, but it seems to have more for adults than children, but I think older children will get plenty out of it. In the end, "The Prince of Egypt" is not a plague, but rather a movie fit for a pharaoh.
Title: The Prince of Egypt
Release date: December 18, 1998
MPAA rating: PG
Overall rating: ***½
Aprox. run time: 99 min.
Directors: Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells
Stars: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Pr_Egypt.htm
Added to blog site: 8/4/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 12/20/1998 01:56:00 AM
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