The Prince of EgyptThere are certain feelings movies can bring out of your typical viewer. I consider myself a typical viewer, only that afterwards I like to go home, sit down, and write how I felt during the film. I like to analyze the things that made me feel that way. Sometimes, however, those feelings aren't expressible. I can't analyze them. The power of those feelings are too overwhelming to express in words. Few films can approach that level, and when one does, there is bound to be a backlash against it. Titanic had that effect on people, and a backlash of immense proportions began. Hopefully, this film will not get that same backlash. It produces those same emotions.
Ever since I was a kid, I've loved animation. It's a beautiful form of expressing a story, but over the years, Disney has had a stranglehold on the market. Studios like Fox and Warner Brothers have tried to release its grip, but to no avail. Don't get me wrong... Disney does some great animated films. But they aren't consistent, varying from classics such as Beauty and the Beast to mediocre such as Pocahontas. And don't get me started on their live-action department, which continuously offers up healthy doses of crap yearly. Now here comes along DreamWorks, which delivers not one, but two great animated features in one year. First is the superior Antz which catered to adults while entertaining children. Now comes along THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, another animated feature film targeted towards adults.
Jeffrey Katzenberg has a dream in mind: create animated features that are designed for adults. With THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, he has succeeded. The only thing that hinders this film from achieving the glory of perfection is the songs that cut into the narrative. While I have no problem with songs in animated films, they seemed mildly out of place in the context of this particular story. Thankfully, they weren't intrusive as to disrupt the tone of the film. In fact, several of them are truly incredible, including "When You Believe," performed by Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky. Many people claim that computer animation is the new age of animated features. Someday, all animation will be performed on computers. If this is true, then our best days of film are behind us. The best animated films are the ones that combine the two, using both mediums to enhance a single film. That is what is used here, and it shows intensely.
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is adapted from the first fourteen chapters of Exodus, dealing with Moses (Val Kilmer) and his challenges to free his people from his brother's cruel treatment. Of course, we have seen this before, most notably the 1956 epic The Ten Commandments from Cecil B. DeMille. And that was my biggest problem prior to seeing the film. Did I really want to see an animated film redoing one of my favorite films of all time? But I decided to see it after hearing some spectacular reviews. And to my amazement, this animated film equals DeMille's film; perhaps not in scope, but in quality and resonance. In some ways, it surpasses DeMille's. It's a more focused story, directing its attention towards the friendship between Moses and his brother Rameses (Ralph Fiennes), rather than just the acts of God.
Opening with a spectacular view of Egypt and the Hebrew slaves working away under strict supervision from guards with whips, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT begins its tale with the slaughtering of the newly born sons of the Hebrews by order of Pharaoh Seti (Patrick Stewart). Yocheved (Ofra Haza), one Hebrew mother, escapes with her children and places her newborn son into a basket and lets him float down the river (the baby's journey is more violent than usually depicted). The baby arrives at the Pharaoh's palace, where the Queen (Helen Mirren) finds him and adopts him. "Rameses, meet your new baby brother... Moses," she exclaims. Rameses and Moses grow up to be best friends, racing through the desert in chariots (a la Ben Hur) and getting each other into trouble.
Soon enough, Moses discovers his real origins when he follows the captured Tzipporah (Michelle Pfeiffer) home. He stumbles upon two Hebrew slaves, Miriam (Sandra Bullock) and Aaron (Jeff Goldblum) gathering water from a well. Miriam excitedly tells Moses that he is their blood brother to which Moses responds with shock and dismay. He runs home and discovers that Miriam was right about his father. Destroyed, he runs away and meets up with a group of free Hebrews, one of whom is Tzipporah. He is accepted into their group by Jethro (Danny Glover), who explains to Moses his purpose in life. Tzipporah and Moses get married (this is about an hour into the film), and Moses gets his first revelation from God.
Of course, the plot can only describe so much. What is so powerful about THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is not just the story, but the emotion expressed underneath the story. Much of it has to do with the powerhouse musical score written by Hans Zimmer and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, which is assured the Oscar for Best Score (of course, I said the same about Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame so who knows?). Filled with angelical choirs and powerful vocal talents featuring Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer (who knew she had such a good voice?), Amick Byram (singing for Moses), Sally Dworsky (Miriam), Ofra Haza (Yocheved), and Brian Stokes Mitchell (Jethro), this score is one of the most impressive I've heard in years. While the songs sometimes come at times they don't seem necessary, they are never unwelcomed. Approaching opera-like grandness, many bring a feeling of importance, such as the aforementioned "When You Believe," which is as spine-tingling as any of Disney's best.
As far as animation goes, Disney has had its fair share of competition, ranging from the poor efforts of Warner Brothers to the very good efforts of Fox (Anastasia). But none has really come close to matching the power of Disney's awe-inspiring animation. Until now. DreamWorks' animation may be the studio's strongest aspect, as we saw previously this year with Antz. Many shots in this film seemed to be not of animation sequences, but of real life scenery. In fact, this is the best looking animated film I have ever seen in my entire life. One glorious scene is absolutely stunning, taking place on the walls of the Pharaoh's palace. The plagues are carefully recreated, not spending too much time on each. The Angel of Death sequence is truly chilling, a masterpiece of sound and visuals blended with a mythical realism. But those scenes all add up to the powerful Red Sea scene which is one of the most emotional in the film. Supposedly, animators spent over 300,000 hours working on that sequence alone, and it shows. The water is very realistic, and one haunting shot shows the silhouette of a whale (or shark) swimming in the sea. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: this is the best looking animated film I have ever seen.
Vocal talent here is top notch, despite a couple miscast characters. Val Kilmer is a perfect choice for Moses (he also provided the voice of God), adding more emotion to the character in one single scene than Charlton Heston did in his entire portrayal. Ralph Fiennes may seem like an odd choice, but he fulfills the character perfectly, and he and Kilmer play off each other wondrously. Michelle Pfeiffer is absolutely incredible, displaying not just a great talent for vocal skills, but for her stunningly gorgeous singing voice (she's a vast improvement over Mariah Carey who sings a rendition of "When You Believe" on the soundtrack). Patrick Stewart is terrific as Pharaoh Seti (although he has a very distinctive voice). The only two questionable casting calls were for Sandra Bullock and Jeff Goldblum, both whom have very distinctive voices and distract somewhat from the film (only somewhat, of course). Steve Martin and Martin Short get paired up again and give their wonderful vocal skills to the film. Danny Glover gives a nice rendition of Jethro, as does Helen Mirren as The Queen and Ofra Haza as Moses' real mother. It's a stunning cast for a stunning film.
Three directors took up the task to directing this grand film. Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells all contribute and surprisingly the outcome is a very comprehensible story. Sometimes a film can be ruined by multiple directors when each have their own vision of what it should be. Philip LaZebnik and Nicholas Meyer have made sure that their screenplay is as close to the Biblical story as possible. However, we are assured at the beginning of the film (perhaps to ebb controversy) that the artists have taken artistic liberties with the film. LaZebnik and Meyer have done an astonishing job creating a film that uses the same subject matter that The Ten Commandments used while coming away wholly original. They accomplish this by focusing on the bond between Moses and Rameses instead of the miracles performed. We get a rich character study instead of a story concerning the wonder of God's miracles. To watch Rameses and Moses struggle with their mixed emotions is fascinating. How could Moses be enemies with his best friend due to God's commands? This internal struggle is portrayed vividly and will have adults looking at the story of Moses in a much different way from now on.
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is rated PG for the intense depiction of thematic elements. Jeffrey Katzenberg has assured adults that animation is not just for kids. With this film, he has created one of the finest motion pictures I have seen this whole year. While younger kids may not enjoy the film because it doesn't have any cute, cuddly characters (thank God) to laugh at, older children might appreciate the wonderful animation and the rich songs. Parents who want to teach their children about the story of Moses may want to show their children The Ten Commandments first, as THE PRINCE OF EGYPT ends without revealing the corruption of the now-free Hebrews. But for sheer emotional impact, this is the better of the two.