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Description
"Let my people go!"

Lets continue our DreamWorks marathon with the story of a man who was raised by royalty only to become a prophet who would lead his people to a new and better life; The Prince of Egypt.

In Ancient Egypt, the enslaved Hebrew people pray to God for deliverance. Pharaoh Seti, fearing that the growing numbers of Hebrew slaves could lead to rebellion, orders a mass infanticide of all newborn Hebrew boys.
Fearing for her newborn son's safety, Yocheved and her other two children, Miriam and Aaron, rush to the Nile River, where she places the infant in a basket on the water, after bidding him farewell with a final lullaby.
Miriam follows the basket as it sails to the Pharaoh's palace and witnesses her baby brother safely adopted by Seti's wife, Queen Tuya, who names him Moses. Before leaving, Miriam prays that Moses will come back to them and set their people free.
Years later, Moses and his adoptive brother Rameses, heir to the throne of Egypt, are scolded by Seti for accidentally destroying a temple during a chariot race.
At Moses's suggestion to give Rameses the opportunity to prove his responsibility, Seti names Rameses Prince Regent and gives him authority over Egypt's temples. As a tribute, high priests Hotep and Huy offer Rameses a beautiful young Midianite woman, Tzipporah. Rameses gives Tzipporah to Moses and appoints him Royal Chief Architect.
Later that night, Moses follows Tzipporah as she escapes from the palace, and runs into the now-adult Miriam and Aaron, whom he does not recognize. Miriam then sings their mother's lullaby, triggering Moses's memory.
He flees in denial, but learns the truth of Seti's genocide from a nightmare, then from Seti himself, who disturbs Moses by claiming the Hebrews were "only slaves".
The next day, Moses tries to stop an Egyptian slave driver from whipping an elderly Hebrew slave, accidentally pushing the guard to his death. Horrified and ashamed, Moses flees into the desert in exile, despite Rameses's pleas that he stay.
Arriving at an oasis, Moses defends three young girls from brigands, only to find out their older sister is Tzipporah. Moses is welcomed by Jethro, Tzipporah's father and the high priest of Midian.
Over time, Moses becomes a shepherd, falls in love with Tzipporah, and marries her.
One day, while chasing a stray lamb, Moses discovers a burning bush, through which God tells him to return to Egypt and guide the Hebrews to freedom. God bestows Moses's shepherding staff with his power and promises that he will tell Moses what to say.
Arriving in Egypt, Moses is happily greeted by Rameses, who is now Pharaoh with a wife and son. Moses requests the Hebrews' release and transforms his staff into a snake to demonstrate God's power. Hotep and Huy deceptively recreate this transformation, only to have their snakes eaten by Moses's.
Not wanting to have his actions cause the empire's collapse, Rameses hardens and doubles the Hebrews' workload. The Hebrews, including Aaron, blame Moses for their increased workload, disheartening Moses. However, Miriam inspires Moses to persevere.
Moses casts the first of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, turning the water of the Nile into blood, but Rameses remains unmoved. Moses inflicts eight more plagues onto Egypt, but still Rameses refuses to relent, vowing never to release the Hebrews.
Disheartened, Moses prepares the Hebrews for the tenth and final plague, instructing them to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. That night, the final plague kills all the firstborn children of Egypt, including Rameses's son, while sparing those of the Hebrews. Grief-stricken, Rameses gives the Hebrews permission to leave.
The following morning, the Hebrews, led by Moses, Miriam, Aaron and Tzipporah, leave Egypt. At the Red Sea, they discover that a vengeful Rameses is pursuing them with his army, intent on killing them.
Will Moses and the Hebrews be able to escape Rameses' wrath and reach their promised land?

The story is amazingly well written as while it does take many creative liberties with the story of Moses, they are brilliantly well done and the plot does keep the spirit and drama of the original story, the tone is very balanced as it's both lighthearted and pretty dark at the appropriate moments, the drama and heart are very strong, there's good level of suspense and intensity, the comedy is decently funny, and on top of that, the story is mainly a tragedy as it focuses on the strained brotherhood between Moses and Rameses, and those aspects really do hold the film together.
The drama and heart of the movie are incredibly strong as it does lead to some very dramatic, heartfelt, and powerful moments such as Yocheved saying goodbye to Moses, Moses reconnecting with Miriam and Aaron, his romance with Tzipporah, his mission and sacrifices he makes, the misery of the slaves, Moses speaking with God, the Plagues impacting Egypt, especially the final one, the parting of the Red Sea, and of course Moses character arc throughout he movie and his very strained relationship with Rameses.
The movie also has some pretty suspenseful and very intense scenes such as the basket going through the river, Moses' nightmare, Moses running away after killing the slave driver, some of the plagues like the water turning to blood and the montage, and Rameses chasing after Moses and the slaves with the intent of killing them.
The humor is decently well handled and this does lead to some decently funny moments that do manage to get a decent laugh such as some of the witty banter and dialogue between the characters, and some of the gags. The thing is that the humor is pretty much restricted to the first half of the movie, and once it gets to the "Through Heaven's Eyes" number, it's pretty much all straight-forward and serious from there.
The animation is absolutely spectacular as while it is mainly hand drawn, it also mixes in some CGI, and the two mediums blend together very well such as the characters all having stellar designs that are accompanies by some very fluid and lively movements, the backgrounds are beautifully well drawn, colored, and enhanced via the CGI while also having an incredible amount of details, and the effects are amazing such as the water, the sand, the lighting, the plagues, the pillar of fire, the burning bush and God's peaceful blue fire, and the parting of the Red Sea.
The characters are all incredibly well written as they have an amazing amount of chemistry, dynamics, and especially growth and development.
Moses is an incredible protagonist as not only is he well written and very likable thanks to his caring and stern personality, but he also has a very strong arc throughout the film as he grows from a reckless and fun-loving man without a care in the world to a very stern and determined leader with a very strong and caring heart.
The supporting characters are also very likable and well written as they do play an integral part of the story whether it's major or minor such as the strong-minded and snarky Tzipporah, the kindhearted and loving Miriam, the awkward but also supportive Aaron, the fatherly and bombastic Jethro, the stern and intimidating Seti, the caring Tuya, the conniving and sneaky Hotep and Huy, and more.
Rameses is a very solid and well written villain as while he does want to live up to his father's legacy, it comes at the cost of the lives and well-being of the Hebrews thanks to his ruthlessness and tyranny, which only comes back to bite him in the ass when he refuses to let them leave. And when it's clear that Moses' return is to free the Hebrews and not to be brothers again, he becomes very stubborn and vengeful to the point of wanting to kill him and the Hebrews, even though it does really pain him inside that it's come to that point.
The voice acting is amazingly well done and leads to some very solid performances such as Val Kilmer as Moses and God, Ralph Fiennes as Rameses, Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah, Sandra Bullock as Miriam, Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Danny Glover as Jethro, Patrick Stewart as Seti, Helen Mirren as Tuya, Steve Martin as Hotep, Martin Short as Huy, and more.
The music and songs are just incredibly as both the score by Hans Zimmer is beautifully well composed and really does capture the movie's dramatic and uplifting tone, and the songs by Stephen Schwartz are spectacular well written and performed, and just sound very epic and eventful such as the dramatic "Deliver Us", the conflicting "All I Ever Wanted", the uplifting "Through Heaven's Eyes", the sinister "Playing With the Big Boys", the epic "The Plagues", and the hopeful "When You Believe" which ended up winning an Oscar.

Overall, This is a very stunning and beautiful animated marvel that truly captures the spirit of the original story, and is hands down the best biblical animated feature, and honestly even better than the more famous "The Ten Commandments".
Also, the movie is starting to get more of a following, but still isn't quite out of the realm of underrated and overlooked.
It's not just one of my favorite DreamWorks films, but it's also one of my favorite animated films, and one of my favorite films period.

Cast:
Val Kilmer as Moses, God.
Amick Byram as Moses's singing voice.
Ralph Fiennes as Rameses
Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah
Sandra Bullock as Miriam
Sally Dworsky as Miriam's singing voice.
Eden Riegel as Young Miriam.
Jeff Goldblum as Aaron
Danny Glover as Jethro
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Jethro's singing voice.
Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti
Helen Mirren as Queen Tuya
Linda Dee Shayne as Tuya's singing voice.
Steve Martin as Hotep
Martin Short as Huy
Ofra Haza as Yocheved
Bobby Motown as Amun
Francesca Marie Smith as Ephorah
Stephanie Sawyer as Ajolidoforah
Aria Noelle Curzon as Jethrodiadah
Anne Lockhart as Hebrew Woman
James Avery as Overseer

Crew:
Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells
Written by Philip LaZebnik
Produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Penney Finkelman Cox, and Sandra Rabins
Music and Songs by Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz

Misc.
Based on the Book of Exodus
Production companies: DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
Release date: December 18, 1998
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Description
"Let my people go!"

Lets continue our DreamWorks marathon with the story of a man who was raised by royalty only to become a prophet who would lead his people to a new and better life; The Prince of Egypt.

In Ancient Egypt, the enslaved Hebrew people pray to God for deliverance. Pharaoh Seti, fearing that the growing numbers of Hebrew slaves could lead to rebellion, orders a mass infanticide of all newborn Hebrew boys.
Fearing for her newborn son's safety, Yocheved and her other two children, Miriam and Aaron, rush to the Nile River, where she places the infant in a basket on the water, after bidding him farewell with a final lullaby.
Miriam follows the basket as it sails to the Pharaoh's palace and witnesses her baby brother safely adopted by Seti's wife, Queen Tuya, who names him Moses. Before leaving, Miriam prays that Moses will come back to them and set their people free.
Years later, Moses and his adoptive brother Rameses, heir to the throne of Egypt, are scolded by Seti for accidentally destroying a temple during a chariot race.
At Moses's suggestion to give Rameses the opportunity to prove his responsibility, Seti names Rameses Prince Regent and gives him authority over Egypt's temples. As a tribute, high priests Hotep and Huy offer Rameses a beautiful young Midianite woman, Tzipporah. Rameses gives Tzipporah to Moses and appoints him Royal Chief Architect.
Later that night, Moses follows Tzipporah as she escapes from the palace, and runs into the now-adult Miriam and Aaron, whom he does not recognize. Miriam then sings their mother's lullaby, triggering Moses's memory.
He flees in denial, but learns the truth of Seti's genocide from a nightmare, then from Seti himself, who disturbs Moses by claiming the Hebrews were "only slaves".
The next day, Moses tries to stop an Egyptian slave driver from whipping an elderly Hebrew slave, accidentally pushing the guard to his death. Horrified and ashamed, Moses flees into the desert in exile, despite Rameses's pleas that he stay.
Arriving at an oasis, Moses defends three young girls from brigands, only to find out their older sister is Tzipporah. Moses is welcomed by Jethro, Tzipporah's father and the high priest of Midian.
Over time, Moses becomes a shepherd, falls in love with Tzipporah, and marries her.
One day, while chasing a stray lamb, Moses discovers a burning bush, through which God tells him to return to Egypt and guide the Hebrews to freedom. God bestows Moses's shepherding staff with his power and promises that he will tell Moses what to say.
Arriving in Egypt, Moses is happily greeted by Rameses, who is now Pharaoh with a wife and son. Moses requests the Hebrews' release and transforms his staff into a snake to demonstrate God's power. Hotep and Huy deceptively recreate this transformation, only to have their snakes eaten by Moses's.
Not wanting to have his actions cause the empire's collapse, Rameses hardens and doubles the Hebrews' workload. The Hebrews, including Aaron, blame Moses for their increased workload, disheartening Moses. However, Miriam inspires Moses to persevere.
Moses casts the first of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, turning the water of the Nile into blood, but Rameses remains unmoved. Moses inflicts eight more plagues onto Egypt, but still Rameses refuses to relent, vowing never to release the Hebrews.
Disheartened, Moses prepares the Hebrews for the tenth and final plague, instructing them to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. That night, the final plague kills all the firstborn children of Egypt, including Rameses's son, while sparing those of the Hebrews. Grief-stricken, Rameses gives the Hebrews permission to leave.
The following morning, the Hebrews, led by Moses, Miriam, Aaron and Tzipporah, leave Egypt. At the Red Sea, they discover that a vengeful Rameses is pursuing them with his army, intent on killing them.
Will Moses and the Hebrews be able to escape Rameses' wrath and reach their promised land?

The story is amazingly well written as while it does take many creative liberties with the story of Moses, they are brilliantly well done and the plot does keep the spirit and drama of the original story, the tone is very balanced as it's both lighthearted and pretty dark at the appropriate moments, the drama and heart are very strong, there's good level of suspense and intensity, the comedy is decently funny, and on top of that, the story is mainly a tragedy as it focuses on the strained brotherhood between Moses and Rameses, and those aspects really do hold the film together.
The drama and heart of the movie are incredibly strong as it does lead to some very dramatic, heartfelt, and powerful moments such as Yocheved saying goodbye to Moses, Moses reconnecting with Miriam and Aaron, his romance with Tzipporah, his mission and sacrifices he makes, the misery of the slaves, Moses speaking with God, the Plagues impacting Egypt, especially the final one, the parting of the Red Sea, and of course Moses character arc throughout he movie and his very strained relationship with Rameses.
The movie also has some pretty suspenseful and very intense scenes such as the basket going through the river, Moses' nightmare, Moses running away after killing the slave driver, some of the plagues like the water turning to blood and the montage, and Rameses chasing after Moses and the slaves with the intent of killing them.
The humor is decently well handled and this does lead to some decently funny moments that do manage to get a decent laugh such as some of the witty banter and dialogue between the characters, and some of the gags. The thing is that the humor is pretty much restricted to the first half of the movie, and once it gets to the "Through Heaven's Eyes" number, it's pretty much all straight-forward and serious from there.
The animation is absolutely spectacular as while it is mainly hand drawn, it also mixes in some CGI, and the two mediums blend together very well such as the characters all having stellar designs that are accompanies by some very fluid and lively movements, the backgrounds are beautifully well drawn, colored, and enhanced via the CGI while also having an incredible amount of details, and the effects are amazing such as the water, the sand, the lighting, the plagues, the pillar of fire, the burning bush and God's peaceful blue fire, and the parting of the Red Sea.
The characters are all incredibly well written as they have an amazing amount of chemistry, dynamics, and especially growth and development.
Moses is an incredible protagonist as not only is he well written and very likable thanks to his caring and stern personality, but he also has a very strong arc throughout the film as he grows from a reckless and fun-loving man without a care in the world to a very stern and determined leader with a very strong and caring heart.
The supporting characters are also very likable and well written as they do play an integral part of the story whether it's major or minor such as the strong-minded and snarky Tzipporah, the kindhearted and loving Miriam, the awkward but also supportive Aaron, the fatherly and bombastic Jethro, the stern and intimidating Seti, the caring Tuya, the conniving and sneaky Hotep and Huy, and more.
Rameses is a very solid and well written villain as while he does want to live up to his father's legacy, it comes at the cost of the lives and well-being of the Hebrews thanks to his ruthlessness and tyranny, which only comes back to bite him in the ass when he refuses to let them leave. And when it's clear that Moses' return is to free the Hebrews and not to be brothers again, he becomes very stubborn and vengeful to the point of wanting to kill him and the Hebrews, even though it does really pain him inside that it's come to that point.
The voice acting is amazingly well done and leads to some very solid performances such as Val Kilmer as Moses and God, Ralph Fiennes as Rameses, Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah, Sandra Bullock as Miriam, Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Danny Glover as Jethro, Patrick Stewart as Seti, Helen Mirren as Tuya, Steve Martin as Hotep, Martin Short as Huy, and more.
The music and songs are just incredibly as both the score by Hans Zimmer is beautifully well composed and really does capture the movie's dramatic and uplifting tone, and the songs by Stephen Schwartz are spectacular well written and performed, and just sound very epic and eventful such as the dramatic "Deliver Us", the conflicting "All I Ever Wanted", the uplifting "Through Heaven's Eyes", the sinister "Playing With the Big Boys", the epic "The Plagues", and the hopeful "When You Believe" which ended up winning an Oscar.

Overall, This is a very stunning and beautiful animated marvel that truly captures the spirit of the original story, and is hands down the best biblical animated feature, and honestly even better than the more famous "The Ten Commandments".
Also, the movie is starting to get more of a following, but still isn't quite out of the realm of underrated and overlooked.
It's not just one of my favorite DreamWorks films, but it's also one of my favorite animated films, and one of my favorite films period.

Cast:
Val Kilmer as Moses, God.
Amick Byram as Moses's singing voice.
Ralph Fiennes as Rameses
Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah
Sandra Bullock as Miriam
Sally Dworsky as Miriam's singing voice.
Eden Riegel as Young Miriam.
Jeff Goldblum as Aaron
Danny Glover as Jethro
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Jethro's singing voice.
Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti
Helen Mirren as Queen Tuya
Linda Dee Shayne as Tuya's singing voice.
Steve Martin as Hotep
Martin Short as Huy
Ofra Haza as Yocheved
Bobby Motown as Amun
Francesca Marie Smith as Ephorah
Stephanie Sawyer as Ajolidoforah
Aria Noelle Curzon as Jethrodiadah
Anne Lockhart as Hebrew Woman
James Avery as Overseer

Crew:
Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells
Written by Philip LaZebnik
Produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Penney Finkelman Cox, and Sandra Rabins
Music and Songs by Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz

Misc.
Based on the Book of Exodus
Production companies: DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by DreamWorks Pictures
Release date: December 18, 1998
Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes