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The Prince of Egypt

Rating

Director

Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells

Screenplay

Philip LaZebnik

Length

1h 39m

Starring

Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, Martin Short

MPAA Rating

PG

Basic Plot

An animated motion picture based on the Biblical book of Exodus.

Review

DreamWorks races into the animated chariot race with great fanfare, but a clunky delivery.

The latest production company to attempt to challenge the supremacy of the great Disney Animation Empire fails to capture the crown. For years, the only competition Disney had in the animation field were underwhelming features from Don Bluth (“An American Tale,” “The Land Before Time” and “All Dogs Go To Heaven”) and Universal’s “Charlotte’s Web.”

Recently other production companies have been trying to usurp Disney’s power and while Fox’s “Anastasia” (also a Don Bluth picture) is still the best of the bunch, it barely surpasses Disney in its off years.

Warner Brothers continues to churn out flops: “Quest for Camelot” and the upcoming, unimpressive remake of “The King and I.”

With “The Prince of Egypt,” DreamWorks breaks into the field as well, but lacks serious direction and never lives up to its full potential.

“Prince of Egypt” is little more than a retelling of the classic book of Exodus featuring the struggles between Moses and Ramses over the Hebrews.

The film opens with a less-than-stellar number titled “Deliver Us.” While the images are stirring, the music isn’t terribly great. We find guards rushing through the city streets taking Hebrew children to the slaughter.

In hopes that her son might live, a young Hebrew woman, Yocheved, carries him and a basket down to the river’s edge with the help of her other two children, Miriam and Aaron. She lays him in the basket, puts the lid on and sends him off. Miriam watches the basket along the riverside as it goes through a tumultuous ride down the river through hippos, crocodiles and boatmen’s oars.

The basket arrives safely at the private watering hole of the Queen (Helen Mirren; Linda Dee Shayne singing) who takes the child in, names him Moses and raises him as her own.

Flash forward to adolescent brothers Ramses (Ralph Fiennes) and Moses (Val Kilmer; Amick Byram singing) racing chariots through the streets of the city. Their wild ride causes a great many troubles (The most pathetic is an attempt to explain the missing nose on the Sphinx.) After their mishaps, they are called before their father, Pharaoh Seti’s (Patrick Stewart).

He warns Ramses about being a weak link and chastises him for his failings. Moses convinces Seti to give Ramses more responsibility and perhaps help him mature into a responsible adult.

It is during this time that Moses, who follows a servant girl who he helped escape, discovers that he is not who he thought he was. Aaron (Jeff Goldblum) tries to stop his sister, but cannot. Miriam (Sandra Bullock; Sally Dworsky singing) tries to convince him by singing a beautiful and haunting lullaby his mother sang as she sent him away in the basket. Moses realizes the truth and flees to the palace to confirm it. In the drawings upon the walls, he is confirmed.

It is at this point that the film’s most stirring visuals can be seen. The drawings on the wall come to vivid life and remain two-dimensional throughout the sequence.

He flees the palace after murdering an Egyptian slave driver that has been whipping a defenseless Hebrew. He arrives at a small desert encampment where his rescuee, Tzipporah (Michelle Pfeiffer), lives. He is invited to stay by the patriarch of the camp, Jethro, who suggests Moses look at the greater picture, not just the one before his eyes. After a few years in the encampment, he stumbles upon a burning bush where he discovers his faith.

He returns to Egypt with Tzipporah at his side and attempts to convince his brother, now pharaoh, to let the Hebrews go. His first attempt to convince Ramses is turning his rod into a snake. Ramses has his high priests, Hotep (Steve Martin) and Huy (Martin Short), display a little of their own brand of magic. We are treated to the delightful musical number “Playing with the Big Boys,” one of the best songs in the film.

Ramses refuses to grant him what he desires and he leaves in despair. He is then inspired to continue and brings about seven plagues on the land of Egypt, after which Ramses decides to let the Hebrews go.

By this time, the film has picked up sufficient pace and carries it through to the end. Moses parts the Red Sea, the Hebrews cross and the Egyptians are caught in the tide and drowned. We see the Ten Commandments only briefly at the end, but realize that it’s “The Ten Commandments” that is easily the better film.

The music in the film is terrific at times and merely suitable at others. The voice-over work is gifted, but the characterizations given by the animators seem a bit too unrealistic. The story doesn’t follow the source material faithfully enough to be as intriguing as it should be.

The film takes an hour to get to anything extremely interesting and then ends with a questionable conclusion, leaving the viewer desperately wanting more parts of the story.

Dramatic pacing is off in the beginning and at times near the end. The film lacks a certain visual elegance that is necessary for success. “The Prince of Egypt” is a desperate attempt to capture the Disney magic. Children should easily enjoy the film, but adults may find the compacted story discouraging and uninteresting.

“Prince of Egypt” is a failure in major areas, but is breathtaking in others. It is a good start for DreamWorks, but they’ll have to try harder to eclipse the Mouse House.

Awards Prospects

Nominations for Original Comedy/Musical Score and Original Song for the Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey duet “When You Believe” are assured. The best song in the film will probably be ignored: “Playing with the Big Boys.”

Review Written

December 26, 1998