THE PRINCE OF EGYPT Reviewed by Luke Buckmaster
Featuring the voices of: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, Martin Short Directors: Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells Australian theatrical release: December 26, 1998
On the Buckmaster scale of 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 4 stars
Perhaps for the first time in Hollywood history, Dreamworks has made the seemingly impossible: an adult animated musical. Anyone who says that The Prince of Egypt is not a rare find is either an extreme pessimist or a Disney employee; this film is a breakthrough for animation, in terms of writing and conveying a potentially controversial screenplay and creating breath taking visuals.
In fact, Dreamworks went to great measures to make sure that The Prince of Egypt would not be a victim of religious criticism for not following the book of Exodus accurately. Drafts of the script were approved by religious leaders, and there is even text before the film explaining that "artistic license" must be taken into account. Quite miraculously, for a story based on Christian text, The Prince of Egypt does not preach, bore or intimidate. Against all odds, this is the best animated film of 1998, and one of my personal favorites of the last few years (ranking with The Hunchback of Notre Damn and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm).
The highlight of Prince of Egypt is the dynamic chemistry between its two crucial characters; men who are brothers in their hearts but have very different futures ahead of them. One is Rameses (voice of Ralph Fiennes), the son of Pharaoh (Patrick Stewart), who was born destined to rule Egypt. The other is Moses (Val Kilmer), who was adopted by the Pharaoh's wife after he was found floating down a river as a baby, in the time that Pharaoh ordered all Hebrew infants to be killed. By the time that Moses realizes that he is a Hebrew - the same people who are slaves to Pharaoh - he is a young man and is chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery.
That's quite a story for a "family film" to handle. In my Babe: Pig in the City review I stated that some scenes would be distressing for children to watch, and it seems only fair that I issue a similar warning in regards to The Prince of Egypt. This film depicts the harassment of the Hebrew people openly and vividly, but whereas Babe often seemed like nothing more than a freak show, The Prince of Egypt is honest about its setting and doesn't pretend that everything is harmless and innocent. As Moses battles Rameses for the Hebrew's freedom towards the film's conclusion, we can understand what he is fighting for and at the same time what he is missing out on - the life of a prince compared to the life of a true leader.
Visually, The Prince of Egypt is a triumph. Just as Antz and A Bug's Life had unique styles of animation, so does this. Some moments of the film go beyond just being visually impressive; they are enchanting and sensational. These scenes include Moses' encounter with God (in the form of a burning bush) and the parting of the Red Sea (which alone took animators over two years of work to complete). However terrific the visuals may be, though, is nothing compared to the potency of the screenplay. I haven't been this impressed by a script since The Truman Show, and this mesmerized by visuals since What Dreams May Come.
Whilst there are (thankfully) no singing animals in The Prince of Egypt, it is very much a musical. If you can imagine a biblical story brought to life with the power of, say, Les Miserables, you may have a reasonable idea of what this is like. Some of the featured songs are powerful and moving - such as "Deliver Us," which is performed Ofra Haza and Eden Riegel, and "When You Believe," performed by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. These songs are great, and help make the film accessible for all ages.
I can honestly say that while watching The Prince of Egypt, I never really noticed the talented array of voices until I looked at the credits. Val Kilmer and Ralph Fiennes are sensational in the two hardest parts, but everybody is impressive. This is the first animated film I have seen in which I not only forgot about its voices, I often forgot that it was animated. Which is strange, since the color and life that the animation generates is unlike anything that a live action film could create. As impressive as The Ten Commandments was, The Prince of Egypt is both an epic and a spectacle, packaged as a mainstream and accessible film by musical numbers and illustrious animation. This is cinema in its grandest form, combining an aged but unforgettable tale with breath-taking visual techniques.
Email bucky@alphalink.com.au to subscribe to my newsletter (unless, of course, you already have) or lukebuckmaster@hotmail.com for any inquiries or feedback
Read more of my reviews at Alphalink Movies: http://moviezone.alphalink.com.au
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews