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Review: The Prince of Egypt (1998)
My mom mentioned she’d never seen this movie before but she enjoyed the Ten Commandments so we put this on for short Friday movie night. I watched this when I was younger and it was super epic. As an adult, it’s still very epic in style but the story is simple. Which is not bad, it was still a good movie. Also, I am not religious though I did go to Catholic school as a child. I view this movie as a movie.
Spoilers.
Story
Based on a cursory glance at Wikipedia, it seems to me that this iteration of the Ten Commandments story is fairly similar to Biblical canon. Moses was the son of a Hebrew slave. Fearing for her son’s death, his mother put him in a basket and floated him down the river in hopes that he’d be saved. He was; in fact, he was picked up by the pharaoh’s wife and was raised a prince alongside Rameses.
In this movie, Moses bumped into his older siblings and his older sister Miriam told him of his true heritage. This shocked him. He later visited a construction site and wanted to stop a slave driver from beating one of the slaves, and in the process killed the slave driver. He fled to the desert where he married Tzipporah. They fell in love and married. Moses grew to have a happy life, free in the desert.
Moses came across the burning bush, with a message from God instructing him to free the Hebrews. Moses embarked on such a journey. Rameses, now pharoah, thought Moses to be joking and humoured him, but Moses was serious. This angered Rameses and he made things harder for the Hebrews. Moses did not give up, and God sent the plagues.
Moses and Rameses had a very brief period of reconciliation, but upon seeing his son, Rameses refused to back down and be a weak link in the lineage of the pharaohs. The next plague was the death of all firstborn sons of the land. This devastated Rameses as his child died, and he let the Hebrews go.
Gathering the Hebrew slaves, Moses took them all the way to the sea. Not done with Moses, Rameses came chasing behind them. God sent a fire tornado to hold them off. Moses then famously parted the Red Sea, and when the Egyptian soldiers came chasing, the sea flooded them and pushed them back. Moses and his people arrived safely on the other side, and the movie ended with Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
Very simple story about Moses overcoming even his brotherly love to carry out God’s will to save his people.
Production
This is where the magic happened. The animation of this movie is absolutely beautiful. The detailed mannerisms of the characters felt so real and lifelike, the grand scenes were so epic. And of course, the music by the famous Hans Zimmer. A reason why this movie remains nostalgic for me is the music.
Characters
Moses
Moses was our main character. He grew up a palace brat. As the second son and not the heir to the throne, he was far more relaxed and fun-loving than Rameses. As Rameses said, Moses was always getting him into trouble. But Moses loved his brother, and so he was always the one pleading with their father for him for leniency. But he was still a prince who thought only of fun and nothing else.
Things changed when he met Miriam and Aaron. Miriam was intent on telling him of the truth of his heritage. Though he found it hard to believe, he went into the palace archives and found it was true that his father had killed the Hebrew babies, claiming it was alright because they were only slaves. That shocked Moses because he now realized it could have been him. Even if he wasn’t sure that he was Aaron and Miriam’s brother, it shocked him that his father felt so little for another human life. His adoptive mother had a more human approach to the matter, she just hoped that Moses could see them as family, and that should be the most important thing to him. But Moses couldn’t take comfort in that.
He started to see the slaves as human and so when he saw a guard beating a slave, his instinct was to stop him, which resulted in a death. As we later found out, that was an act punishable by death, so Moses fled to the desert. He was picked up by Tzipporah with whom he’d had an encounter at the palace. She’d been captured but Moses let her go. And so her father let him stay in the village. He lived among them and soon they fell in love.
Things were all good until he encountered the burning bush, where God spoke to him and instructed him to bring the Hebrews back. Moses was reluctant in first, but the experienced instilled a faith and confidence in him to follow through. So he went back to the palace with Tzipporah to try to persuade his brother.
His brother didn’t think much of his antics, thinking it was just a phase. But Moses remained resolute, even as Rameses grew from passively amused to angry. He held no joy in having to break his brother down through the plagues. The only respite he had was when he approached his brother in the hall and they reminisced on their past pranks. But they soon returned to their standoff. Moses tried to urge Rameses to back down, knowing that the next plague would devastate him. But when he refused, Moses had no choice. Rameses did let Moses go, being done with it all.
Moses happily took his people away. When they arrived at the Red Sea, he once again called on his faith to rescue the Hebrews. And when he arrived to the other side, it was goodbye forever to Rameses.
At one point, Aaron had ridiculed Moses, saying he’d only started to care about them when he realized he could’ve been one of them. It was true, and Moses admitted it. He knew he’d been a palace brat who thought nothing of the sufferings of others and it took his world falling down for him to see others as people. Still, I wonder if God chose him because he was raised as Rameses’ brother and thus was the only person who would ever be able to talk to him as anything like an equal. After Moses’ world was turned upside down, he went out to the desert where he started a new life and he understood the happiness and peace of freedom. And that was probably why he was compelled to follow God’s orders to deliver his people from oppression.
There was a part where Moses told Rameses that he had to save his people, but implied that he wanted to save his brother too. I forget the exact line, but it brought the human aspect back to Moses, where he hoped his brother would grow his kingdom not on the backs of others’ suffering, but with its own power. It tied the story back to the brothers relationship, because once Moses became the prophet, he did seem a little bit unreachable at times.
But Moses did it all, he delivered the Hebrew people, and received the Ten Commandments.
Rameses
Rameses was the pharoah, and was raised as a brother with Moses. We saw at the beginning that when his mother found Moses, Rameses might have felt a bit abandoned. That harsh treatment was also seen from their father, where he was extra hard on Rameses. But Rameses would also fight back (as opposed to Moses who would try to take the blame) which in turn made their father even harsher on Rameses. Their father Seti needed Rameses to be the same kind of hard man that he was because he felt only that attitude would uphold their kingdom.
After Moses killed an overseer, he was very frazzled and ran away. Rameses insisted he’d make it all go away, but Moses knew that not only could nothing wash him of his guilt, but that his life was turned upside down and he could never see him as a Prince of Egypt ever again.
The next time we saw Rameses, he was already pharoah, and he had a different attitude to him. He did seem confident, but in the way that he knew everyone would do what he want, everyone would submit to him. And he believed that Moses would too. It angered him when his own brother would go against him, and he relied on his high priests to rationalize that his brother was nothing but a magician, a performer.
The plagues put Rameses in a bad mood. They certainly weakened the population. He did for a brief moment reminisce with Moses on their past memories. But when his son emerged from the shadows, he remembered he was the pharaoh and not Moses’ brother. He had to be strong for the country and especially for his son, so he did not yield. And because of that, he lost his firstborn son. He was so distraught that he told Moses to go to be rid of him, though he was still angry. And so he chased after Moses, but could not reach him across the Red Sea.
Rameses lived, but the end of his character arc is uncertain. We don’t know if he comes to terms with what Moses left him with, the fact that he had to build his kingdom with his own wisdom and strength, or if he lives the rest of his years in anger.
Tzipporah
Tzipporah was a freewoman captured and sent to the palace as a gift. She was feisty and refused to submit. Because of her little banter with Moses, Rameses decided to gift her to Moses, but she managed to escape. Though Moses caught her escaping, he let her go.
They met again after Moses ran away. She took him back to her village and her father welcomed him, knowing who he was, both having saved Tzipporah as well as his younger daughter from thieves. Tzipporah and Moses fell in love and when Moses decided on his journey, she joined him and remained a support for him.
Miriam
Miriam was Moses’ older sister and she always believed that Moses would come back. When she first saw Moses as an adult, she was so excited and was so sure that he had returned to them because he knew he belonged. But Moses didn’t know and instead he was just very confused and shocked.
Moses only found his siblings again after returning to the palace to plead with his brother. He was unsuccessful, but Miriam believed him the entire time, and that helped him continue in his quest.
Aaron
Aaron was Moses’ older brother. When Moses came to Aaron and Miriam, Aaron didn’t believe in the fantasy Miriam did, that Moses would one day return, their long lost brother. He’d assumed they already lost him.
The next time Moses saw Aaron was when he was beaten down by Rameses. Aaron kind of turned his nose up at Moses, saying that Moses only cared about them because he realized he could have been one of them. And Moses admitted to it. I think that admission surprised Aaron and he realized that Moses was truly trying to help because he was changed.
When Moses parted the Red Sea, Aaron was the first to take a step, to show Moses that he trusted him, and to show the others to be brave.
Seti
Seti was Rameses’ father and Moses’ adopted father. He was hard and tough, especially had on Rameses, but he did yield to Moses’ more sympathetic approaches. But the first eye opener for Moses was when Miriam told the truth about the children of the Hebrews. Moses checked the archives and found that it was true, that his father had ordered such a thing. Seti tried to comfort Moses and said it was to strengthen their kingdom and prevent the Hebrews from growing too strong. But his last line was that they were only slaves, and that shocked Moses so much that he had to run. It shocked Moses that his father didn’t see all lives as equal and that Moses very much could have been one of those children his father could have killed without any feeling. Honestly Seti’s performance (by Patrick Stewart) was really good in this part; his coldness really shone and creeped me the hell out.
Tuya
Tuya was Rameses’ mother and Moses’ adopted mother. In the Bible, it was the pharaoh’s daughter who found Moses but in this movie it was the queen, to give Rameses and Moses a brothers storyline. She did love both the boys, and she understood why her husband treated them differently. But she tried her best to support both of them.
When Moses found the truth of his birth, his mother wanted him to forget about it all and just think of himself as a part of their family. But it was not enough, Moses’ world had already changed too much.
Themes
I guess Christianity is the theme of the whole movie. Well, Moses did have a typical hero story in which he fell to the lowest after finding out his life was a lie, and then he returned to save his people, in a Braveheart kind of way. But if it wasn’t for God, he would have stayed in the desert forever. It was the burning bush and God’s message that instilled faith in him, confidence in him to return to the palace and to order the freeing of the Hebrews. And throughout the rest of the movie, Moses relied on his faith that God would protect his people.
Overall
A good movie. I said it was simple but that’s not a bad thing. Really great production with great music and great art.
Spoilers.
Story
Based on a cursory glance at Wikipedia, it seems to me that this iteration of the Ten Commandments story is fairly similar to Biblical canon. Moses was the son of a Hebrew slave. Fearing for her son’s death, his mother put him in a basket and floated him down the river in hopes that he’d be saved. He was; in fact, he was picked up by the pharaoh’s wife and was raised a prince alongside Rameses.
In this movie, Moses bumped into his older siblings and his older sister Miriam told him of his true heritage. This shocked him. He later visited a construction site and wanted to stop a slave driver from beating one of the slaves, and in the process killed the slave driver. He fled to the desert where he married Tzipporah. They fell in love and married. Moses grew to have a happy life, free in the desert.
Moses came across the burning bush, with a message from God instructing him to free the Hebrews. Moses embarked on such a journey. Rameses, now pharoah, thought Moses to be joking and humoured him, but Moses was serious. This angered Rameses and he made things harder for the Hebrews. Moses did not give up, and God sent the plagues.
Moses and Rameses had a very brief period of reconciliation, but upon seeing his son, Rameses refused to back down and be a weak link in the lineage of the pharaohs. The next plague was the death of all firstborn sons of the land. This devastated Rameses as his child died, and he let the Hebrews go.
Gathering the Hebrew slaves, Moses took them all the way to the sea. Not done with Moses, Rameses came chasing behind them. God sent a fire tornado to hold them off. Moses then famously parted the Red Sea, and when the Egyptian soldiers came chasing, the sea flooded them and pushed them back. Moses and his people arrived safely on the other side, and the movie ended with Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
Very simple story about Moses overcoming even his brotherly love to carry out God’s will to save his people.
Production
This is where the magic happened. The animation of this movie is absolutely beautiful. The detailed mannerisms of the characters felt so real and lifelike, the grand scenes were so epic. And of course, the music by the famous Hans Zimmer. A reason why this movie remains nostalgic for me is the music.
Characters
Moses
Moses was our main character. He grew up a palace brat. As the second son and not the heir to the throne, he was far more relaxed and fun-loving than Rameses. As Rameses said, Moses was always getting him into trouble. But Moses loved his brother, and so he was always the one pleading with their father for him for leniency. But he was still a prince who thought only of fun and nothing else.
Things changed when he met Miriam and Aaron. Miriam was intent on telling him of the truth of his heritage. Though he found it hard to believe, he went into the palace archives and found it was true that his father had killed the Hebrew babies, claiming it was alright because they were only slaves. That shocked Moses because he now realized it could have been him. Even if he wasn’t sure that he was Aaron and Miriam’s brother, it shocked him that his father felt so little for another human life. His adoptive mother had a more human approach to the matter, she just hoped that Moses could see them as family, and that should be the most important thing to him. But Moses couldn’t take comfort in that.
He started to see the slaves as human and so when he saw a guard beating a slave, his instinct was to stop him, which resulted in a death. As we later found out, that was an act punishable by death, so Moses fled to the desert. He was picked up by Tzipporah with whom he’d had an encounter at the palace. She’d been captured but Moses let her go. And so her father let him stay in the village. He lived among them and soon they fell in love.
Things were all good until he encountered the burning bush, where God spoke to him and instructed him to bring the Hebrews back. Moses was reluctant in first, but the experienced instilled a faith and confidence in him to follow through. So he went back to the palace with Tzipporah to try to persuade his brother.
His brother didn’t think much of his antics, thinking it was just a phase. But Moses remained resolute, even as Rameses grew from passively amused to angry. He held no joy in having to break his brother down through the plagues. The only respite he had was when he approached his brother in the hall and they reminisced on their past pranks. But they soon returned to their standoff. Moses tried to urge Rameses to back down, knowing that the next plague would devastate him. But when he refused, Moses had no choice. Rameses did let Moses go, being done with it all.
Moses happily took his people away. When they arrived at the Red Sea, he once again called on his faith to rescue the Hebrews. And when he arrived to the other side, it was goodbye forever to Rameses.
At one point, Aaron had ridiculed Moses, saying he’d only started to care about them when he realized he could’ve been one of them. It was true, and Moses admitted it. He knew he’d been a palace brat who thought nothing of the sufferings of others and it took his world falling down for him to see others as people. Still, I wonder if God chose him because he was raised as Rameses’ brother and thus was the only person who would ever be able to talk to him as anything like an equal. After Moses’ world was turned upside down, he went out to the desert where he started a new life and he understood the happiness and peace of freedom. And that was probably why he was compelled to follow God’s orders to deliver his people from oppression.
There was a part where Moses told Rameses that he had to save his people, but implied that he wanted to save his brother too. I forget the exact line, but it brought the human aspect back to Moses, where he hoped his brother would grow his kingdom not on the backs of others’ suffering, but with its own power. It tied the story back to the brothers relationship, because once Moses became the prophet, he did seem a little bit unreachable at times.
But Moses did it all, he delivered the Hebrew people, and received the Ten Commandments.
Rameses
Rameses was the pharoah, and was raised as a brother with Moses. We saw at the beginning that when his mother found Moses, Rameses might have felt a bit abandoned. That harsh treatment was also seen from their father, where he was extra hard on Rameses. But Rameses would also fight back (as opposed to Moses who would try to take the blame) which in turn made their father even harsher on Rameses. Their father Seti needed Rameses to be the same kind of hard man that he was because he felt only that attitude would uphold their kingdom.
After Moses killed an overseer, he was very frazzled and ran away. Rameses insisted he’d make it all go away, but Moses knew that not only could nothing wash him of his guilt, but that his life was turned upside down and he could never see him as a Prince of Egypt ever again.
The next time we saw Rameses, he was already pharoah, and he had a different attitude to him. He did seem confident, but in the way that he knew everyone would do what he want, everyone would submit to him. And he believed that Moses would too. It angered him when his own brother would go against him, and he relied on his high priests to rationalize that his brother was nothing but a magician, a performer.
The plagues put Rameses in a bad mood. They certainly weakened the population. He did for a brief moment reminisce with Moses on their past memories. But when his son emerged from the shadows, he remembered he was the pharaoh and not Moses’ brother. He had to be strong for the country and especially for his son, so he did not yield. And because of that, he lost his firstborn son. He was so distraught that he told Moses to go to be rid of him, though he was still angry. And so he chased after Moses, but could not reach him across the Red Sea.
Rameses lived, but the end of his character arc is uncertain. We don’t know if he comes to terms with what Moses left him with, the fact that he had to build his kingdom with his own wisdom and strength, or if he lives the rest of his years in anger.
Tzipporah
Tzipporah was a freewoman captured and sent to the palace as a gift. She was feisty and refused to submit. Because of her little banter with Moses, Rameses decided to gift her to Moses, but she managed to escape. Though Moses caught her escaping, he let her go.
They met again after Moses ran away. She took him back to her village and her father welcomed him, knowing who he was, both having saved Tzipporah as well as his younger daughter from thieves. Tzipporah and Moses fell in love and when Moses decided on his journey, she joined him and remained a support for him.
Miriam
Miriam was Moses’ older sister and she always believed that Moses would come back. When she first saw Moses as an adult, she was so excited and was so sure that he had returned to them because he knew he belonged. But Moses didn’t know and instead he was just very confused and shocked.
Moses only found his siblings again after returning to the palace to plead with his brother. He was unsuccessful, but Miriam believed him the entire time, and that helped him continue in his quest.
Aaron
Aaron was Moses’ older brother. When Moses came to Aaron and Miriam, Aaron didn’t believe in the fantasy Miriam did, that Moses would one day return, their long lost brother. He’d assumed they already lost him.
The next time Moses saw Aaron was when he was beaten down by Rameses. Aaron kind of turned his nose up at Moses, saying that Moses only cared about them because he realized he could have been one of them. And Moses admitted to it. I think that admission surprised Aaron and he realized that Moses was truly trying to help because he was changed.
When Moses parted the Red Sea, Aaron was the first to take a step, to show Moses that he trusted him, and to show the others to be brave.
Seti
Seti was Rameses’ father and Moses’ adopted father. He was hard and tough, especially had on Rameses, but he did yield to Moses’ more sympathetic approaches. But the first eye opener for Moses was when Miriam told the truth about the children of the Hebrews. Moses checked the archives and found that it was true, that his father had ordered such a thing. Seti tried to comfort Moses and said it was to strengthen their kingdom and prevent the Hebrews from growing too strong. But his last line was that they were only slaves, and that shocked Moses so much that he had to run. It shocked Moses that his father didn’t see all lives as equal and that Moses very much could have been one of those children his father could have killed without any feeling. Honestly Seti’s performance (by Patrick Stewart) was really good in this part; his coldness really shone and creeped me the hell out.
Tuya
Tuya was Rameses’ mother and Moses’ adopted mother. In the Bible, it was the pharaoh’s daughter who found Moses but in this movie it was the queen, to give Rameses and Moses a brothers storyline. She did love both the boys, and she understood why her husband treated them differently. But she tried her best to support both of them.
When Moses found the truth of his birth, his mother wanted him to forget about it all and just think of himself as a part of their family. But it was not enough, Moses’ world had already changed too much.
Themes
I guess Christianity is the theme of the whole movie. Well, Moses did have a typical hero story in which he fell to the lowest after finding out his life was a lie, and then he returned to save his people, in a Braveheart kind of way. But if it wasn’t for God, he would have stayed in the desert forever. It was the burning bush and God’s message that instilled faith in him, confidence in him to return to the palace and to order the freeing of the Hebrews. And throughout the rest of the movie, Moses relied on his faith that God would protect his people.
Overall
A good movie. I said it was simple but that’s not a bad thing. Really great production with great music and great art.