I've talked a lot about Prince of Egypt before on Nostalgia Critic
Both on the "Top 11 Underrated Nostalgic Classics" and the Old vs. New of "Prince of Egypt vs. Ten Commandments"
So I'll try to keep this relatively short and try to save stuff I haven't said before
The story I think is a safe bet you probably know
The pharaoh has decided that the slaves have grown too large in size
So he sends his soldiers to perform mass genocide
But one family wants their baby to live, puts him in a basket, and sends him floating down the river
Where, oddly enough, the basket comes across the queen and decides to adopt the baby and call him Moses
Years later, Moses grows up and realizes his true heritage
Disgraced by who he is he leaves his brother and family behind, and finds a life of peace far away
But that doesn't last for long, as God himself comes down and tells Moses that he is to be the deliverer of the Jews
Moses returns, finding his brother is now pharaoh, and the epic battle begins between pharaoh and Moses over what will happen to the Jewish people
The film is gorgeous! This is one of the best looking animated films I've ever seen
I'm not even really a big fan of Egypt, or the desert. But, by God! The shots and the angles they get in it! It's just unbelievable!
So much attention is being drawn to how to tell this story faithfully but not exactly the same as the Ten Commandments
And it does exactly that. It has its own unique style and its own unique look
Even the characters are different
The relationship between the brothers seems genuine
They both now have grown up, and they both now have new responsibilities that they wish to honor and do not wanna break
But at the same time, they're still family. And this is what makes great drama!
That's Val Kilmer as Moses and Ralph Fiennes as Rameses, and both of them are fanastic
Even the other celebrity voices! Though distracting at times, like Jeff Goldblum or Patrick Stewart, still match well to the character and tone that the movie's trying to get across
It's just distracting in that you can tell it's their voices, but you warm up to them pretty quick
Something else I've never talked about is the music. The music is also wonderful
I think the theme they have for the Burning Bush is one of the most comforting, nicest themes I've ever heard
It's just a great sound and creates this wonderful mood
Now some people can and have been turned off by this movie because, well, while Ten Commandments just intended for adults, this is more older children and adults
That is to say, there ARE songs, there IS some comedy relief and there ARE some weirdly drawn characters
And yes, that can be distracting at times, like half the time there's no segway into the songs
Steve Martin and Martin Short as the High Priests are a little odd and out of place at times
And horrible to say, but, because it is sort of a Disney style, maybe it could have benefited more from a little bit more than Disney design
I mean some of them look good but others do look kind of odd...
But with that said, the distracting moments are never too distracting
And you know what? I like the songs. I think they help move along the story and they do it in a very visually and musically interesting way
So I don't mind them. I think they really work
But many would argue if you're really gonna tell the story of Moses and you want to step up your animation company and make it more adult, you should probably leave some of this stuff behind
I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel that it was TOTALLY true
Especially with something as heavy as the story of Moses
But I also understand the need to appeal to a general public
And, like I said, I think they work it in pretty well
So I stand by it
At least by the songs
I do feel bad this movie is not more appreciated and maybe it is because Ten Commandments was just such a landmark
And even though this was a good film, yeah, it's probably not really a LANDMARK in any way
At least, not in the way that most people view cinematic landmarks
But I still think it's a good, strong film
Better than Ten Commandments, in fact
It has great characters, it has a timeless story, it has wonderful music, it has breathtaking animation with some breathtaking visuals
Even if you're one of those people that can't fully get into it, I still say check it out
Because there is some really great stuff in it
And I think the story of Moses deserves to be told from a different point of view, and this is a very smart point of view
What else can I say?
I love it
I've seen it a million times before, and I'll definitely see it a million times again