Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
The strong bond between two brothers is challenged when their chosen responsibilities set them at odds, with extraordinary consequences.
The Prince of Egypt is a genuinely exceptional animated film. Its plot reframes the Exodus story as a deeply personal tragedy between two brothers rather than a simple tale of good vs. evil, giving the biblical epic emotional weight and moral complexity rarely seen in family animation. The cinematography is stunning — the parting of the Red Sea, the plague sequences, and the burning bush are rendered with extraordinary artistry that blends traditional 2D animation with nascent CG in ways that still hold up decades later. Novelty is high: DreamWorks took an enormous creative risk with a serious, operatic treatment of sacred material that had no real precedent in American animation. The voice cast (Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer) brings gravitas, though the performances are occasionally uneven in the supporting roles. The ending, while faithful to the source, lands somewhat abruptly — the film's emotional climax comes with the sea sequence, leaving the final resolution feeling slightly deflated rather than triumphant.