The Prince of Egypt Review
by James Sanford (jasanfor AT MCI2000 DOT com)January 1st, 1999
If you cringe at the notion of an animated musical version of the story of Moses, you might be tempted to steer clear of "The Prince of Egypt." Don't.
Unless, of course, you don't mind missing out on one of the year's most distinctive, lovingly made movies, a picture that turns a familiar story into something suprisingly exciting, moving and -- yes -- even funny. In a word, "Prince" rules.
Put aside pre-conceived notions about what Biblical dramas should look like onscreen; though elephantine spectacles like "The Ten Commandments" may have dazzled audiences 40 years ago, the legions of animators behind "Prince" have conjured up richly imaginative visions of the Burning Bush, the exodus of the Hebrews and, most astonishingly, the parting of the Red Sea that must have Cecil B. DeMille seething with envy in his grave.
Though the push in animation in recent years has been toward achieving either stunningly life-like movement (as in Disney's "Lion King" and "Pocahontas") or using computers to dream up almost three-dimensional fantasy worlds ("Toy Story," "Antz"), the people behind "Prince" have intentionally opted for more expressionistic figures and for opulence and texture over precise detail, and have succeeded; you can almost feel the rippling blue waters of the Nile and the gritty walls of the Pyramids. Even the less-than-religious in the audience will find plenty to appreciate, both in the visuals and in the sprinklings of humor throughout the film -- the joke about the Sphinx's missing nose is genuinely smart.
Viewers may be so swept away by the elegance of the production they won't automatically recognize the phenomenal array of talent providing the voices for the characters. If it's possible to earn an Oscar nomination for an offscreen performance, Ralph Fiennes certainly deserves one for his magnificent reading of the proud but troubled Rameses, one of the most striking figures ever to appear in an animated film.
But the rest of the cast do not fade into Fiennes' shadow. Val Kilmer's Moses sounds properly impassioned, Michelle Pfeiffer lends her edgy warmth to Moses' spirited wife Tzipporah, and even Sandra Bullock hits the right defiant notes as Moses' older sister Miriam.
The only performers who seem out of place are Steve Martin and Martin Short as daffy high priests, and that's due less to the actors than to the script, which can't find a way to work them into the story's flow. Their musical number "Playin' With the Big Boys" is a show-stopper in the wrong sense of the term.
The other songs do an admirable job of advancing the plot, especially the rousing "Through Heaven's Eyes," which condenses Moses and Tzipporah's meeting, courtship and wedding into four lively minutes, and "When You Believe," which sets in motion the movie's stunningly beautiful finale. Animation fans have been blessed with a bumper crop of outstanding works to choose from this year -- "Mulan," "Antz," "A Bug's Life" -- but this regal, sensational "Prince" is in a class by itself.
James Sanford
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