When Dreamworks Animation was first formed in 1994, the company’s main goal was to be a main competitor to the ever so giant animation studio, Disney. Nowadays, Dreamworks is seen by many Animation Lovers as the half and half studio as sometimes they’ll turn in some impressive films like How To Train Your Dragon or Kung Fu Panda, and sometimes they’ll turn in complete garbage like Shark Tale or Home. Then sometimes they’ll release a film that not only exceeds expectations but also brings animation to a whole new level. This is the case with the masterful 2D animated, The Prince of Egypt.
In The Times of Ancient Eygpt, there are slaves roaming about exhausted from their endless load of work they do for their Egyptian ruler. A mother runs away with her kids and a baby when the pharaoh orders his men to find all the babies and kill them off one by one. The mother lets the baby escape in a basket as it drifts far away and into an Egyptian palace where a family of wealthy pharaohs take the baby in as one of their own. The baby grows up into a young man named Moses as he likes to have fun with his brother Rameses by doing reckless activities and living his life as a spoiled prince. Moses and Rameses’s father is not amused though, as he expects Rameses to fulfill his destiny as the Pharoh King of Egypt. One night while in town, Moses stumbles upon two common folk slaves who admit that they are his real family after proving it through a song Moses’s real mother used to sing to him as a baby.
Moses’s point of view starts to change drastically as he now sees the wrongdoings of the pharaoh leaders and runs away after trying to save a man being whipped to death but ends up unintentionally killing the whipper in the process. Moses comes across a small village of common folk who believe in God and welcome Moses into their clan. Moses learns a great deal about God and how he was meant to free the slaves of Eygpt and lead them to a better land of freedom. Moses along with his formally enslaved now wife Tzipporah must return to Eygpt and confront Rameses as he has now become Pharroh of Eygpt and refuses to let his people go. Moses is not alone however as the powers of God are at his side to aid him in his life or death quest.
The Story is unlike anything you’ve ever seen in an animated film before. This is proof that animation is not just a kids-only medium as this story is told in an epic and adult way without going too graphic or too gory. this is to say that kids can still watch it and be totally unharmed from it but they may not appreciate it completely until they are older. It honestly makes The Hunch Back of Notre Dame feel like child’s play by comparison to this movie because the story does not shy away from going to dark places that many other animated features wouldn’t dare to cross. There is little to no comedy in this picture, which is great because the topics the film talks about are very serious and spiritual. Using Christianity beliefs in a movie like this is a bold move and it’s handled in a mature way while still providing a lot of movie-making magic. The characters have understandable personalities which can often collide with each other in dramatic and hopeful scenarios. The main stars are the brothers as Moses’s spiritual point of view is tested against Ramese’s more brutal outlook in life. It’s clear they still care for each other but their bond is often tested through many unexpectantly dark trials.
Many consider 2D animation to be too cartoonish and not very adult, but movies like this can prove those people wrong. The animation is not only breathtakingly moving and epic but it may be masterful to the point that it could even rival Disney’s fairytale-like animation. It’s easy to tell that the makers of this movie really did their research on ancient Egyptian culture and both the character designs and the lovely painted backgrounds capture that immensely well. Sometimes the animation can do something visually impressive whether it’s showing Moses’s powers from God or doing a well-constructed visual of moving Egyptian art coming to life to tell a part of the story. The Music may not be quite as memorable or well-composed as some of Disney’s best music but it is nevertheless both epic and in spirit to the Egyptian culture. Hanz Zimmer's compositions are breathtaking to listen to and the songs while short are great at moving the story forward in rather entertaining ways.
Dreamworks sure doesn’t make movies like this anymore and that’s a big shame cause if they kept turning out quality films like The Prince of Egypt more often they would have had a much better shot at competing with the big boys like Disney or even Pixar. Still, it’s so great to have a movie from the studio that is not only epic in its storytelling, animation, and music but also a mature movie that touches on a very serious and spiritual subject while having respect for the audience’s intelligence. If you can get a chance to watch this, please do. It’s not only arguably the best Dreamworks movie but it may just be one of the best 2D animated films’s out there.
(Final Grade: A+)