Animation changes. One year it's all about hyper-realistic fur, the next it’s stylized 2D that looks like a comic book. But somehow, The Prince of Egypt feels like it hasn’t aged a single day since 1998. It’s weird, honestly. DreamWorks was this scrappy newcomer back then, trying to prove it could play in the same sandbox as Disney. They didn't just play; they basically flipped the sandbox over.
Most people remember the songs. "Deliver Us" is an all-timer, right? But the reason we’re still talking about this movie in 2026 isn't just the soundtrack. It’s the sheer weight of it. This wasn't a "kids' movie" in the way we usually think about them. It was a massive, sprawling epic that happened to be drawn by hand.
The Sibling Rivalry That Changed Everything
If you look at the Book of Exodus, the relationship between Moses and Pharaoh is pretty straightforward. It’s a prophet versus a king. God versus a man who thinks he’s a god. But the writers at DreamWorks—led by Philip LaZebnik and Nicholas Meyer—did something way smarter. They made them brothers.
This single creative choice is why the movie works. You’ve got Moses, voiced by Val Kilmer, and Rameses, voiced by Ralph Fiennes. They aren't just archetypes. They’re two guys who grew up racing chariots and getting into trouble. When the plagues start hitting Egypt, it’s not just a divine judgment. It’s a family tragedy. You can actually feel Rameses' desperation. He’s not a mustache-twirling villain; he’s a man crushed by the weight of a 3,000-year-old legacy. He's terrified of being the "weak link" in the dynasty.
That’s heavy stuff for a PG movie.
Visuals That Genuinely Scare You
Let’s talk about the Burning Bush. In most versions of this story, it’s just a glowing plant. In The Prince of Egypt, it’s unsettling. The fire doesn't behave like fire. The voice of God—which is actually a whispery blend of Val Kilmer and other cast members—is both terrifying and comforting.
The scale here is just massive.
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The animators used a mix of traditional hand-drawn cells and early CGI to create the city of Pi-Ramesses. When you see the statues, they look infinite. When the Red Sea parts, it’s not just a wall of water. It’s a dark, churning abyss where you can see the silhouette of a whale shark swimming through the waves. It makes you feel small. That’s the point. The directors, Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, wanted to capture the "sublime"—that mix of beauty and terror that philosophers always talk about.
Hans Zimmer and the Sound of the Desert
You can't talk about this film without Hans Zimmer. Before he was doing Inception or Dune, he was doing this. He spent months in Egypt and Israel, soaking up the local sounds. He didn't want a standard orchestral score. He wanted something that felt ancient.
He brought in Stephen Schwartz, the guy who did Wicked, to write the lyrics. They didn't play it safe. "The Plagues" is basically a heavy metal song played on Egyptian instruments. It’s a duet where Moses and Rameses are singing over each other, one pleading for freedom and the other hardening his heart. It’s chaotic. It’s brilliant.
Then there’s "When You Believe." It became a huge Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey hit, sure. But in the context of the film, sung by the Hebrew people as they finally walk out of Egypt? It’s a gut-punch. It’s the sound of collective relief.
The Problem With Historical Accuracy
Okay, look. Is it a perfect historical document? No. Scholars like Kenneth Kitchen have pointed out for years that the timeline of Rameses II doesn't perfectly align with the biblical narrative if you're looking for strict archaeological evidence.
The movie doesn't really care about that.
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It cares about the feeling of the era. The production team hired historians and theologians from three different faiths—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—to make sure they weren't being disrespectful. They wanted the essence to be right. Even the hieroglyphics on the walls in the background aren't just random gibberish. Most of them are actually based on real inscriptions from the 19th Dynasty. That’s the kind of nerd-level detail that makes a movie live forever.
Why It Outshines Modern CGI
We’re in an era where everything is 3D. Everything is smooth. But there’s something about the sharp angles in The Prince of Egypt that 3D can't replicate. Look at the character designs. Moses and Rameses have these sharp, angular faces. They look like they were carved out of stone.
The lighting is another thing.
The way the shadows fall in the Egyptian palaces feels moody and oppressive. Then you go out into the desert, and the light is so bright it feels like it’s bleaching the screen. It’s "cinematography" in the truest sense of the word, even though there wasn't a physical camera involved.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of DreamWorks, famously pushed the artists to make this "adult." He didn't want talking gargoyles or funny sidekicks. He wanted an epic. And honestly? He got it. It’s one of the few times a studio executive’s ego actually resulted in a masterpiece.
The Legacy of the "Angel of Death"
The most famous scene in the movie is probably the final plague. Most movies would show a scary monster. This movie shows a silent, glowing mist that slowly snakes through the streets. You don't see anything violent. You just hear the faint sound of a breath being taken away.
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It’s chilling.
It respects the audience's intelligence. It assumes you can handle the darkness of the story without needing it sugar-coated. That’s why people who saw this as kids in the 90s are now showing it to their own kids. It doesn't talk down to you.
How to Revisit the Story Today
If you’re going to watch The Prince of Egypt again, don't just put it on in the background while you fold laundry. It deserves more than that.
- Watch the 4K restoration: The colors are significantly deeper, especially in the "All I Ever Wanted" sequence. The contrast between the blue of the Nile and the gold of the temples is stunning.
- Listen to the soundtrack separately: Put on a pair of good headphones and just listen to "The Red Sea" track. The percussion work Zimmer did is insane.
- Compare it to The Ten Commandments: Watch the 1956 Charlton Heston version afterward. You’ll realize that the animated version actually handles the character development of Moses much more realistically. In the 1956 version, he’s a saint from minute one. In the 1998 version, he’s a flawed, scared man who has to find his courage.
The movie ends not with a "happily ever after," but with Moses standing on a mountain, looking out at a future that is going to be incredibly difficult for his people. It’s bittersweet. It’s honest. And that’s exactly why it’s still the gold standard for what animation can achieve when it stops trying to be a toy commercial and starts trying to be art.
To get the most out of your next viewing, pay close attention to the dream sequence where the hieroglyphics come to life. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling, using a two-dimensional medium to explain a three-dimensional trauma. Use a high-quality sound system if possible; the low-end frequencies during the parting of the sea are designed to be felt as much as heard.