THE PRINCE OF EGYPT

I just caught the Prince of Egypt at the cinemas and I think that it was a brilliant film, worthy of an oscar nomination. Having said that, I can see how many will not appreciate it, especially if they hate cartoons and classical Hollywood story telling. Yet, after this film, animation cannot and will not be the same. If this film is a success, 2D animation will necessarily have to become so sophisticated. Some scenes are filled with brilliance, and from the opening sun rise, to the outstanding song 'deliver us', the movie had me. When you go into a film expecting to see something outstanding and are not disappointed, it's great, and I was not disappointed.

Narrative and Acting

The story is adapted largely on the exodus side of the Moses story (found in the exodus). However, where this differs and is better than any telling of the story (including de Mille's classic Ten Commandments) is that it focusses on the relationship between Moses and his older 'brother' Ramses. Indeed, it improves on the biblical telling because it fully realises the narrative potentials of such a story, and adds a new dimension to the Egyptians (rather than just as two dimensional evil types - God's justice here seems extremely harsh). Much of the narration is told through the brilliance of the animation, which is evolutionary. The voices are done by the all-star cast. Val Kilmer is outstanding as Moses (and God), so too is Ralph Fienned as Ramses. Finally, Michelle Pfeifer is the perfect Tzipporah, with a beautifully sweet singing voice (when you believe). The rest of the cast list is:

MUSIC

The score is impeccably written by Hans Zimmer, who also did the Lion King. With references to Laurence of Arabia, and a great understanding of the middle eastern (jewish) tonality, Zimmer will probably win the score award at the oscars. The songs by Steven Schwartz are also excellent, though some songs verge on the ridiculous. Deliver Us is a masterpiece (the part where the mother has to give up her baby at the beginning has a rare emotional impact) and When You Believe makes total melodic sense in its setting. I even thought Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston's duet at the closing credits wasn't so bad - but Michelle Pfeiffer sings it in the film, and does an outstanding job. The words are slightly silly at times, but in deliver us, they fit into the narrative. When the mother says to the baby moses, "remember this tune in your dreams", it has much significance throughout the film. The 'River O River' motif is incorporated into the score seemlessly among all the other themes. Some songs are unfortunately not very fine examples - it is by no means the perfect song scoore - but thankfully the three main songs are excellent (the others being too broadwayish).

ANIMATION

I have left the best aspect of this film to last. The animation in this film is way above anything put on film in any mainstream animation I have seen. From the opening sun scene, we know we're witnessing something outstanding in animation (just like the opening sequence of the Lion King). And Deliver Us is a virtuoso piece of animation - perfect cinema. The mother conveys so much emotion and we are not even familiar with her (though I suspect it would be more effective when familiar with the story). The backdrops are amazing. David Lean would've been proud of the desert scenes: and I do believe the desert scenes in this film are if not as beautiful as those in Laurence of Arabia, then just as good. There are so many brilliant touches - the smoothness of the animation - I could hardly tell that computers were involved. The scene where moses dreams is a tribute to animation - he dreams in 2D animation, and its a fantastic little sequence. I forgot to add in narrative that the dialogue between the brothers was excellent, and even the delivery is great. Moses himself is one of the most unusually animated characters in animated film. His face is surprisingly angular (sort of like the faces on the pyramids), but it is so well drawn that you forget that it is just a drawing. The same goes for Michelle Pfeifer's character. Ramses, the future pharoah is drawn in a way that I think is tribute to Cecil B Demille's Ten Commandments (Ramses). The detail is fantastic (just look at the backgrounds - there's often movement which makes it seem more real), the parting of the red sea is awesome (the strikes of lightning a very clever touch), the death scene impeccably filmed. If anything, this movie will prove that Dreamworks cannot only animate, but will give Disney a run for its money. This is excellent for animation in general.

CONCLUSION

I cannot predict how successful this movie will be. I feel many children will be crying because it's too scary in parts for them, so it rules out many of the under 7 crowd. The movie is definitely more adult than what Disney has to offer. I really hope however that people will at least go to see how fine animation can be, and that it is not necessarily for kids. I'll probably write more on it later, but that's all for now

90/100

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