***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ¡°Prince of Egypt¡± is based on the bible story of Moses, one of the greatest prophets mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, also found in the Torah. The Pharaoh of Egypt orders all male infants under the age of 2 to be killed, thrown into the Nile River, fearing the growing population of the slave race, the Israelites. Unable to bear having her child killed, a mother weaves a basket, places her baby in the basket and tells her young daughter, Miriam to place the basket in a stream. She hopes and prays that the baby will be safe and fortunately, the basket it found by the pharaoh¡¯s daughter, the princess. She takes the baby in, naming him Moses. Moses grows up in the palace, with his younger brother. He is always getting into trouble and seems as if he doesn't quite fit in well among the other Egyptians. After he is grown and reaching adulthood, he sees hieroglyphic writing on the walls of the palace showing the annihilation of the Israeli baby boys. He finds out that he is actually an Israelite and he leaves after being convicted as a murderer. He moves far away, marries Zipporah, and has children. Moses works as a herdsman but is called on by God. He eventually obeys, going to Egypt ordering his ¡°brother¡± who is now pharaoh, ¡°Let my people go.¡± The 10 plagues follow, and it was amusing to see the pharaoh¡¯s magicians attempting to perform the same miracles that Moses does. In the end, the Pharaoh gives up but later changes his mind and the parting of the sea occurs. This movie is a good family film, but definitely not a masterpiece. The climax was well displayed and it¡¯s a good animated film for children and their parents to watch. Since it¡¯s based on a bible story, it¡¯s plot is developed and clear. Overall, this movie gets a 7 out of 10.

This is very possibly the finest animation I've seen. Before commenting on the film as a whole, I want to make that clear, because in the inevitable rush to pick this film apart (the plot, the voices, the religious significance, the literary accuracy, the moral issues, the music, the comparisons with Disney and de Mille, etc...) one might easily become distracted from the aesthetic and technical triumphs of The Prince of Egypt, and that would be unfortunate. As someone who has an interest and appreciation of animation, I can say that this is the first film I've seen that successfully integrates computer-generated animation and traditional animation (and I've seen many attempts). More importantly, as someone who has eyes, I can say that the result is a visual experience of intense style and beauty. In fact, the initial depiction of Egypt is so breathtaking, that it seriously hinders the film's later efforts to vilify it.

Comparisons with Disney are inevitable, especially because Prince of Egypt employs tired Disney formula in an attempt, I assume, to remain economically viable. What a shame, since Disney hasn't made a decent film since Aladdin. I am referring, of course, to the unnecessary musical numbers and the two high priests, the film's comic relief, who are drawn grossly out of proportion to the other characters. Even worse than their unoriginality, however, is the open mockery of ancient Egyption religion and culture, which these two characters embody. I found their musical number especially appalling. On the other hand, it's a story in which the protagonists succeed only through a greater capacity for cruelty and destruction and the slaughter of innocent children, so it's kind of hard to nail down any concrete moral standard here.

In general, I thought the story was well told, with solid direction and a good script. The only complaint I have about the voice acting is that Jeff Goldblum's unmistakable mannerisms seriously distract from his character. I suspect that I wasn't really bothered by the others only because I hadn't seen a cast list before seeing the film. I wish they would stop relying on celebrity voices for animated features. No character can be effective if the viewer can't separate the voice from the actor supplying it.

The bottom line is, despite any objections, complaints, or concerns I might have about this film, despite the moral, religious, or idealogical issues it brings up, and despite the $8 and two hours you'll spend, this film is worth seeing. It's worth seeing because of the animation. I hope it sets a new standard for feature-length animated films. At the very least, I think it will show the movie-going public what the medium is capable of.