FIRST!

There, see how annoying that is?

Nope. Not really that high on the list of the world's problem, buddy.

Its not so much that the problem is so bad in and of itself as it is a relatively simple problem to fix. All it takes to fix this problem is for TGWTG.com to stop displaying comments in the order that they are posted.

That would make it rather difficult to follow conversations and references to previous comments.

Yes, but we would still have the forums for extended conversations.

Rather, simply display the newest comments first. That way, first posters get scrolled off the front page of a video.

Why was (or is) doing that i mean, yeah i agree with you but people yelling that they have the first comment AND not having anything to say afterwards is pretty immature.
I mean that's my opinion.By the way great vid!

Yes.


Why did you do it?

I honestly never liked this film. I always thought it was somewhat pretentious, for a children's animated film at least. I also just didn't like the artwork or voice actors. The animation is nice I guess, and I can't deny the choice of the shots is good, but everything else is just... Eh. And I hated the music too.

Love your pic bro

OK the only thing I have to disagree with about Doug's review is that the character designs in this movie were freaking amazing, especially from an art history stand point! I LOVE how the Hebrew designs reference the Byzantine style and the Egyptian designs manage to keep that feel while still drawing inspiration from ancient Egyptian art. Baby Moses definitely alludes more to the Renaissance style and seeing the juxtaposition of the two is slightly jarring. However, given that Byzantine style infants tend to have the proportions of very small adults, I can see why they made that choice.

Referencing early christian and Egyptian art is incredibly clever. Most of us have at least seen examples of the two styles. Even if the viewer isn't familiar enough with them to recognize the influences on a conscious level, it still does wonders for putting you in that world. It's like watching a painting come to life.

I'm actually quite glad they didn't try to emulate Disney. The film would have lost SO much in the way of atmosphere without those stylized designs. The artwork is one of the major things that drew me to the film as a child, and it continues to be my favorite aspect of the film.

My somewhat recent apostacy from my Christian upbringing will never make me doubt that this is a great movie. It just is. Don't agree with the message anymore, but as art, its gorgeous and engaging. Can't ever deny that. ;)

I totally agree. I'm from a religious family, but I myself am not super religious. But this is still easily one of my favorite movies of all time.

I think that's what works about this movie, it really does appeal to both sides. I'm a devout Christian myself, and while I know this film takes a lot of liberties with the source... who cares? It makes for a great story and I wish more religious films would do this instead of bashing the audience over the head with the message.

I gave up being Christian (though I still believe in God) and I still enjoy this movie. I remember when I saw it in theaters. I really loved it. I watched it multiple times, and seeing Nostalgia Critic's review of it made me want to see it again. However, it's not in my library, and my dad's too cheap to rent or buy it. :( Still, I do agree this is a wonderful film that deserves more recognition.

So what are you now? Christian is not exactly a blanket term. Catholics, Baptists, and Mormons all call themselves Christian, all oppose each others beliefs.

The message of this movie also applies to both Jewish and Muslim beliefs, with names slightly changed.

Just wondering what you moved from and to.

This is the movie I hate the most, the one that traumatized me as a child and I still can't stand. Horrible message for kids, with MASS MURDER OF INNOCENT CHILDREN just because they are Egyptian as one of the plagues. "You can and should die for the good of a "chosen group" and this is all okay". That's awful. I know, it's in the Bible, but GOD, the Exodus is one of the worst and most hateful stories in the history of humanity, so if the source material sucks, the movie does, no matter how well made it is.

Not because they are Egyptian. Because they did the same thing to the Hebrews. It is just, even if it shows a distinct lack of mercy.

Yep, that is the whole theme of the traditional 'Old' Testament.
The old agreement was to make an example essentially, to show how even with massive repercussions man would always rebel.

Blood for blood, eye for eye, etc. It is the reason judges were appointed in Jewish/Hebrew culture, to make decisions related to justice and God's will. Only God and his appointed judges were allowed to judge. (From the line of David) This put a huge emphasis on prophets and religious oligarchic control.

The same idea is carried over to the 'new' testament, God is still the only one allowed to judge man. He came to earth as a man of the line of David, hence he is the last judge, which invalidated the Pharisees (governing religious sect of the Jews.

His death was to replace sacrifice and other types of ceremonial atonement.

Sadly the Catholic church devolved into essentially the same problem, ignoring the symbolic significance of Jesus, placing prices on atonement in the form of ceremonies and monetary gifting, although this was mainly an issue during medieval and Renascence era Europe, it exists today in protestant religions as well.

This mirrors the example of the Hebrew people in the old testament, minus the plagues etc, as the price is already paid.

This is a massive oversimplification of course.

Our modern sensibilities are rather strongly opposed to making individuals suffer for the sins of their people or even their families. Kids being killed en masse for crimes they did not commit, by a being of power so great that he should have no difficulty in being more discriminatory in his punishments, is pretty abhorrent.

Sorry to get too political, but I find it to be one of those stories that can really make people question the character of God, and the supposed timeless moral lessons of the Bible

Let's not turn this into a religious debate.

I think it's a little late for that...

Instead of starting the discussion of moral controversies in the Bible (for that I prefer YouTube), I'll just say that in the Bible, Moses was 80 years old when he returned to Egypt.  In the movie he is too young (I mean really, I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned already, are you people ever read the Bible).

It was because the Hebrews went through the same thing. Also, This was the very last resort. God was sending disease and vermin, destroying crops and infecting people, and still Rameses would not let the Hebrews go. God had to do this in order to free the Hebrews.

Not exactly had to, but had the right to. In the old testament 'God hardened Pharaohs heart' rather than moving him. It was more of a lesson than a necessary reaction.

It's a complicated discussion to say the least.

It's supposed to be morally traumatizing, or did you miss the scene with Pharaoh and his son? In school, when I was little, we learned the midrashim, and I guess I sort of didn't understand how terrible it was, I just laughed at the idea of the Pharaoh of all Egypt rushing to the Jewish district of Goshen begging for Moshe to stop the plague, but this movie really does get the moral dilemma in there.

It wasn't just the Egyptian first borns that were singled out, all first borns were in danger of death (even the animals). The Jews just had the knowledge of the lamb's blood to protect them.

Well if you think about it, God was actually being quite merciful. The devastation of the plagues which spanned (I'm guessing) a few weeks was nothing compared to the collective pain the Israelites suffered from hundreds of years of enslavement. And being the all powerful big daddy that God is, he could of easily unleashed that pain on Egypt tenfold.

I don't think that was the message. I don't think there is any kind of message there. In this version of the story they really play up the moral grey area that the characters exist in. I don't think, in this telling, that the audience of supposed to take anything away from the tenth plague other than "This is what happened. Both good and bad things resulted." While ultimately it's a happy ending for the Jewish people, I don't think the movie as a whole has a clear cut happy ending.

You could take away the message that Yahweh is in fact a bastard and should not be followed from this film - that's the great part about its moral dilemmas.

Only if you want to drastically oversimplify things then sure.

I'm glad you talked about the music. It contributes so much, and people mostly focus on the visuals, which are totally awe inspiring as well. But still nice to hear about the music.

I saw it in theaters and watched it 1,000,000,000 times since then.

This was a good movie, I remember seeing this when I was younger.

Again, why doesn't anyone remember this film? It's like, there were so many great animated films that came out at that time (this, The Iron Giant, Hunchback, Anastasia, Balto, etc.) that no one will even acknowledge. Not even people who were kids at the time. I defiantly won't forget this one anytime soon. Great movie.

Also, great video Doug. Up next, The Road to El Dorado!

I didn't know anyone had forgotten this, actually. It's one of the most beautiful films of all time. I actually argue that the comic relief is terrific also, and most kids won't notice the celebrity voices. I don't get how Doug missed one of the best elements, though: they put in a ton of effort to make sure that none of the ethnic groups was quite the same as another, utilizing Egyptian artwork to draw Egyptians, some sort of Oriental artwork for Tzipporah, and - actually, I have no idea what they used to draw the Jews, except that all the characters actually do look right (I have a cousin who looks like Miriam).

That's true, well except for Anastasia. She seems popular to me. I haven't met anyone who hasn't at least heard of her. I even dress as her for Halloween one time. Ahhh, memories. Speaking of Balto, I actually asked one of my friends if he saw it, and he said he never heard of it. Now I want to see a review of Balto, but I don't think it's Dreamworks, is it?

This my first movie I ever saw and was blown away by it. It took a story I had heard a million times before, being a preacher's kid, and made it tangible, made it something I could relate to. The songs work perfectly for me and I will sometimes listen to them on their own, especially the Plagues. This movie also proves that Dreamworks can make movies without pop culture references everywhere like in Shrek. The dark atmosphere with the beginning and throughout the plague sections I liked as a child because they weren't talking down to me with pretty imagery or just skipping over it, and I knew where they could have. They didn't pull any punches and I liked that.
Everyone seems to hate the message, but I don't think they get it. God gave the Jews a choice to stay in Egypt or not before all this, they stayed. God gives Pharaoh a choice before every single plague, and because Pharaoh is stubborn, God cranks it up. Ramses own stubbornness is his downfall. God isn't hateful here. Oh and the death of the first born, yeah a lot of kids dies, but probably a lot of Jewish children died and many Egyptian kids didn't, seeing as they've seen the plagues. They knew Moses was serious. They probably put some blood on their own houses. I would.
I'll get Off my soap box, but still my favorite Biblical movie, even above the Passion.

Well, technically if you look at the old testament scrip, Pharaoh didn't really have a choice. God "hardened Pharaoh's heart" so he would say no and Egypt could be punished. That part is cut out of most re-tellings of the story because quite frankly it makes God come off as kind of a dick.

One of my favorite animated movies!

I think it's great to hear you talking about it, even if you already done it before a couple of times, you always bring something new to the table.

Thanks Doug!

Has to be one of my favorite movies.

I adore this film. I'm an atheist myself but find that doesn't hamper my enjoyment of this film, it's just breathtaking every single time I watch it.

I remember watching my VHS of this movie sooo many times as a kid, and growing up with it made me appreciate all the qualities you've mentioned in your reviews. Can't believe my mother threw out or VHS collection, but I got this on DVD and still watch it from time to time. Shame DreamWorks couldn't do as well with Joseph King of Dreams, which I also enjoy but definitely not as much as this. Good review =]

I am not sure they 100% go in to this in the film, but in the story of Moses the reason for the genocide of the children is that the Pharo had a vision that a male child born then would take over and lead the jews so he ordered all male children be slaughtered. Which is why Moses's Mother put him in the basket and while despite all the mess in the river he made it to the queen. There is also a semi revenge for the last plague when the first born child is killed.

This film is beautiful and the music is so moving. I think the songs makes the film feel more grandios and operatic in a way.

I am really happy you rated this one has high as you did Doug. I 100% agree with you

Actually, it's more specific than that. Pharaoh's astrologers told him that a male child who would die because of water would defeat him, so they threw the children into the Nile. Moshe's mother put him in the reeds at the edge of the Nile so the astrologers would see that the boy had been put in water and stop killing the other children.

This is my friend's son's favorite film. He's only a toddler but she says he watches it over and over. He's just mesmerized by it!
That's....kinda awesome, no? XD

I actually haven't seen it. o____o

i remember wathing this movie when is was like 6 non-stop.
also try looking on youtube... it has the full movie!

I don't have a religion. I don't even like to consider myself Atheist or Agnostic. However, this, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, are extremely inspiring to me. I get filled with great spirit and energy every time I watch them. For a religious film to be able to do that to people who are not, they did their job pretty well. Prince of Egypt is the ONLY great dreamworks movie. The rest are range from bad to sort of good for me. If the company stuck to making more powerful films like this, they could have the potential of beating Disney for sure.

Also, I'm sorry, Doug, but if you nitpicked The Lion King with how "the message isn't perfectly presented", how come you didn't even mention the totally backwards morals and messages about Prince of Egypt and Exodus itself?

Probably because he didn't want a heated religious debate in the comments section. I'm pretty sure it's going to happen anyway, though.

To me, this IS something of a landmark movie because one of the songs in it 'Through Heaven's Eyes' is the ONLY song from an animated movie to make it onto my top 20 favorite songs of all time.

'Prince of Egypt' is a new favorite of mine and I know I'm not done watching it.

This is probably the only box office hit that made me feel like I was watching a church movie oddly enough. Anyways, did you ever see its follow up? Joseph King of Dreams???? Not as fantastic as this one, but it might be woth looking at... even possibly do a review on it ;)

I really love this movie it has some most amazing music coupled with great animation. Even as a agnostic-atheist I find this to be a very fulfilling film.

I remember not liking the film when it came out on VHS but I also hated the Bible as a kid so I guess I wasn't their target audience.

Now that I got that out of the way, I love this film. It is strikingly beautiful, and the musical score is one of the few I own on CD. ((I rarely buy music, you-tube and all.))
While yes, it comes from the bible and has all this religious meaning...blah, blah, blah blah. It is the way it is presented and shown that makes me love this movie.
Like Doug has said before, when the yes, death if the first borne happens what do we see Moses do? He falls to the ground and weeps. Showing that he feels terrible for bringing death in such a scale... It is terrible yes, I know. But in the end... that is the way it was written.

I'm a fairly learned Jew, and I know how inaccurate this movie is, but I still love it. The emotions are so good that the facts don't need to be right, the songs are wonderful, and the movie is just GOOD.

Oh yes. Dreamworks's first 2D movie.
I have to say that I agree with it being underrated. I do like it, but I do at times have trouble getting into the story at times mostly because I am not part of the religion that is shown.

Please do Joseph King of Dreams even though it was direct to video.

This made my cousin cry when he was little. Not because of the plague killing people and the kids dying or the slavery, but because the brothers never made up.

I'm not a religious person at all – haven't even set foot in a church in years – and outright avoid the old Heston film. But I tracked down a DVD of this version after Doug's rave review on Old vs New, and boy was it ever worth it. Everything Doug said is true. This film is absolutely gorgeous. THIS is what the Dreamworks team is capable of accomplishing when they try. I wish they would try more often.

Like all Dreamworks films, it has celebrity voices, but they're not obnoxious here. Patrick Stewart is of course fantastic as the old Pharaoh. The music is great, the visuals are astounding. Need I go on?

You don't have to be religious to see this is a great film. I don't believe a word of the Bible, but "Prince Of Egypt" is still one of my favorite animated films of all time.

Hebrews, not Jews, that would be like calling actual Americans, British instead.

We-ell... they became Jews a thousand years later. It's more like calling the Druids British.

I mostly stayed away from this movie because it was a religious story. A lot of my family grew up in a harshly religious environment, and decided to just kinda let us go our own way because of it, so this kind of thing just isn't brought up. This was a movie that I did not grow up with, it was a subject that honestly still makes me uncomfortable, and yet, when I did finally see it just recently, I was blown away. I could go on for days about the beauty of the animation, the fantastic way the story is told, the music, the characters, etc. There's just so much that I really love here, even as someone outside of this religion.

Anthropology and archeology teach us that ancient Egyptian slaves were never used for hard labour. They were too valuable. Slaves were actually well provided for household staff. The people out building pyramids and temples were free-men, and they were paid well in beer, food, housing, and had access to health care. They were (probably) never whipped or beaten.

Slaves were a status symbol, and as such, were well fed, dressed, and treated. They were even allowed to worship freely. Slavery is despicable in any modern context, but it was an entire social class in ancient Egypt, not anything like what we think of as slavery today.

Don't believe me? Fine. I encourage you to educate yourself further.

Yes, but you see, the Ivrim weren't quite slaves. They were technically volunteers. They were also foreigners.

But would you mind putting up a link or some references to validate that statement?

Not trying to be funny or anything but I'm genuinely curious about it.

You know you're on the Internet? You can search for archaeological and historical information about ancient Egypt and their social structure anywhere on the internet (and you can also get professional literature in the library).

Also, the slaves of Egypt were not Jews, they were Canaanites, a group which some evidence suggests may have been the ancestors of the Jewish people.

The Jews came out of the Canaanite matrix. In fact, many practices the Old Testament condemns (boiling a goat kid in its mother's milk) were practices of the Canaanites, and previously by the Jews themselves. These laws were meant, whether consciously or sub-consciously, to remove themselves and create a separate identity. Even so, a lot of the genealogies in the Old Testament have to do with how they were related to the other Canaanites. Even their god, El, was a Canaanite god. At first, they still believed in many gods, just that El was the only one who should be worshiped because he was the greatest (which would explain why, in the Moses story, the priests were able to perform the same tricks). There's a name for that category of religion, but I forget what it is...

Although... I also read a convincing argument in a book called "101 Myths of the Bible" that the Jews were originally Egyptian. They would have been part of a cult that fell out of favor. What's convincing about it is the parallels in Hebrew and Egyptian mythology, with Egyptian being the older culture. They would have settled in the lands of the Canaanites, and mixed the two cultures.

But as interesting as all that is, I don't think it really matters when it comes to the story of Moses. It's myth. You don't have to believe it actually happened to enjoy it and learn something from it. And this movie is a great adaptation, very epic and moving. I, too, loved the burning bush theme. Funny, though, my Jewish friend preferred the song from the campfire scene; she said it was probably a cultural thing. I wonder.

The practice of believing in the existence of many gods, but only actively worshiping one of them, is called henotheism.

Source: I'm in an interfaith seminary, and minored in Religion in college.

Yes, it is a cultural thing. As a Jew, I found the camfire scene moving and beautiful as well as religiously meaningful. The song is wonderful.

I'm glad you brought this up because it just needed to be said. I thought about it, but you beat me to the punch. I also didn't want to ruin any believability of the movie, because some times social and historical context can do that.

But you're right. I had an art historian in college explain it like this: if you were the Pharaoh of Egypt who would you want to build your Pyramid? The great monument that was supposed to go over your tomb to represent your greatness? A slave you captured during war time with little to no experience on designing and building, or actual artists and architects you could pay to make that Pyramid look good?

They DIDN'T BUILD THE PYRAMIDS! They were caught in an endless loop of building storage silos on a marsh, according to tradition.

the slaves were the tools of the achitects and artisans.