Animated Exodus Extravaganza
I love a good story. Whether it is told in writing, on stage or in cinema, a good story has the power to launch me of this world into the realm of emotions, colors, sights, smells and characters inhabiting an alternate reality.
Image by Bjørn Bulthuis - source: Flickr
A good story, told the right way, makes the unbelievable believable for a while, makes the audience experience the life of one or more protagonists for the duration of the story, it makes the real world around us dissolve temporarily as we're eager to experience the next episode in the life of our hero. I'm particularly fond of the more fantastical genres and love science fiction, fantasy, fairy-tales and have a special place in my heart for anime, s some of my favorite animations are the Japanese kind; Wicked City, Demon City, Ninja Scroll, Fist of the North Star, Akira, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Dragonball... This list goes on a while. And there are relatively few western animations that have the same kind of attraction for me.
There are a few though, like Heavy Metal and it's sequel Heavy Metal 2000, Fritz the Cat, and more mainstream titles like The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. But if I were to choose the best animation I've ever seen from the western hemisphere, that's got to be The Prince of Egypt... Yeah, I know; I'm as surprised as you are...
Although I'm not a religious person, I am a sucker for a well told story, and the Bible has some killer material, with the story of how Mozes led his people through the desert to the promised land being one of the most epic stories ever told anywhere and anytime. It is a dramatic story about an irreconcilable conflict between brothers, a heroic tale about the exodus, a wonderful fantasy complete with true miracles and charlatan's parlor tricks, it's a story about redemption and, like it says in the trailer, a celebration of the human spirit. Not only am I not religious, I've got nothing with musicals either, but strangely, Prince of Egypt is just that: an animated musical, with the "action" constantly interrupted by some song...
source: YouTube
And it works like a charm in this movie! Every line of dialogue AND every lyric from every song adds to the emotional impact of the scene. Maybe because it's an animation, it's less jarring when suddenly all characters fall in line to join some choreographed dance, maybe it's because they weren't real to begin with, that this unreal behavior doesn't immediately pull me out of the story like in "real" musicals. Whatever the reason: the songs in this movie are a delight and blend right in with the rest of the art pieces that together make this a cinematic experience equaled by only very few other animated films.
This 1998 Dreamworks film is a piece of art if you ask me. On top of great storytelling, character development, dialogue and music, we're treated to the voice acting of great actors, with Val Kilmer and Ralph Fiennes voicing the brothers Moses and Rameses (Kilmer also does the voice of God), and their acts supported by resounding names like Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Hellen Mirren, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Patrick Stewart, Jeff Goldblum and Danny Glover. But film is a visual way of storytelling first and foremost, and here's yet another aspect where Prince of Egypt shines bright; every scene is overladen with attention to detail, especially when one considers it's all hand-drawn. It's a shame that Dreamworks never returned to this style of animation, except for The Road to El Dorado; if I'm not mistaken all other movies they made since then have been of the computer animated kind.
If you've never seen this film yet, give it a try; I think this is a very underrated title that never got much attention at all. I even forgot about it until last month or so, when I saw the DVD lying in an old box with old DVD movies. And that's a shame, as it really is in my opinion one of the best animated films in existence, and certainly one of the best Dreamworks productions ever.
The Prince Of Egypt - Modern Trailer
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