Synopsis

Raised as a prince of Egypt, Moses discovers that he was born a Hebrew and begins questioning his privileged life. After fleeing into the desert, he encounters God and returns to Egypt with a divine mission: free the enslaved Hebrews. His reunion with his adopted brother, Rameses, becomes a deeply personal struggle as the two are forced into opposing roles.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was DreamWorks Animation's first traditionally animated feature. Although it was produced before Antz, Antz reached theaters first, making The Prince of Egypt the studio's second theatrical release.

• DreamWorks consulted approximately 600 religious scholars and leaders, including Jewish, Christian, and Muslim representatives, during production. The consultation was intended to keep the adaptation respectful while allowing room for dramatic invention.

• The parting of the Red Sea is one of the film's major technical achievements. The approximately four-minute sequence reportedly took ten animators two years to complete.

• The filmmakers researched the visual style through several artistic influences, including the epic films of David Lean, the biblical illustrations of Gustave Dore, and the paintings of Claude Monet.

• The film's animation combined hand-drawn character work with computer-generated elements and digital compositing, particularly in large-scale crowd, water, and environmental effects.

• "When You Believe," written by Stephen Schwartz and performed in the film by the characters Tzipporah and Miriam, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was the first DreamWorks Animation song to receive that honor.

• The film was recorded in numerous languages for its international release. Contemporary production coverage reported that the complete film was recorded in approximately 50 languages.

• The story was adapted primarily from the Book of Exodus, but the film expands the limited biblical information about Moses' early life by imagining him and Rameses being raised together as brothers.