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The Prince of Egypt Reviews

Neither a lackluster score nor the spotty attempts at comic relief really dull DreamWorks' first foray into Disney-land: This musical retelling of the Biblical story of Moses features a first-rate voice cast and state-of-the-art animation that's nothing short of miraculous. And thanks to a sharp, economical script, this lavish production also puts a fresh-ish spin on a very, very old story. Baby Moses, child of Hebrew slaves, is found floating down the Nile in a reed basket by the wife of Pharaoh Seti (voiced by Helen Mirren; Patrick Stewart provides the voice of the Pharaoh). He's raised as one of the royal household, ignorant of his Hebraic origins. When the adult Moses (Val Kilmer) is clued into his history by his real sister and brother (Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum), he's struck with newfound horror at the Egyptians' treatment of the Hebrews and abandons the comforts of his foster-family to wander the desert. Moses eventually takes a wife (Michelle Pfeiffer), hears the voice of God in a burning bush, and returns to Egypt to free his people. The religious dimensions of the story take a back seat to the complicated relationship between Moses and Seti's son, the prince of Egypt Rameses II (Ralph Fiennes). But even that rides shotgun to what any Biblical epic worth its pillar of salt is really all about: spectacle. Awesome vistas worthy of David Lean, a breathtaking chariot race, swarms of locusts, a plague of frogs, a river of blood, and a genuinely creepy wraith that comes to claim the first born: It's all so brilliantly executed that parents of young impressionables should be forewarned. And if you think the parting of the Red Sea is something, just wait till it slams shut: It's enough to give Cecil B. DeMille a goosebump or two.