One of the easier movies to discuss for a Catholic reviewer is The Prince of Egypt (1998).  That statement is not without caveats, however.  Personally, it is difficult to get through because it is a musical.  Remarkably, despite the song interludes, it clocks in at almost half the run-time of its most comparable cinematic cousin, The Ten Commandments(1956).  It is good that The Prince of Egypt is shorter, though understandable as it covers less of the book of Exodus.  What you do not see at the beginning of the 1956 film is another knock for the 1998 production: a disclaimer that what you are about to see is an adaptation of Scripture.  For our purposes, what this means is that I cannot tell you to simply go read the first few chapters of Exodus.  Instead, I will do my usual synopsis.

As you would usually expect from a musical, The Prince of Egypt begins with a number contextualizing the plight of the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt.  Among their number is Yocheved (voiced by Ofra Haza), a mother of three.  She is concerned for her youngest, an infant son, and later we learn her worry is caused by an edict of Pharaoh Seti (voiced by Patrick Stewart) ordering the execution of all Jewish newborns.  To avoid this fate for her baby, Yocheved places him in a reed basket and floats him down the Nile River.  His older sister, Miriam (voiced by Eden Riegel), watches as he navigates tricky waters to come to rest at the water side palace of the Pharaoh.  There he is found by Queen Tuya (voiced by Helen Mirren), who sees the child as a gift from the gods, takes him as her own, and names him Moses.  We then cut to when he is a young man (voiced by Val Kilmer), behaving as the title suggests, and causing trouble with his adopted brother Rameses (voiced by Ralph Fiennes).  Their antics draws the tired scolding of their father, but Moses tries to take the blame.  Following a discussion with Queen Tuya, Pharaoh Seti decides that what his heir needs is some responsibility.  Officially naming Rameses regent, he and Moses stumble late into the ceremony and are greeted by a further surprise.  The court has gathered to see a captured Midian woman named Tzipporah (voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer).  She wants nothing to do with the spectacle, but Rameses blithely gives her to Moses.  Moses is taken with her, and embarrassed by the “gift,” later helping her slip away into the night.  As he goes after her, chasing her into the Jewish quarter, he is recognized by Miriam (voiced by Sandra Bullock) and her older brother Aaron (voiced by Jeff Goldblum).  Against Aaron’s better judgement, she is insistent that Moses is their sibling while the supposed prince recoils from the accusation and insists that they will be punished.  It is not until Miriam begins singing a lullaby he distantly remembers that Moses is brought up short and runs back to the palace.  Once there, he finds the hieroglyphic mural depicting what had happened to Jewish children.  Pharaoh Seti finds him and explains that it had been a necessary sacrifice to keep the slave population in check.  Queen Tuya offers a softer reason for hiding the truth from Moses, saying that he had been a blessing and thus something that should not be questioned.  The next day, with the truth on his mind, he accidentally kills an Egyptian overseer oppressing one of the Jewish bondsmen.  Even though Rameses had been on hand to impose his royal privilege, the shock of the crime causes Moses to flee into the desert.  He is eventually found by a camel near a well, and fends off two men trying to take advantage of children watering their livestock.  Among them is Tzipporah, who is initially not pleased to be reunited with Moses.  Nonetheless, he is taken to her father, Jethro (voiced by Danny Glover), who takes in the stranger and hosts a banquet in his honor.  With his crime still weighing on his conscience, Moses protests that he is unworthy, but Jethro tells the lost soul to try to see himself as God sees him.  Even though this is presented in song, this Catholic appreciates the effect the sentiment has on Moses.  We see him marry Tzipporah and become an integral part of the Midian community.  Yet, God (voiced by Val Kilmer) intervenes in Moses’ life, speaking through the Burning Bush and commanding him to return to Egypt to free the Jews because their cry has reached God.  God also answers Moses’ doubts as to his qualifications with a reminder of who God is, and the assurance that He will be with Moses as he speaks before Pharaoh.  Moses will need them because, despite the incredible acts God displays through Moses, Rameses remains opposed to letting the Jews depart.  It takes God doing to the Egyptians what they had done to the Jewish babies for Rameses to only reluctantly change his mind.  Rameses does so because his own son and heir, Amun (voiced by Bobby Motown), is among the dead.  Moses leads his joyful people out of Egypt and they eventually arrive at the Red Sea.  Still, Rameses decides to gather his chariots and go after the Jews.  Thus, we get the climactic moment when God parts the waters to let His Chosen People cross, while He sends a fiery cloud to hold the Egyptians at bay until the refugees are at a safe distance.  Once this is accomplished, the column is removed and Rameses sends his troops forward, only for the waters to rush back upon them.  With Rameses slammed back to the other shore, Moses has one last sorrowful look back before turning to join the others on the way to the promised land.

That last look in The Prince of Egypt is among the many departures of the movie from Scripture, and one of the reasons for the caveat discussed in the introduction.  It is not that the movie contradicts the Bible, it is that it adds in things that have no basis in the Text.  There are some embellishments, too.  For example, nowhere does it say anything about a close relationship between Moses and Rameses, or that the former was considered so highly among the Egyptians.  This is all inference by the producers.  This Catholic is not mad at their artistic license, but it should be noted that it is also highly unlikely.  The Bible makes it plain that the Egyptians are aware of Moses’ background, so it is doubtful that he was so cozy with royalty.  Indeed, not only is the Bible clear on these matters, it is also incredibly short.  The entire sequence of the film where Moses and Rameses have their destructive race, Rameses is made heir, Tzipporah escapes, Moses learns of his heritage, and the murder and fleeing seem to be taken from Exodus 2:11-15.  That is a mere four verses, or three and a half, actually, when you consider that half of verse fifteen deals with Moses at the well in Midian.  In other words, what you see on screen is padding out what you read in Scripture.  Nonetheless, as I said, I am sort of okay with it.  I will not be mistaking what I see here as being Divinely inspired as I do with the Bible, but it is nice to see Moses humanized.  If you know the rest of the story, the picture later emerges of a man who becomes literally unapproachable because of how close he gets to God.  Because he converses with the Lord face-to-face, Moses’ visage eventually needs to be veiled when he goes about amongst the people.  What we get here is the portrayal of a prophet in a style that somewhat approximates what you get in The Chosen (2017-present).  Not everything you see Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) do or hear Him say is found in the Bible.  The point of it and The Prince of Egypt is to provide an imaginative way for the word of God to come alive.  In this case, I recommend reading Exodus to fill in the gaps.

I recommend reading Exodus instead of relying on The Prince of Egypt because there is no substitute for the Bible.  Such content should be viewed in a supplementary way, not as containing Divine truth by itself.  My only other complaint is that it is a musical.  Otherwise, see it without hesitation.