The Prince of Egypt (1998)

The animated musical drama film, The Prince of Egypt (1998), was created by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. In the land of Ancient Egypt, the Hebrew people who were enslaved prayed to their God for deliverance. Pharaoh Seti feared that the growing numbers of Hebrews could lead to rebellion, so he commanded a mass infanticide of all newborn Hebrew boys. Yocheved, along with her two children Miriam and Aaron, quickly made their way to the Nile River. There, she placed her newborn son in a basket on the water while singing him a final lullaby. As the basket floated towards Seti’s palace, Miriam followed and watched as her brother was adopted by Seti’s wife Queen Tuya who named him Moses. Before leaving, Miriam prayed for Moses to return and free their people. Years passed and Moses grew up alongside his adoptive brother Rameses, who was next in line for the throne of Egypt. However, when they accidentally destroyed a temple, they were scolded by Seti. Moses then suggested that Rameses be given an opportunity to prove his responsibility and Seti named him prince regent before departing.

High priests Hotep and Huy present Rameses with Tzipporah, a rebellious Midianite woman who catches his eye. Moses shows his authority by playfully tricking Tzipporah into falling into a pond after she refuses to submit, causing both amusement to the crowd and disappointment to Tuya. As a reward, Rameses gifts Tzipporah to Moses and appoints him as Royal Chief Architect. That evening, Moses decides to trail after Tzipporah as she escapes from the palace without stopping her. He then coincidentally encounters Miriam and Aaron, now grown adults whom he fails to recognize. Skeptical of their claims, Moses almost goes as far as having them arrested until Miriam invokes their mother’s lullaby, triggering a flood of memories for Moses. He flees in shock and disbelief but is soon confronted by Seti in a disturbing nightmare that confirms the truth about the Hebrews’ genocide. In a tense encounter with Seti himself, who denies any wrongdoing claiming they were ‘only slaves’, Moses is disturbed beyond belief.