Family Movie Review - Prince of Egypt

I love to have the children watch movies that bring the Bible to life in a respectful way.  

The Dreamworks movie Prince of Egypt does just that!

The songs in the movie are top notch..."Through Heaven's Eyes" is one of my favorites, a lively tune sung by Jethro, Moses's soon-to-be father-in-law talking about how we are part of the grand design.

[Jethro]
A single thread in a tapestry
Through its color brightly shine
Can never see its purpose
In the pattern of the grand design

And the stone that sits on the very top
Of the mountain's mighty face
Does it think it's more important
Than the stones that form the base?

So how can you see what your life is worth
Or where your value lies?
You can never see through the eyes of man
You must look at your life

Look at your life through heaven's eyes
Lai-la-lai...

A lake of gold in the desert sand
Is less than a cool fresh spring
And to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy
Is greater than the richest king
If a man lose ev'rything he owns
Has he truly lost his worth?
Or is it the beginning
Of a new and brighter birth?

So how do you measure the worth of a man
In wealth or strength or size?
In how much he gained or how much he gave?
The answer will come
The answer will come to him who tries
To look at his life through heaven's eyes

And that's why we share all we have with you
Though there's little to be found
When all you've got is nothing
There's a lot to go around

No life can escape being blown about
By the winds of change and chance
And though you never know all the steps
You must learn to join the dance
You must learn to join the dance
Lai-la-lai...

So how do you judge what a man is worth
By what he builds or buys?
You can never see with your eyes on earth
Look through heaven's eyes
Look at your life
Look at your life
Look at your life through heaven's eyes

In Egypt, the hieroglyphics come to life, telling part of the story. The plagues are powerfully portrayed and the scene of the Red Sea parting and the Israelites walking through is utterly amazing...lightning flashes and you see the shadow of a whale looming on one side!

The one flaw, as with most Moses stories is the Pharaoh that Moses demands to "let my people go", is called Pharoah Rameses. But he could not have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Here is a great article that I found on biblehistory.net. (you should definitely check it out)

So it took about half an hour to explain to the children when we were studying Ancient Egypt and Moses in homeschool at St. George Academy, that it was NOT Rameses, but most likely Amenotep III that was the Pharoah in the Moses story! (Rameses lived over 100 years later)

This is a definite cartoon Bible movie that should be on your family viewing list!

 

Product Description on Amazon

THE RETELLING OF THE STORY OF MOSES. SET IN A BASKET ALONG THE RIVER BY HIS DESPERATE MOTHER, MOSES IS FOUND BY THE QUEEN AND RAISED AS BROTHER TO RAMSES, HEIR TO THE THRONE. BUT WHEN AN ADULT MOSES LEARNS OF HIS HERITAGE, HE FINDS HIMSELF FLEEING FROM THE CITY ONLY TO BE CALLED ON BY GOD TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE. 

Grace (dd9) - "I love the songs and the scene with the burning bush." 

William (ds7) - "It helps me remember the Bible stories."