The Prince of Egypt
Short description
The Prince of Egypt is an animated retelling of the story of Moses, set in ancient Egypt. A Hebrew infant is placed in a basket on the Nile to save him from a decree ordering the deaths of newborn boys, and he is found and raised in the pharaoh's household. There he grows up alongside Rameses, the heir to the throne, and the two become as close as brothers. When Moses learns the truth about his origins, the bond between the two men is strained, and their separate destinies set them against each other with consequences for an entire people.
The film was directed by Simon Wells, Steve Hickner and Brenda Chapman. Wells had previously directed the animated features An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto, while for Hickner and Chapman it was their first turn in the director's chair. Nicholas Meyer and Philip LaZebnik wrote the screenplay, and Jeffrey Katzenberg produced with Penney Finkelman Cox and Sandra Rabins. The voice cast is led by Val Kilmer as Moses and Ralph Fiennes as Rameses, with Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum and Danny Glover among the principal voices.
Made by DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Pictures on a budget of 70 million dollars, the film took about 219 million dollars worldwide. It runs 99 minutes and holds a rating of 7.2 on IMDb from roughly 161,000 votes and 7.3 on TMDB from around 4,400 votes. A critics' rating stands at 7.8 from 89 reviews, higher than the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- To ensure the film was historically and theologically accurate, consultations were held with biblical scholars, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim theologians. After a preview of the cartoon, they noted that the creators had listened to their advice and praised the studio.
- For four years, 450 animators worked on the film. Art directors Cathy Altieri and Richard Chavez and production designer Derek Gogol led a team of nine artists who worked on creating the film's overall visual style. This process included a two-week trip to Egypt, as well as studying the artwork of Gustave Doré and Claude Monet, and the style of director David Lean in "Lawrence of Arabia."
- The idea for the animated film was born in 1994 at a meeting of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, which predetermined the creation of DreamWorks SKG. Katzenberg said that he had long wanted to make an animated film that differed from traditional Disney fairy tales – a story in the spirit of Indiana Jones films or "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." In response, Spielberg suggested making an animated remake of "The Ten Commandments." David Geffen picked up on this idea.
- While the Egyptian characters have a somewhat symmetrical, angular appearance, the Hebrew characters were given a more natural look.
- The film was banned from release in two Muslim countries – the Maldives and Malaysia – as it depicts one of the prophets revered in Islam (Musa/Moses).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
