Editor's Choice
Summarize the movie The Prince of Egypt.
Quick answer:
The Prince of Egypt (1998) follows Moses, a Hebrew raised by Egyptian royalty. Discovering his true heritage, he flees after killing an overseer and encounters God, who tasks him with freeing the Hebrew slaves. Moses returns to Egypt, confronts Pharaoh Ramses, and unleashes ten plagues. After the final plague, Ramses relents, allowing the Hebrews to escape through the parted Red Sea.
The movie Prince of Egypt (1998) opens with the culling of the Hebrew slaves' newborn sons and introduces the hero, Moses, as a baby sent into the river by his mother in hopes of saving him. We witness the adoption of Moses into the royal family, and we are aware that his sister, Miriam, knows that the second prince of Egypt is her younger brother.
There is a time skip, and we see Moses and his elder adopted brother, Ramses, as mischievous young princes. Later, we are introduced to Tzipporah, who was captured in the desert and given to Moses by his brother. When she escapes from the palace, Moses follows her and runs into his biological siblings. His sister, Miriam, attempts to convince him of their sibling relationship, but he refuses to believe her until she sings their mother’s lullaby, introduced at the very beginning of the film, and Moses flees.
Moses then returns to the palace and confirms the truth of his past with his adoptive parents, but he also learns of the atrocities committed against the slaves by the pharaoh. Unable to stomach the abuse of the slaves now that he knows of his heritage, Moses attacks and kills an Egyptian overseer and escapes into the desert.
After nearly perishing in the desert, Moses is discovered by Tzipporah after saving her sisters from brigands. Moses is welcomed into the desert clan's way of life by Tzipporah's father, Jethro, and Moses eventually marries Tzipporah and becomes a shepherd. However, one day he is visited by a vision of God informing him that he is destined to free the slaves from Egypt and deliver them to the Promised Land.
Moses does as instructed and returns to Egypt with Tzipporah. He greets his elder brother, who is now Pharaoh, but is unable to convince his brother to let the slaves of Egypt free. The relationship between them sours as Moses continuously demands the Hebrews be set free, which enrages Ramses and incites him into treating the slaves more cruelly than before.
Moses inflicts nine of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, but when Ramses still refuses to set the Hebrews free, he inflicts the final plague on Egypt, the death of firstborn children of households not marked with the blood of a sacrificed lamb. After the death of his son, Ramses allows Moses to free the Hebrews.
Moses leads the freed slaves from Egypt, but when they reach the Red Sea, they quickly discover that a vengeful Ramses is set on hunting them down. A pillar of fire blocks the way for the Egyptians, and this allows Moses to part the Red Sea so that the Hebrews can escape to the Promised Land.
The movie, Prince of Egypt, was made in 1998 and it had an all star cast - Val Kilmer, Ralph Finnes, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The movement of the movie can be summarized in three points.
First, it is about Moses, a Hebrew, who was adopted into the family of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. When Moses finds out about his true identity, he wants to help his fellowship Hebrews who are persecuted. They are actually slaves in Egypt. However, in this process, he alienates the Egyptians.
Second, during this time, Moses has his first encounter with the God of the Hebrews and God calls him to go to Pharaoh to free his people. Moses hesitantly goes and the rest of the movie is a showdown between Moses and Pharaoh. In short, God sends plagues on Egypt, but Pharaoh still hardens his heart. Only the tenth plague convinces Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Here are the ten plagues:
(1) Water sources turn into blood.
(2) Frogs appear and fill the land.
(3) Lice or gnats fill the land.
(4) Flies fill the land.
(5) There is disease on livestock.
(6) Boils appear on livestock.
(7) There is a hail storm.
(8) A plague of locusts appears
(9) Darkness fills the land.
(10) There is the death of the first-born over Egypt.
Finally, Moses and the Hebrews miraculously cross the Red Sea through the miracle of God. But at this moment, Pharaoh has a change of heart and pursues the Hebrews. This is the climax of the story. The Hebrews are saved as God divides the sea, whereas the waters come crashing down on Pharaoh's army. As you can tell, this story comes from the book of Exodus.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.