Upon waking up and seeing the news that actor Val Kilmer had passed away, I raced to watch my favorite movie scenes starring the idol. And no, it wasn’t the high-flying stunts of Iceman in Top Gun (1986) or the crime-fighting brawls as Batman in Batman Forever (1995). It was to see the slave boy turned royal prince, Moses, in The Prince of Egypt (1998). 

Compared to Dreamwork Animation’s current catalog of franchises such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda or How to Train Your Dragon, The Prince of Egypt stands out as both a historically and religiously poignant story. 

With an all-star cast of Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ofra Haza and Patrick Stewart, this depiction of Exodus feels just as grand if not more so than The Ten Commandments (1956).  

“While there’s obviously some creative liberty, the movie does a great job of depicting the emotional struggle of it all,” Villanova junior Joey Klieman said. “Songs like ‘Deliver Us’ show the desperation that God delivered the Hebrews from.”  

With the songs written by Stephen Schwartz and score composed by Hans Zimmer, The Prince of Egypt’s soundtrack matches the epic scale of the film. The opening number, “Deliver Us” brings the audience right alongside the enslaved Hebrews with us hearing them singing their plight to God, “Elohim, God on high, can you hear your people cry? Help us now. This dark hour.” The song that accompanies the Ten Plagues shows both God’s anger at Rameses’s refusal to free the Hebrews while also showing Moses’s lament at seeing the cost of his brother’s denial. An excerpt of verses sung by Moses read, “This was my home. All this pain and devastation. How it tortures me inside. All the innocent who suffer. From your stubbornness and pride!” 

Villanova senior Josh Tsai felt the music greatly contributed to the experience of the film. 

“I love how the music is woven into the story and amplifies the drama of the Exodus,” Tsai said. 

 The score itself runs parallel with the artistry in its hand-drawn visuals and the emotional beats each scene strives to hit. The gentle melody at the burning bush cascades into a thundering symphony when the Red Sea is parted in the finale. The soundtrack itself continues today, being played alongside other films like Dune, Interstellar, Gladiator and The Lion King at the “Hans Zimmer Live” concerts. 

Kilmer’s performance as Moses expertly shows his character’s transformation from a rash and ignorant prince into the steward of his people. 

Producer Sanda Rabins described Kilmer’s dedication to the project in a behind-the-scenes interview.

“Val Kilmer has put more time in it than any other actor has in an animated film,” Rabins said. “He has never turned us down when we’ve asked him to come back, even it was for one single line to just make that dialogue read a little bit better in the movie…” 

Witnessing Moses’s relationship with God is not only a theatrical delight, but a template for the trust faithful yearn to have in God. 

While The Prince of Egypt made its mark on the faith-based media landscape in 1998, the landscape is just as ripe today. The recently released King of Kings starring Oscar Isaac was heavily marketed as the first animated faith-based film since The Prince of Egypt and is selling out theaters. The popularity of The Chosen I previously wrote about and other recent or upcoming projects like Martin Scorsese’s The Saints and Amazon’s House of David show an eager audience for projects of this nature. While I don’t believe faith-based media to be the perfect substitute for Scripture, I find it to be the perfect complement. Seeing Scripture beyond the words on the page can create a deeper connection with it.

 “Religious media helps those of faith become emboldened in their identity and heritage,” Tsai said. “It also helps make things that can seem like just stories real and physical in front of us.”

Klieman felt similarly, believing that the media has a unique power to bring stories of the past to life.

 “These depictions in media help remind me that these are actual events, not just stories we hear,” Klieman said. 

The Prince of Egypt not only brings Scripture to life but is a testament to Kilmer’s extraordinary acting and legacy.