The Prince of Egypt

Updated: 12/11/2025, 1:34:56 PM Wikipedia source

The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. It is the first traditionally animated film from DreamWorks Animation, and the first to be animated entirely in-house at DWA Glendale after Amblimation was closed in 1997. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to a prophet chosen by God to carry out his ultimate destiny of leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. It features songs written by Stephen Schwartz and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. The film stars the voices of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, and Martin Short. DreamWorks co-founder and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg had frequently suggested an animated adaptation of the 1956 film The Ten Commandments while working for The Walt Disney Company, and he decided to put the idea into production after leaving Disney and co-founding DreamWorks Pictures in 1994. To make the project, DreamWorks employed artists who had worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation and Amblimation, totaling a crew of 350 people from 34 countries. The film has a blend of traditional animation and computer-generated imagery, created using software from Toon Boom Technologies and Silicon Graphics. The Prince of Egypt premiered at Royce Hall in Los Angeles on December 16, 1998, and was released in theaters on December 18, followed by a release on home video on September 14, 1999. Reviews were generally positive; critics particularly praised the visuals, songs, score, and voice acting. The film grossed $218 million worldwide in theaters, which made it the most successful non-Disney animated feature at the time. The film's success led to the direct-to-video prequel Joseph: King of Dreams (2000), and a stage musical adaptation which opened in London's West End in 2020. The song "When You Believe" became a commercially successful single in a pop version performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. The song won Best Original Song at the 71st Academy Awards, making The Prince of Egypt the first animated film independently outside of Disney and Pixar films, as well as the first DreamWorks Animation film, to receive Academy Awards, succeeded by Shrek (2001) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). The film also won the inaugural Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature, in a tie with Disney and Pixar's A Bug's Life. In the decades since its release, The Prince of Egypt has been widely acclaimed and regarded as one of DreamWorks' best films and one of the greatest animated films of all time.

Infobox

Directed by

mw- Brenda Chapman Steve Hickner Simon Wells

Written by

Philip LaZebnik

Story by

Kelly Asbury Lorna Cook

Based on

Book of Exodus

Produced by

Penney Finkelman Cox Sandra Rabins

Starring

Val Kilmer Ralph Fiennes Michelle Pfeiffer Sandra Bullock Jeff Goldblum Danny Glover Patrick Stewart Helen Mirren Steve Martin Martin Short

Edited by

Nick Fletcher

Music by

Hans Zimmer

Productioncompanies

DreamWorks Pictures DreamWorks Animation

Distributed by

DreamWorks Pictures (through DreamWorks Distribution)

Release dates

December 16, 1998 (1998-12-16) (Royce Hall) December 18, 1998 (1998-12-18) (United States)

Running time

99 minutes

Country

United States

Language

English

Budget

$60–100 million

Box office

$218.6 million