The Discrepancies in the Film Adaptation
The book of Exodus is a detailed account of the story of the freedom of the Israelite people from their time of slavery in Egypt. At times the verses may be confusing and it might be hard to grasp points. We will discuss below how The Prince of Egypt was able to portray the main storyline, and look at some points in the movie where there where some incorrect themes or details were shown.
At the beginning of The Prince of Egypt, we see the rush that the mother is in to get her baby, Moses, safely to the river. The streets are full of solders, but luckily, Moses’ mother and kids know where to go. The mother sets baby Moses into the dangerous waters. Part of the travel was shown to be quite adventurous, with the basket being the center of attention amongst some of the most viscous animals. Eventually the basket arrives at its destination, and the Egyptian Queen picks it up. After she opens the basket, she is shocked yet pleased to find a little baby boy, and decides to have mercy on it. The baby is adopted into the royal family as one of the King and Queen’s own and Moses doesn’t find out his true origins till later on in the story.
Early on in the movie we get off to a rocky start. There are things that we do understand about the original arrival that make sense to us, the readers. Although baby Moses’ adventures may have been quite dangerous with many close encounters on the river, the Bible does not speak of any. Moses’ mother tells Moses sister, Mariam, to follow the basket down the river and make sure it arrives at its final destination. The Bible says that it was the princess of Egypt who actually discovered Moses. This is seen in Exodus 2:5: “The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bat...
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...een as being slightly innocent and helpless, because of the important dialogue that was taken out of the script.
The mentioned examples are just a couple of many differences between the Exodus in the Bible and the adapted movie Prince of Egypt. Many small details such as caring Joseph’s bones were left out, as well as many pieces added in, such as the slight immodesty shown in Moses’ wife Zipporah’s clothing. Many of the changes made in the movie were made for theatrical purposes. Along with many other Bible stories, the writers choose to leave out details they feel are not necessary to portray the main ethical point of the story. Regardless of the details missed in the Prince of Egypt, God’s power is still shown in all its beautiful power.
Works Cited
Coogan, Michael. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha. City: Oxford University
Press, USA, 2010.
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The film The Prince of Egypt is in the most part very accurate with the exception of some minor details. The movie was released in 1998 produced and animated by Dreamworks which was about the story of Moses. The first topic that will be discussed is that the the plot was overall the worst section done. Another accuracy of the film that will be reviewed is the settings element is the best and most accurate part of the film. Finally, the diversity in the characters will be reviewed and are mostly accurate in the whole. Therefore, there are many similarities and differences between the Bible and the movie, ‘ The Prince of Egypt’.
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