Twenty-seven years ago, DreamWorks Animation gave us a miracle in the form of an animated feature. In a sea of stiff Bible movies and low-budget church productions, The Prince of Egypt stood apart like Moses on the mountaintop, beaming with divine brilliance.
Two decades and change later, it’s not just the best Bible movie ever made — it’s in a league of its own. And yes, we can prove it.
Let’s start with the music. The soundtrack is basically scripture for millennials and zillennials. From the thunderous “Deliver Us” that sets the tone to the hauntingly beautiful “When You Believe” — which, by the way, won an Oscar and gave us that legendary Whitney and Mariah duet — every song hits like a revelation.
Composer Hans Zimmer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz created an emotional landscape that transcends the film itself. “Through Heaven’s Eyes” remains one of the most underrated songs ever, delivering a theological TED Talk in under five minutes.
Then there’s the animation. While other religious films went for stale live-action or Saturday morning cartoon vibes, The Prince of Egypt chose a sweeping, painterly style that feels timeless.
The plagues sequence alone could be studied in art schools: frogs leaping across palaces, fiery hail raining down, the harrowing final plague sweeping across Egypt in an eerie mist. And don’t even get us started on the Red Sea.
When Moses parts those waters, the scene doesn’t just look good — it feels holy. You don’t watch it; you experience it.
The film also manages to do what very few Bible adaptations dare: it portrays its characters as real people. Moses isn’t a stoic superhero; he’s deeply human.
We see his fears, his guilt, his heartbreak over his brother Rameses. That relationship is the emotional core of the movie, a Shakespearean-level tragedy about two brothers forced apart by fate and faith.
Val Kilmer’s vulnerable Moses and Ralph Fiennes’ anguished Rameses make us care in a way most religious films only dream of.
And let’s not forget the voice cast — an absolute flex. Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Stewart, Steve Martin, Martin Short.
It’s like DreamWorks called Hollywood’s entire A-list and said, “Wanna help us animate the book of Exodus?” And they all said yes.
Even Jeff Goldblum as Aaron feels like inspired casting, delivering lines with his signature nervous energy that somehow works perfectly.
What makes The Prince of Egypt truly immortal is its respect for the source material. It doesn’t dumb down the story or tack on cringeworthy modern references to seem relatable.
It treats the Exodus narrative with the reverence it deserves while still making it accessible. There are no rock monster Nephilim, no awkward jokes, no attempts to Marvel-ify Moses. (Looking at you, Noah — we see those giant stone creatures.)
The film understands that the story of deliverance is already cinematic gold.
Culturally, The Prince of Egypt is unmatched. No other Bible movie has inspired so many youth group movie nights, Tumblr GIF sets, YouTube covers and TikTok remakes.
You can’t say that about Exodus: Gods and Kings (anyone remember that one? Exactly). This film lives in our collective spiritual and cultural memory in a way that no other adaptation has managed.
It’s a rite of passage, a shared touchstone, a soundtrack for both your childhood and your deconstruction playlists.
Even now, the film feels fresh. It doesn’t rely on cheap gags or outdated special effects.
Its themes — freedom, identity, sacrifice — resonate as strongly today as they did in 1998. Watch it again, and you’ll find yourself singing along with “All I Ever Wanted” and tearing up during “When You Believe.”
You’ll remember what it felt like to be a kid who believed in miracles, or an adult who needed to be reminded that freedom always costs something.
Sure, there have been other decent Bible adaptations since. The Chosen has given new life to the Gospels, and House of David has brilliantly captured the young’s king story like we haven’t seen before.
But The Prince of Egypt remains the gold standard — the movie that made you think, cry and sing in the car on the way home from youth group.
At the end of the day, The Prince of Egypt isn’t just a good Bible movie. It’s an animated masterpiece that transcends genre and faith traditions.
It’s a testament to what happens when artists treat sacred stories with both respect and creativity. It invites you into the tension, the beauty, the heartbreak and the wonder — and leaves you different on the other side.
So yes, you can keep your gritty Bible reboots and TV dramatizations. You can hold onto your VeggieTales (“David and the Giant Pickle” still slaps, no argument there). But when it comes to the definitive Bible movie? There’s really only one burning bush worth gathering around. It’s The Prince of Egypt.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be rewatching it for the hundredth time, singing “There Can Be Miracles” at the top of our lungs and tearing up when Moses parts that sea. Again.
