The Prince of Egypt Christian Movie Review (1998)

Guidance: Talk Together

The surface content is mostly family-friendly, but the slavery scenes, infant peril, and a few tense moments give it weight. Christian families will also want to talk through its strong biblical themes and how it presents God’s calling, justice, and deliverance.

Why This Guidance Level

This is a serious but still broadly family-suitable animated film. The main surface concerns are the slavery imagery, infant danger, and a few tense scenes, while the deeper concern for Christian families is the film’s strong biblical framing and the way it invites reflection on God, calling, justice, and deliverance.

Faith & Worldview Perspective

The film treats the Exodus story with reverence and gives a clear sense of God’s power over oppression, pride, and human authority. It also creates a strong opportunity to discuss how the biblical story points toward God’s saving work and the hope Christians find in Jesus Christ.

Truths Reflected

• God hears the cries of the oppressed and acts in justice and mercy.
• Human pride and power are fragile before the Lord.

Tensions to Discuss

• The film’s spiritual framing can be discussed so children understand Exodus as part of the larger biblical story that leads to Christ.
• Some viewers may need help separating dramatic storytelling from the full biblical account of God’s holiness, judgment, and redemption.

Content & Discernment Markers

Occult & Spiritual Content

• Occult material does not stand out here. The spiritual language is rooted in Exodus prayer and worship, with lines like “Elohim, God on high” and “Deliver us to the Promised Land,” which gives the film a biblical rather than occult tone.

Sexuality & Relationships

• Sexual content is minimal. The only notable moment is a brief chariot-race joke about a prince’s short uniform, which lands as mild embarrassment rather than sexual material.

Identity Themes

• Moses and Rameses are shaped by birth, duty, and approval, and the film keeps returning to questions of calling and responsibility. Parents may want to discuss how identity is not finally found in status or family role, but in belonging to God.

Violence & Intensity

• The opening slavery sequence is the film’s heaviest material, with whip imagery, harsh labor, shouting, and abuse. The baby rescue scene adds real tension as a mother hides her child and sends him away for safety. Parents may want to discuss why the film opens with such suffering and how God’s deliverance answers it.

Language & Humour

• Language stays mostly mild, but there are sharp put-downs and teasing such as “Second born, second place,” “Irresponsible,” “ignorant of the traditions,” and “You care too much.” The tone is more snide than coarse.

Other Content Notes

• The film’s emotional weight comes from slavery, divided brotherhood, and the clash between royal duty and conscience. The repeated cry “Deliver us” gives the story a prayerful urgency that many Christian families will recognize.

Notable Moments

• Opening slavery song: The film begins with enslaved workers singing under brutal conditions, with whip imagery and a plea for God to deliver them. It sets the moral and emotional stakes immediately.

  “With the sting of the whip / On my shoulder”

• Baby sent away: A mother hides her infant and sends him down the river for safety, turning the opening into a tense rescue scene rather than a simple origin story.

  “Do you know somewhere / He can live free”

• Brothers and responsibility: Moses and Rameses joke, spar, and then face their father’s rebuke, showing how privilege and duty shape their relationship.

  “Do you know the meaning of that word, Rameses?”

• Prayer for deliverance: The repeated cry for God to hear and rescue His people gives the film its spiritual center and makes the Exodus story feel like worship as well as drama.

  “Elohim, God on high / Can You hear Your people cry”

Discussion Prompts

• God hears suffering: What do you think the song “Deliver us” teaches about God hearing people who are hurting?
  • Biblical guidance: Exodus shows that God hears the cries of His people and acts in mercy and justice. Christians also see that hope fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who brings deeper rescue than political freedom alone.
  • Scripture: Exodus 3:7-8, Psalm 34:17, Luke 4:18
• Calling and obedience: Why is Moses’ calling hard for him, and what does that teach about obedience when God asks something difficult?
  • Biblical guidance: God often calls people away from comfort and status. The film can help children think about faithfulness, but Scripture keeps the focus on trusting the Lord rather than personal greatness.
  • Scripture: Exodus 3:10-12, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 14:15
• Pride and power: How does Pharaoh’s pride affect the people around him, and what does the Bible say about pride before God?
  • Biblical guidance: The story contrasts human power with the Lord’s authority. That contrast is even clearer in Christ, who rules with humility rather than self-exaltation.
  • Scripture: Proverbs 16:18, James 4:6, Philippians 2:5-11