While Disney isn’t exactly known for its historical accuracy, I know it for famously drawing in people of all ages for generations with its imaginative and captivating stories. What was kept and added to the 1998 film Prince Of Egypt from the Bible’s original version of Moses in Exodus, can show us what biblical storytelling fails to address, and what has even proven to be harmful.

Real Family Vs. Chosen Family

I get that The Book of Exodus is trying to establish the importance of the covenant with god in terms of descendance, but the lack of internal conflict for Moses between his old and new family is truly appalling. 

You know the story, the one told on Passover every year; in the book of Exodus Moses is placed in a basket to float down a river and is discovered and taken in by the Pharaoh’s family, later escaping Egypt to reunite with god’s convenant and join the Israelites on their journey to the Promised land. The Prince of Egypt expands this paragraph-long origin story into a conflicted moral lesson extending the whole of the movie. Disney does this by simply giving Moses a non biological brother whom he loves. But Moses struggles to decide between his genetic family (the Israelites) and those who raised him (the Egyptians). 

In Prince of Egypt, Moses’ nonbiological older brother, Ramses, becomes the Pharaoh after Moses flees from Egypt the first time. So, during the sequence of punishment that God enacts on Egypt, Moses must face the pain of seeing his brother suffer, completing his heroic character arc in the most satisfying Disney-esque way.

On the other hand, Exodus never gives Moses any ties to his adopted family. No feelings of remorse, which makes absolutely no sense given the human nature of family. What the bible gets wrong is the idea of a “Chosen Family”. It assumes that we have more of a bond with people who we have never met, but share DNA with, than the people that have raised and cared for us into adulthood.

The Role of God 

In both The Prince of Egypt and Exodus, God is an all knowing being who has finally decided to lead his people to the promised land by speaking through Moses.

In the Prince of Egypt, the role of God is dramatically diminished, while familial connection becomes a much larger part of Moses’ character development. God, instead of being the insufferable tyrant he presents as in Exodus, sort of becomes an ancestral spirit that encourages Moses with inspirational, and oftentimes fatherlike, speeches. 

For example, why does God choose to harden Pharaoh’s heart only to bring more destruction to mortal people? Because he is a jealous god and wants to be known and feared by all people. Conversely, God’s decision in Prince of Egypt to destroy Egypt is viewed as justified because God never hardens Pharaoh’s heart. Pharoah is simply a corrupt king who won’t release the Hebrews because of his own hubris. 

This decision to omit god’s selfishness makes much more sense in terms of establishing a connection between the Israelites and God. Prince of Egypt proves that God doesn’t have to be intimidating in order to evoke devotion. Sometimes Exodus’ portrayal of god can even prove to be harmful, so much so that victims of abuse cite “finding it difficult to trust that kindness could be a more enduring quality of god than unpredictable angry judgement”. This mistrust of God’s qualities have been seen to lead into fear of authority figures in real life.

What makes Moses a leader?

Nobody ever wants to read a story with a boring hero, so why does The Bible decide that the savior of Israel be a puppet to God with no real nuance other than that he apparently cannot give speeches.

This is why Disney makes Moses into a real person. They give him entitlement from being raised by royalty and bravery from overcoming his obstacles. Most importantly, God gifts Moses with determination, which allows him to enact his prophecy. These traits make Moses a true leader; one whom you see grow throughout the story and begin to root for. 

The vast transformation between the original text and a Disney adaptation only shows how much emotional supplementation was necessary to change the story into something families could enjoy, regardless of religion. 

Cassy Bennett (author)

Hi, my name is Cassy Bennett and i’m a freshman at Colgate University. I am interested in majoring in chemistry with a minor in architecture.