DVD Reveals Secrets Behind ‘Egypt’s’ Effects of Biblical Proportions

DreamWorks’ digital version of its 1998 animated hit, “The Prince of Egypt” ($35), is fit for a king.

Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells, the drama with music retells the story of Moses. More than four years in the making, the beautiful film uses traditional animation techniques integrated with computer-generated two-dimensional and three-dimensional animation effects. Composers Stephen Schwartz and Hans Zimmer won the best song Oscar for “When You Believe.”

The “Signature Selection” DVD of “Prince of Egypt” features sophisticated, animated menus offering snippets of scenes from the movie. Included on the disc are two original theatrical trailers, a gallery of art from the movie and a 30-minute “The Making of ‘The Prince of Egypt’ ” documentary that features interviews with the directors, animators, composers, producers Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg and voice actors Val Kilmer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum and Ralph Fiennes.

The most compelling part of the documentary focuses on the animation process and how state-of-the-art special effects created the 10 plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea and the extraordinary chariot race between young Moses and Ramses.

The multi-language presentation of “When You Believe” offers a fascinating look at how the song sounded in the 50 languages in which the entire film was recorded. A chronicle of how the chariot race was done includes commentary from directors Wells and Hickner and examples of the various stages of the animation. Another featurette goes into more detail about the animation process and how the two- and three-dimensional computer-generated effects were used, especially in Moses’ dream sequence, in which hieroglyphics come to life.

The print is offered in wide screen and the three directors provide the audio commentary. Though the trio become too technical while discussing the animation and computer effects, they offer some interesting tidbits regarding the making of the film, including the fact that they wanted to show Moses as sort of a vibrant, carefree troublemaker at the beginning and Ramses, his nemesis, in a more sympathetic light. The directors praise the efforts of Fiennes, who was the voice of Ramses, in helping them bring more shadings to the character.