There are a handful of absolute truths about Jewish pop culture. First, Adam Brody as Noah Roklov is the fictional hot rabbi we’ve been waiting for. Second, Fran Fine will always and forever be fashion inspo. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, “The Prince of Egypt” is the foundational text of for our people.
OK, maybe it’s not the foundational text. That would still be the Torah. (Baruch Hashem!) But “The Prince of Egypt” is a deeply important piece of media for Jews who grew up in the ’90s and 2000s! But why is that exactly? What is it about this 1998 animated retelling of the Exodus that still has people obsessed?
We here at Hey Alma decided to investigate.
Earlier this week, we asked our Instagram audience to share why “The Prince of Egypt” is so meaningful to them. The answers were deeply revealing, ranging from the “stacked” voice cast to the collaboration of Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz on the soundtrack to the inclusion of Ofra Haza to the most common response: the bisexual awakening Hot Moses and Tzipporah inspired in people.
But we’ll let our audience speak for themselves.
Here’s why “The Prince of Egypt” is so important to millennial and zillennial Jews, according to the Hey Alma audience:
Bisexual panic. I love being Jewish. — 23, Berlin
“DELIVER US.” That’s it, that’s the comment. — 31, London
Ofra Haza + Hans Zimmer = happy Jewish noises! — 29, Norfolk
“Enough, I will hear no more of this Hebrew nonsense” gets used in the Jewish group chat multiple times a week. — 31, New York
Nothing makes me feel more religious than this movie. Ofra singing “Deliver Us” and the Hebrew bridge of “When You Believe” both always give me chills. I weep. The power of the music makes me feel close to God. Music has always had that power for me, but there is something about the cinematic quality of it that just really gets me. — 33, San Jose
Representation! I grew up in a fairly large Jewish community in New Jersey and was 15 when it came out and hearing “Mi Chamocha” as part of “When You Believe” was so powerful. It still makes me tear up. — 42, New Jersey
Tzipporah was my bi awakening. — 31, D.C.
I don’t want to be dramatic but I had an actual religious awakening during the burning bush scene (watching in my 20s!), it is a work of art and for some reason spoke to me more than any of the hundreds of times I learned about it in school. — 27, Tel Aviv
SIMPLY THE BEST MASTERPIECE EVER MADE, EVERYTHING IS SPOT ON, I WISH I WAS THERE! LET MY PEOPLE GOOO! — 28, Brazil
It’s not Passover until I watch this movie! Even more than “The 10 Commandments,” which is a classic, “Prince of Egypt” is how I imagine the story, and the soundtrack is ICONIC. Their rendition of “Mi Chamocha” is truly the only one I acknowledge. — 34, Ohio
I always look forward to watching Prince of Egypt, it’s my favorite. — 31, Chattanooga
Growing up in a very secular French Jewish family, with little to no transmission of Jewish foundational texts or cultural practices, gathering every year with my cousins to watch “The Prince of Egypt” when on vacation at our grandparents’ home has always felt like a particularly important Jewish moment — one where we’re allowed, encouraged even, to feel close to the story’s resonance with our own family’s history of uprooting and exile. Last summer we introduced my youngest cousin to the film. As any cultural rite of passage, it was a very emotional moment and it made me watch the film in a different light. — 23, New York (originally from near Paris)
Moses is objectively hot in this movie. The music is iconic. — 38, Austin
Moses was my sexual awakening 100%. — 27, Chicago
I LOVE “The Prince of Egypt” so much (literally watching it as I type this) because it is such a beautiful telling of the Exodus story, made with utter love for the story & characters, has amazing songs and the most amazingly beautiful animation ever! I do indeed have a massive crush on animated Moses (he’s so handsome and kind and intelligent)! — 32, Florida
There is not a single skip on the soundtrack. And the animation is stunning. — 26, Vancouver
Strong Jewish women!!! Yohevd, Miriam and Tzipporah all absolutely crushed it and steered the entire story. We love it. — 33, Chicago
The movie is amazing but the real winner is the soundtrack, it had no reason to go so hard. More than once have multiple songs made my Spotify wrapped. — 29, Boston
I fear Moses and Tzipporah may have been my bisexual awakening. Also best opening shot and song ever. — 17, New Jersey
Our wedding recessional song was “Through Heavens Eyes.” My husband stomped on the glass and it broke out into the song. Beautiful, amazing! — 33, D.C.
When I was 2 or 3 I used to put a washcloth on my head and sit on a rocking horse and pretend to be Moses. It’s still one of my favorite movies and I sob every time I watch it. The music had no right to slap so hard. — 26, Michigan
Beyond being my first bi-panic, there was something so special about having a real movie that was made for us. It wasn’t just some film that went direct to DVD for synagogues and Jewish grandmothers to buy. Dreamworks took the story of our people to the big screen! I will never not cry when I hear “Through Heaven’s Eyes.” — 25, Boston
Reverence and hope and joy. — 35, Nuremberg
I’m a millennial shiksa and I did watch this as a child but it meant so much more once I met my Jewish wife and embarked on learning more about the culture and holidays and history. I was raised nothing in a Christian-background daycare and in Colorado where there are no Jews so I had a lot to learn and understand and integrate with my context of the bible and the very light (read: only Holocaust) Jewish history I learned for tests. As someone attending a seder for the first time, recalling “Prince if Egypt” was so helpful. As someone thinking about the modern day and also how I’d raise my Jew-ish kids, I would say it’s an essential. — 35, Boston
It was the only movie that, when I watched it as a little girl, made me feel a flame burning inside. It made me realize that my Jewish identity also stems from this, and that in the end, even after centuries and millennia, we will still feel in our hearts everything our ancestors endured to ensure that our people would not perish. And as Jews, the first commitment we should have is precisely to never let this flame of resilience that we carry within us be extinguished. — 19, Rome
Perfect!! The music and the story go hand-in-hand and painted a picture of how the Jews really lived in Egypt. I especially loved the Tzipporah scene. — 40, Boston
The songs made me very emotional from a young age. They so beautifully illustrate faith in Hashem. — 25, Montreal
My Jewish elementary school would of course play this every Passover, but also every recess/lunch when it rained out, so I’ve seen it soooo many times. — 20, California
I brought my daughter to see it and love the music plus its message. — 71, New Jersey
I just love everything about it. The music, the story telling, the emotions, the education around the story of Passover, the tradition of watching it as a family before Passover, the soundtrack, the cast. What’s not to love!!!! — 25, Toronto
Stacked cast: Jeff Goldblum as Aaron, Sandra Bullock as Miriam, Michelle Pfeiffer as Tziporrah, Ralph Fennes as Ramses, Steve Martin and Martin Short, not to mention the late Val Kilmer as both Moses and God?! Huge. I very much had my sexual awakening via young Moses in “Through Heavens Eyes.” “The Ten Plagues” song is a BOP. — 32, New Jersey
I watched it everyday after school with my best friend in elementary school (we are still besties and have recreated this tradition!). “Prince of Egypt,” dinosaur chicken nuggies or frozen pizza. — 31, D.C.
Loved it! Music is incredible! Story accurate and respectful enough. My synagogue did a viewing at the local movie theater. Then there was a big performance of the music at the synagogue dedication and I was in the kids choir (mind you, I’m tone deaf). It was a cultural moment for me and my friends. — 37, San Diego
When I listen to Ofra Haza sing “Deliver Us” in Hebrew, my tear ducts turn into a running faucet. 😭 — 30, Berlin
The music, the fact that it brought Mariah and Whitney together, the star-studded cast. It’s extremely well-paced and even for someone who is not religious it’s incredibly captivating. — 33, New York
My parents gave me a second hand VCR of this for my 7th or 8th (??) birthday and I watched it with my sisters all the time. To my 8-year-old brain it felt kinda magical that this story that I learned in so much detail at my Chabad school was on the big screen, especially when my school was like “TV is bad.” It was like two worlds that existed separately were talking to each other. — 28, Sydney
The soundtrack, the classic animation, the depth of characters — my Passover isn’t complete without watching “Prince of Egypt.” It’s like my version of the Haggadah. One of the most underrated movies of our childhood. — 32, Chicago
It was so awesome having a feature-length Hollywood movie about Jewish events! When it premiered, all we had was the Rugrats for age-appropriate Jewish holiday content. “Prince of Egypt” made me feel like Jews had MADE IT on TV (I was also 8 lol). And the sound track is killer!!! When they sing “Mi Chamocha” at the sea of reeds? That was poetic cinema for child-me. — 34, Kentucky
This was the closest I got to a Jewish animated Disney movie growing up! The music and animation are top tier, and I really felt seen, plus, it became ritualized when we watched it at my Jewish day school come Passover every year. I still remember the feeling of going to Blockbuster to rent the tape when we wanted to watch it at home. — 28, New York
Rediscovered it when I discovered “Dune.” It has mad “Dune” vibes! — 42, Chicago-area
I was the first person in my family that was born outside of the USSR. My family was (and still is) extremely secular (since they weren’t allowed to celebrate their faith for years and years) and Judaism was just a cultural thing for them. We didn’t celebrate holidays, I didn’t really know any prayers or too many biblical stories. I was 6 when my parents showed me the movie, as a way for me to connect to our faith, since we never actually celebrated Passover. I was obsessed of course ever since. For me this movie always symbolized a way of being proud and connected to Judaism even if you’re not practicing it. — 28, Tel Aviv
Mariah and Whitney at the end totally seal the deal on this FILM. — 45, Brooklyn
The tunes are BANGERS, the focus on the brother relationship is very interesting and relatable, Moses and Tzipporah are HOT, the dream with the Egyptian art is terrifying and it’s fun to talk about the things the film “got wrong” and feel superior! — 35, London
As someone who was “Jewish” but raised by a single, Irish Catholic dad, this movie was one thing that made me feel proud and connected to an ancient history, and to a story that my ancestors also knew and shared. — 28, Chicago
“The Prince of Egypt” was an opportunity to geek out and sing Jewish songs at home instead of having to be at camp or school. I’m passing it onto my kids and I’m so excited to have “Prince of Egypt” sing-a-longs this Passover (and all year long?)! — 33, Boston
I love this film so much. I feel like I need to watch it at least once a year otherwise I’ll turn into the Bamba baby. — 25, UK
Hans Zimmer did not have to go that hard for us, but he did it anyways. — 34, Ottawa
“The Prince of Egypt” has an underrated and stacked cast (Val Kilmer, Sandra Bullock, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Patrick Stewart, Jeff Goldblum, like what!!!). Greatest cinematic masterpiece of all time, best soundtrack ever (name another movie that can go from a “When You Believe” to “Through Heaven’s Eyes” — which won an Oscar btw), unironically my favorite movie ever. — 20, Chicago
It’s my all time favorite movie. I watch it every year while getting ready for the seder with my family and at least one other time on or before Passover when I can give it my full attention. The songs, the animation, the stacked cast, everything about it is perfect. My niece picked up my love for it and she walked down the aisle at my wedding to “Through Heaven’s Eyes.” My best friend and I have designated parts when singing the plague song and even got to live out our childhood dreams and sing “Playing with the Big Boys Now” as Hotep and Hoy in a camp play… when we were staff members… I could kvell about it for hours! — 31, NYC
