‘The Prince Of Egypt’ Turns 25: Directors Share Stories From Production And A New Remastered Video For “When You Believe”
Dreamworks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt was released on December 18, 1998. To celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, Dreamworks has released a series of making-of videos featuring anecdotes from the film’s directors and a remastered music video for its Oscar-winning original song “When You Believe.”
The Prince of Egypt, directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, was Dreamworks’ second animated feature and went on to gross $218.6 million at the global box office. It was well received by critics and audiences at the time and has aged well. Many consider the film to be a modern classic and one of Dreamworks’ best films.
Written by Philip LaZebnik (Pocahontas, The Road to El Dorado), the film was adapted from the first 14 chapters of the Book of Exodus in the Bible. It tells the story of the Egyptian Prince Moses, who learns of his identity as a Hebrew and his destiny to become the chosen deliverer of his people.
In the behind-the-scenes videos, you can hear Chapman, Hickner, and Wells discuss the process behind animating three of the film’s most memorable musical moments.
In the film’s original English-language version, the song is performed by Sally Dworsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, and a children’s choir soloist Andrew Bryan. The remastered version features artists singing in 25 languages.
In addition to winning the original song Oscar, a radio-friendly version of “When You Believe” was recorded by pop legends Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. It eventually hit number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
