Episode 68 marks Chris and Alex’s first look at popular animation studio DreamWorks, turning to the California-based company’s early cycle of cel-animated cartoons to examine The Prince of Egypt (Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells, 1998). Joining them to separate the historical realism from the packaged Westernised fantasy is biblical scholar and broadcaster Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter, whose research encompasses ancient Israelite and Judahite religions, and portrayals of the religious past in the Hebrew Bible. Listen as they discuss the artistic and historic license (and forms of poetic embellishment) that support this part-musical animated adaptation; The Prince of Egypt’s late-1990s context and vital place within the development of DreamWorks as a successful Hollywood studio; how the original Exodus story functions as a foundational myth central to the construction of Israelite identity; the formal and narrative interplay between Moses’ divine power, the supernatural, and Egyptian magic; star voice casting, vocal performance, and problematic processes of white-washing and colour-coding; the use of embryonic digital imagery during certain spectacular set-pieces; and how The Prince of Egypt presents its Christian iconography alongside the framing of miraculous activity within Moses’ own search for figurative and literal truth.
Bright (David Ayer, 2017)
Hugo (2011) (with Eric Smoodin)
Watchmen (2009) (with Drew Morton)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) (with Deborah Shaw)
Persepolis (2007)
Beetlejuice (1988) (with Jingan Young)
Princess Mononoke (1997) (with Rayna Denison)
(Bonus) Q&A with Graham Humphreys (Live from Portsmouth Bookfest)
Waterworld (1995) (with Simon Brew)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
Aladdin (2019) (with Myles Robey)
Hercules (1997) (with Edith Hall)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (with Astrid Goldsmith)
Dungeons & Dragons (1983-1985)
Wizards (1977) (Live @ Cinema Museum)
Brazil (1985) (with Hope Dickson Leach)
BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) (with Frances Pheasant-Kelly)
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) (with Caroline Ruddell - Live @ Cinema Museum)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) (with Becca Harrison)
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