22nd April, 2008

DAVID ADAMS

The Ten Commandments (G)

In A Word: Child-friendly

It’s a story many of us know - and know well - but it’s a story which never fails to stir a sense of the power and love of God.

And despite the quality of its animation (oh, Pixar, how you’ve spoiled us!), the latest animated version of The Ten Commandments still manages to convey a sense of this.

Narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley, the film - which is the first in what is projected to be a 12 part series of great Bible stories - features the voices of Christian Slater as Moses, Alfred Molina as Ramses, the Egyptian Pharoah, and Elliot Gould as God.

Big names all, yet unlike the far more technically impressively The Prince of Egypt which also dealt with the exodus, it has the feel of a straight to DVD release rather than a big screen flick.

Still, The Ten Commandments does present an account of the story of Moses that sticks reasonably close to the Biblical version - from his origins in Egypt through to his handing over the reins to Joshua just before the people of Israel enter the Promised Land.

The script by Ed Naha (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) takes a few liberties - note, for example, the episode early on when Moses “accidentally” kills a man - but overall provides a solid, if not exceptional, introduction to Moses’ story and the exodus which is largely presented without being watered down.

This is a film aimed squarely at a child audience. Animation quality aside, the straightforward presentation of the Bible story should make it a popular teaching tool at Sunday schools (to that end, the website listed below includes a range of resources for use by teachers).

Utimately, adults may find the production quality of this flick hard to look past but rest assured that kids will still be hooked by what is an amazing story.

• 'The Ten Commandments' is in cinemas from 24th April.

~ www.tencommandmentsmovie.com.au

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