Tear Jerker / The Prince of Egypt

'There shall be a great cry in all of Egypt', indeed.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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• Every brotherly moment that Moses and Rameses share becomes Harsher in Hindsight upon a second-viewing.
  • Especially this scene when Moses tries to cheer up his brother about being the weak link:
    Moses: Well, that went well.
    Rameses: Just go away.
    Moses: Could have been worse.
    Rameses: The weak link in the chain. That's what he called me.
    Moses: Well, you are rather pathetic.
    Rameses: Irresponsible, ignorant of the traditions, he practically accused me of bringing down the dynasty!
    Moses: (joking) Yeah, I can see it now. There go the pyramids!
    Rameses: You can laugh about it!
    Moses: Statues cracking and toppling over. The Nile drying up. Single-handedly, you will manage to bring the greatest kingdom on Earth to ruin.
• Rameses as he tries to appeal to Moses to stay with him. You can't help but feel sorry for him as he tries virtually everything to keep his brother from leaving Egypt, down to the sadness in his face when Moses does leave.
  Rameses: (desperately holding out his hand to Moses) Moses... please.
  Moses: Goodbye, brother. (he turns and runs away)
  Rameses: Moses! MOSES!
  • In fact, everyone in Moses' adopted family when he finds out where he came from. They are being completely sincere in their love for him, but the things they say to reassure him just drive him further away because of earnest but misguided Values Dissonance.
  • This part of the movie is devastating on Moses' end, as well. In less than 24 hours, he lost everything because he was unwilling to live a lie. The only thing he had left from his old life was the ring Rameses gave him, which represents their relationship (which makes it all the sadder when he must give that up years later).
• During his journey through the desert after his escape from Egypt, Moses removes all of his Egyptian clothes, except for the ring Rameses gave him.
• The short scene with Moses and Rameses after the final plague, with the latter cradling his dead son's head, giving up (even momentarily) in despair.
  Rameses: You... and your people... have my permission to go.
  (Moses approaches, and puts a hand on Rameses' shoulder)
  Rameses: (recoiling sharply) Leave me!
  • One YouTuber put it perfectly in the comments of the video:
    YouTube Comment: Doesn't matter that he's the pharaoh, that he commands huge armies and lives in buildings made of gold.
    That's the broken whisper of a father who's just lost his son.
  • "And there shall be a great cry in all of Egypt, such as never has been or ever will be again!"
  • Leaving the palace, Moses slumps against the wall and breaks down sobbing, crumbling to his knees, devastated and horrified at what he has brought. Worse, listen closely to the ambient noise during this scene. Do you hear that almost inaudible screaming and crying in the background? That's the sound of thousands of Egyptian mothers and fathers weeping and wailing over the deaths of their firstborn children.
    • Making the wailing even worse is the fact that if you listen closely, you can hear what sounds like children crying, as well. More than likely the younger siblings of the now deceased firstborn children.
  • Rameses's son's death is also just as painful to Moses since he was by all rights his nephew, and so Moses himself lost two family members to the plague, unlike the other Hebrews.
  • The saddest part to all this is that, while also a form of Laser-Guided Karma toward Egypt as a whole, the culling of the first born was something that Seti I had done long ago and now his grandson and his people are paying for it. Moses' breakdown gains another layer in that regard.
    • If one reads between the lines, infant/child mortality rates back then were quite high even among royals, so when God said that he will smite all the firstborn he's not so much referring to those of the first birth but the eldest surviving child. Imagine the heartache of an Egyptian couple who's lost all but one of their children to injury, sickness, accident, or just natural causes only for the sole survivor to be taken from them by a silent killer in the night.
• "Deliver Us", especially the part Ofra Haza sang before the second chorus.
  My son, I have nothing that I can give
  But this chance that you may live,
  I'll pray we'll meet again, if He will deliver us
  • This is even exaggerated by the Cantonese lyrics translated here:
    My son, even though I'm your mother, I have nothing to give
    But just a glimmer of hope, that you may be on borrowed time
  • More heartbreaking in the fact that Moses never does see his mother again: Yocheved is nowhere to be found when Moses comes back, implying that she died in the intervening years. Worse, had she been alive when he came back, she would've seen a haughty prince instead, who would have thought her as nothing more than a foolish, deranged old woman who had the audacity to think herself his mother.
    Sleep and remember my last lullaby so I'll be with you when you dream.
  • Yocheved's first sung lines are Hebrew; "My good and tender son, don't be frightened and don't be scared". And what's going on in the background as she's singing this? We see the soldiers going through the streets looking for Hebrew babies.
• When Moses gives Rameses's ring back. It's the moment Rameses realizes that nothing can be the same between them again. The worst is how his face changes. From the deep sadness of a man who lost his brother into the merciless, cold look of the Pharaoh.
  • Rameses wears the ring after that point, even during his last scene. Assuming he keeps wearing it, it will forever be a reminder of everything he has lost.
• "Why can't things be the way they were before?"
• After Rameses rejects Moses one final time ("And a great cry shall be heard in Egypt..."), Rameses' son looks at Moses, terrified. Moses looks back, and his expression makes it clear that he knows it's the last time he'll ever see his nephew alive. Made even worse—Rameses's son is standing just below the mural of all the Hebrew babies, sent to drown, engraved on the wall. Worse still when you think about how Moses went to talk to his brother and begged him to do what God wanted so nothing worse would happen (probably aware of what the last plague would be) and how he tried to stop Rameses from saying "And a great cry shall be heard in Egypt" (because in the end, there WAS a great cry and those words would haunt Rameses forever). Seeing Moses trying to stop his brother from saying this is awful, plus how he looks at his nephew, knowing there is nothing he can do now.
  Moses: Rameses, your stubbornness is bringing this misery upon Egypt. It would cease if only you would let the Hebrews go.
  Rameses: I will not be dictated to. I will not be threatened! I am the morning and evening star! I am Pharaoh!
  Moses: Something else is coming, something much worse than anything before! Please, let go of your contempt for life before it destroys everything you hold dear! Think of your son!
  Rameses: (coldly) I do. You Hebrews have been nothing but trouble. My father had the right idea about how to deal with your people.
  Moses: Rameses!
  Rameses: And I think it's time I finished the job!
  Moses: Rameses!
  Rameses: And there shall be a great cry in all of Egypt, such as never has been or ever will be again!
  Moses: ... Rameses, you bring this upon yourself.
  • The worst part of this is, Moses knows that Rameses is about to cross the point of no return. He's giving his brother a Last-Second Chance, and when Rameses says that sentence, there can be no more chances. Moses meant it when he said Rameses has brought this on himself.
  • It's easy to miss, but Rameses says "my father", not "our father". Does he even think of Moses as a brother anymore?
• That brief moment of focus on Aaron and Miriam when the overseer Moses is about to kill first starts whipping the old man. Miriam points the cruelty out to her brother, and he immediately turns away to work as intently as possible with a terrified look on his face. And Aaron in general before the plagues. He's a man who has had his faith trampled into the dust, leaving only fear and bitterness. Listen to his voice when Miriam is about to charge at the guard. He's clearly begging her to not do anything to get herself killed.
• When Moses inadvertently ends up in Goshen. The joy on Miriam's face as she is finally reunited with her brother dissolves into pure heartbreak when she realizes that he thinks of them as just another pair of slaves, especially when he raises his hand to strike her for her "impudence." Watch Aaron in the background during this scene. Near the end, just before Moses grabs Miriam's wrist, you can see Aaron shutting his eyes, bowing his head, and turning away. He doesn't want to watch because he knows his sister will probably be beaten.
• The song "The Plagues" is epic as it is, but when you listen to the lyrics, it doubles as a heartbreaker, with Moses practically begging Rameses to free the slaves in order to stop the chaos.
  • Moses has a verse that makes it quite clear how conflicted he still is at essentially having to betray his brother.
    Once I called you brother
    Once I thought the chance to make you laugh
    was all I ever wanted...
    And even now I wish that God had chose another
    Serving as your foe on His behalf
    is the last thing that I wanted...
    • In the scene preceding the final plague, before both brothers go back to the roles they were destined for, and though it was brief, Moses did get the chance to make Rameses laugh for one last time by reminding him of the time they switched the heads of the gods of the Temple of Ra.
  • Furthermore, this scene shows that Moses is just as emotionally tortured by the plagues as Rameses. After all, Egypt is his home... Well, was his home...
    "This was my home
    All this pain and devastation
    How it tortures me inside
    All the innocent who suffer
    From your stubbornness and pride."
  • While by this point Rameses is definitely in the wrong, he sings a short verse which has a quite sad passage.
    "You who I called brother
    How could you have come to hate me so?
    Is this what you wanted?
    Then let my heart be hardened.
    And never mind how high the cost may grow.
    This will still be so.
    I will never let your people go!"
  • The fact that Rameses thinks Moses is doing this out of hateful spite is also pretty depressing. Moses doesn't want to do this at all and sings about how he is sad to see his childhood home being destroyed by God. It really shows how badly the relationship between these two men, who grew up as brothers, has been damaged.
  • Even though this is a story about the freeing of the Hebrews from captivity, the Plague scene doesn't shy away from the sheer devastation this had on Egyptians. Most poignant are the shots of children, possibly no older than Rameses' own son, and the fear in their eyes as their world crumbles, their parents unable to comfort them.
  • A small but easily missed scene during the chorus shows some Egyptians digging in the dirt for food. If you look closely, the ones in the back are desperately shoving anything resembling food into their mouths. The plagues have starved them to the point that they will eat anything. Moreso if you look at their clothes. They resemble the handmaidens within the royal court, meaning even the elite have been reduced to this.
• The aftermath of the Red Sea Crossing. First there's the moment before the Hebrews' rejoicing that they've finally managed to escape, there's an air of stunned shock and horror at the thought of how many men drowned when the seas closed...and then there's the moment when Moses looks back towards the distant shore, where Rameses is screaming his name in agonizing rage and despair, in an echo of when he left the first time. He sighs, mutters 'Goodbye, brother,' and leaves without looking back. Again.
  • There's a very good reason why Rameses sounds the way he does in this scene. Not only did he lose his empire and his son, but he lost his closest friend.
• "The Queen's Reprise" of "All I Ever Wanted". So much love packed into so few lines. Contrasted with Moses' confusion and desperation, and with our knowledge of what's coming up, it's heartbreaking.
  When the gods send you a blessing, you don't ask why it was sent.
  • It's quite clear that Moses is closer to their mother (while Rameses is trying to gain his father's approval), yet we never see her again after this scene. It makes you wonder what she was feeling after he never returned.
• Moses' nightmare involving him witnessing the Pharaoh sending soldiers to slaughter thousands of Hebrew babies, and after the Catapult Nightmare, Moses sees the carvings on the wall and realizes to his horror it's all true.
  • Moses sees the story of his real family, trying to sneak away from the guards and sees how his mother had no other choice than to leave his life to the river's course and God's mercy. We already saw this in the beginning, but Moses can see it now.
  • The subtle animation and Patrick Stewart's voice makes it clear that Seti is haunted by the fact he ordered the mass murder of innocent children and while trying to justify it knows no excuse is good enough.
    Seti: Moses, sometimes, for the greater good, sacrifices must be made.
  • His next line brings it into Nightmare Fuel territory though, with the hint that the sacrifice he's referring to may not be the actual deaths, but that he had to give the command to do it.
  • Seti clearly prioritizes the emotional well-being of his son during this encounter. He knows that regardless of how the act is viewed historically, it's upsetting and horrible to hear about. He understands that Moses is horrified, even if he doesn't fully understand why. Seti really is trying to be a good father, the entire scene. If only he hadn't chosen the worst possible thing to say to comfort Moses.
  • Seti is hugging Moses in the mural room after revealing why he killed the Hebrew firstborn. Moses starts to calm down and think that everything might turn out okay after all. Then Seti whispers "They were only slaves" and Moses backs up with a look of shock and dismay on his face.
  • All of the above is in this clip.
    • In the above scene, Seti's lip trembles slightly when he says that sacrifices must be made. He might have been sure of his actions once, sure in ordering the death of countless infants to protect his family. But, for a moment, he's an old, tired man and he knows in his heart that he can't justify what he did, and the reality came crashing down on him. The sentiment didn't last long, as mentioned above, but it was still a nice little subtle show of emotion that showed Seti was a man. Not a god, not the morning and evening stars, but a man.
    • Watch Seti's facial expression during this three-second period: Seti's face goes from being that of a man trying to figure out how to explain to his son why he commanded such a horrific act...to the look of a Pharaoh trying to regain his composure...in the span of a second. Seti may be a human whose heart may hurt at the gravity of what he allowed...but he also seems to be trying to maintain the very lessons he pressures Rameses with...to be confident and final with their decisions, without a hint of remorse or second-guessing oneself...likely similarly to how Seti himself had been pressured and taught. If true, then his attempt at remaining composed is still INCREDIBLY strained...
• Similarly, Rameses. It's evident from the very start that he's not simply an evil overlord, cackling with delight at the suffering he inflicts. He's a man. He truly loves Moses as a brother, before conflict rips them apart. He genuinely loves his son. Even all his cruelty and intransigence regarding the freedom of the Hebrews is shown not in the light of this being a simple case of Even Evil Has Loved Ones, but because he is personally being driven by a love of his country and the tragic desire to be the king his father wanted him to be. He's not a monster or a devil, he's a man doing what he genuinely believes to be right for his people.
• Rameses' ultimate fate: his kingdom is in ruins, his beloved son is dead, and so are all of his soldiers. He's ultimately left alone with apparently no one to help him. While at that point he might have lost some sympathy by ordering all the Hebrews, Moses included, to be killed, you can't help to feel sorry for him, especially considering that he lost everything he had; even Moses shows some sympathy as he bids farewell to Rameses one last time like this:
  Moses: (to a defeated Rameses who screams out his name) ....goodbye, brother.
• How Miriam convinces Moses that he is her brother. She sings Yocheved's last lullaby, her voice nearly breaking with the weight of her conviction, love, and sorrow. In the span of 20 seconds, Miriam unmakes Moses' Egyptian identity, proving to him that her tear-stricken face is too familiar, too similar to the first face he ever saw...
• The scene at the construction site. After learning about his true lineage, Moses is looking on in horror and despair at seeing thousands of his people being forced to work on building the temple. He sees one slave up close who looks so downtrodden over the years of labor he's been forced to do. The straw that breaks the camel's back for Moses is him seeing an old slave being whipped over and over again, prompting him to charge at the slave driver and demand that he leave the man alone.
• Even though "When You Believe" is a mostly uplifting sequence, you can see at one point when the Hebrews are marching out - one of the guards slumps and drags his headdress off. Another two just drop their weapons. There's a tinge of hopelessness in them - having spent their whole lives in service of a cause that's ended for good, with a real Now What? vibe.
  • Who's also to say that those guards we see didn't lose loved ones to the Tenth Plague as well, and now they're just broken with almost nothing to live for.
  • In a happier Tear Jerker moment, the two guards who drop their weapons go with the Hebrews as they're leaving, and are visible often in crowd scenes later and joining in the singing and celebrations. The Hebrews practiced the most radical form of forgiveness and let these two Egyptian guards join them without a word of hesitation or anger, just pure acceptance.
• In the stage musical, the aged Queen Tuya, who rarely leaves her chambers following Seti's death, summons the returned Moses to her. He arrives immediately, stating "Of course I will come if my mother calls me."
  • "And it breaks my heart to ask you, did you hate us all along?"
• Additionally in the musical, Ascended Extra Nefertiri, generally something of an Alpha Bitch, mourns the death of her son, whilst saying that she must be strong because her husband is mourning too, and he needs her support. The last part is heartwarming in a strange way, compared to their initial behaviour towards each other.

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