"Bloom and may you live the way your life was meant to be"

I've been in a real Prince of Egypt mood since seeing the stage adaptation at the theatre. It's always been one of my favourite movies ever since I saw it at the cinema as a child, but every time I re-watch it I'm never quite prepared for just how good it is! It's probably one of my favourite soundtracks both in terms of songs and score, the animation is just *chef's kiss* and it hits that sweet spot of blending the 2D with the CGI flawlessly, and I just really love it's treatment of the source material and how sensitive they were with it all.


It made me want to watch Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) which I'd slept on despite knowing it exists. I knew it was a 'sequel' (technically a prequel in terms of story, but a direct-to-video sequel) to The Prince of Egypt but I never realised that both movies shared a lot of the same creative team which gave me hope. I generally avoid animated sequels as Disney have taught me not to trust them, but I'm so glad I gave this one a go! I love it! It made me cry!!

Obviously in comparison to The Prince of Egypt it's never going to hold up - it doesn't have the budget. And it's a shame that it has to exist in that shadow, as it's a wonderful film in it's own merit! Like I said, you can tell it's lower budget by the animation not being quite as smooth in certain areas such the characters movements, the CGI isn't quite as flawlessly blended (Pharaoh's dream is painfully CGI) and I didn't find the soundtrack as memorable initially, although now I'm more familiar with it it's definitely growing on me and has some beautiful lyrics. I just really love this movie and I found it so emotional to watch. I felt so strongly for the injustice Joseph faces and my heart broke for him that he was let down so badly - even if he was a bit conceited at the beginning, it wasn't his fault! And it's made with the same gorgeous style as The Prince of Egypt, with characters who actually look like people of colour.

I've always loved animated movies, and it's great to discover long lost gems like this. If you haven't seen Joseph: King of Dreams, or slept on it like I did because of it's sequel status, I really recommend it. It's one of the best films I've seen recently, and I couldn't help but watch it twice already over the past couple of weeks!