History Characters / ThePrinceOfEgypt

* PayEvilUntoEvil: He unleashes the plagues upon Egypt because of Egypt's emslavement of His people for generations, and Rameses' refusal to release them, despite all the opportunities He gives him to yield. The last plague in particular is an eye-for-an-eye retribution for the death of the Israelite firstborns.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RalphFiennes; Yigal Sade (Hebrew); Roberto Colucci (speaking), Fazio Galván (singing) (Latin American Spanish); Sergio Zamora (speaking), Jorge Benito (singing) (European Spanish)

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JeffGoldblum, Efron Atkin (Hebrew), Gerardo Reyero (Latin American Spanish), Óscar Barberán (European Spanish)

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/ValKilmer (English), Creator/EmmanuelCurtil (European French), Dodo Fisher (Hebrew), Humberto Solórzano (Latin American Spanish), Jordi Ribes (European Spanish), Guilherme Briggs (Brazilian Portuguese)
->'''Singing Voice''': Amick Bryam (English), Olinser Equihua (Latin American Spanish), Manu Guix (European Spanish)
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moses_02.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''"Let my people go!"'']]

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/RalphFiennes; Yigal Sade (Hebrew); Roberto Colucci (speaking), Fazio Galván (singing) (Latin American Spanish); Sergio Zamora (speaking), Jorge Benito (singing) (European Spanish)
[[quoteright:531:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20231127_1519454.png]]
[[caption-width-right:531:''"I will ''NOT'' be the weak link!"'']]

-->'''Rameses''': ''[ordering his army into the Red Sea after the Israelites]'' DON'T JUST STAND THERE! ''KILL THEM! '''KILL THEM ALL!'''''

-->'''Rameses''': Moses... ''please''.
* PleaseSpareHimMyLiege: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] due to never getting a chance to invoke this; Moses leaves Egypt before he has the chance to do so. When Moses returns, he is now Pharaoh, and immediately pardons his adoptive sibling of his crime.

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/SandraBullock, Limor Shapira (Hebrew), Layda Álvarez Ponce (Latin American Spanish), Elvira Prado (European Spanish)
->'''(Adult Singing) Voiced by''': Brenda Chapman ("River Lullaby"), Sally Dworsky ("When You Believe"), Tamar Giladi (Hebrew dub), Patty Tanús (Latin American Spanish), Claudia Bardagí (European Spanish)
->'''(Child) Voiced by''': Creator/EdenRiegel, Alondra Torres (Latin American Spanish)
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a67d5d18128ae64a31d7578fa6bffaf5.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''"Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill."'']]

-->'''Voiced by''': Creator/MichellePfeiffer; Orna Katz (speaking), Sharona Nastovitsh (singing) (Hebrew dub); Dulce Guerrero (speaking), Aranza (singing) (Latin American Spanish); Montse Teruel (European Spanish), Vera Miranda (Brazilian Portuguese)
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2016_03_31_at_33236_pm_9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''"I'm coming with you."'']]

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The most common spelling of her name is "Tzipporah". But, it's often spelled as either "Tziporrah," "Zipporah," or "Sephora."

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/JeffGoldblum, Efron Atkin (Hebrew), Gerardo Reyero (Latin American Spanish), Óscar Barberán (European Spanish)

* TheCynic: He questions when has God ever cared about the Hebrews. And then he icily asks Moses when did he start to care. He initially becomes doubtful that anything will change after the first plague when Hotep and Huey “replicate” turning the water red, this convincing Rameses that the plague is nothing special. He eventually changes his ways.

** He comes across as harsh to his sister Miriam when she tries to do something to help others. However, it’s clear that he’s deeply afraid that he will lose the only other family member he has left and will do what he can to keep her from getting hurt or killed.

* LovableCoward: {{Justified|Trope}}. The "coward" part comes from the fact that as slaves, he and Miriam could easily be killed for speaking or acting out of turn. The "lovable" part comes from the fact his cowardice is ''very'' sympathetic and his BigBrotherInstinct attitude towards Miriam and others (i.e. keeps Tzipporah from getting hurt by the Pharaoh's guards). He also gets better with CharacterDevelopment.

* TheOneWhoWearsShoes: In contrast to Miriam and Tzipporah, who are both perpetually barefoot, Aaron wears sandals. Even his younger brother Moses ditches shoes before returning to Egypt. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] when Aaron was a toddler - he is barefoot along with his mother and big sister.

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/PatrickStewart, Dov Raizer (Hebrew), Federico Romano (Latin American Spanish), Juan Carlos Gustems (European Spanish)
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/default_pharaoh_seti_i_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''"Oh, my son... they were only slaves."'']]
Rameses's father and Moses's adoptive father. A strict authority figure, who has little sympathy for the Hebrews.

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/HelenMirren; Anat Atsmon (Hebrew), Liza Willert (Latin American Spanish), Montse Miralles (European Spanish)
->'''Singing Voice''': Linda Dee Shayne, Maru Dueñas (Latin American Spanish), Laura Simó (European Spanish)

--> '''Moses:''' Why did you choose me?\\

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/BobbyMotown, Gabriel Ramos (Latin American Spanish), Masumi Mutsuda (European Spanish)

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/SteveMartin (Hotep) and Creator/MartinShort (Huy); Ohad Shachar (Hotep) and Yehoyachin Friedlander (Huy) (Hebrew); Antonio Ortiz (Hotep) and Raúl Carballeda (Huy) (Latin American Spanish); Pep Antón Muñóz (Hotep) and Oscar Mas (Huy) (European Spanish), Creator/MauroRamos (Hotep) (Brazilian Portuguese)

* AdaptationalVillainy: In the musical, Hotep is no longer a harmless comic relief figure but a figure of power in his own right who frequently reminds Seti and Rameses that they will face an uprising if they don't keep the other royal families and the priesthood (i.e. himself) happy. He is also willing to [[spoiler:take over the Egyptian army and massacre the Israelites when Rameses demurs.]]

* StageMagician: Unlike Moses's legitimate divine powers, Hotep and Huy simply [[FakeWizardry created the facade of being blessed by the Egyptian pantheon to keep up appearances]]. This ranges from implied (staffs "turning" into cobras in the midst of a blinding light and fog) to flat-out shown to the audience (using red powder to "turn water into blood"). Huy even referred to themselves as "magicians" during their VillainSong, [[ShownTheirWork though that might be due to the term being used interchangeably with "wizard" in the olden days]]. In fact, they seem less bothered by the fact that Moses' cobra ate theirs than the fact that the audience loved their demonstration.

->'''Voiced by''': Music/OfraHaza

->'''Voiced by''': Unknown

-->'''Rameses' son''': Father...\\
'''Miriam''': It's...\\
'''Egyptian guard''': BLOOD! ''(screaming as they run back to the boat)''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/DannyGlover (speaking), Creator/BrianStokesMitchell (singing); Yuval Zamir (Hebrew); Francisco Céspedes (Latin American Spanish); Juan Fernández (speaking), Pedro Ruy-Blas (singing) (European Spanish)

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/ValKilmer[[note]]Technically, He's voiced by the entire cast, but Val Kilmer provides the "main" voice, so to speak[[/note]] (English); Creator/EmmanuelCurtil (European French); Dodo Fisher (main) and Shafraira Zakai (whispers) (Hebrew); Humberto Solórzano (Latin American Spanish); Jordi Ribes (European Spanish)

-->'''Moses:''' I was the Prince of Egypt, the son of the man who slaughtered (the Hebrews') children. You've chosen the wrong messenger. How can I even speak to these people?
-->'''God:''' ''(the bush lights up brightly, voice raising in volume)'' Who made man's mouth? Who made the deaf, the mute, the seeing, or the blind? Did not I? Now go!

* TheDreaded: Everyone who sees it, even the Hebrews, are ''very'' understandably terrified of it. At one point, we see a Hebrew family tremble with fear as it checks their door for lamb’s blood (expressing relief when it passes them by) and two Egyptian soldiers who see it coming towards them immediately abandon their weapons and flee for their lives.
* EldritchAbomination: Also [[UnbuiltTrope Unbuilt]], also just like the source material. It's a mass of swirling light whose introduction seems to imply that it lives ''outside'' our plane of existence. It is however benevolent, [[GoodIsNotNice if heavy-handed]].

* SayMyName: '''"MOSES!'''

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/71_2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:''"I will ''NOT'' be the weak link!"'']]

* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Implied. His comment of him not wanting to be the "weak link" may mean that he feels inferior to his father and, by proxy, other pharaohs before him. This is also seen with his constant groaning and deep regret, as if he's fighting his own emotions and his importance as pharaoh. The cause of his inferiority is even mentioned early on at the beginning of the movie, as his father notes that he has lots of responsibility as the first-born son, which would definitely had taken a toll on his mental health and make him develop an inferiority complex.

* BrokenPedestal: Moses looks up to him as his beloved father before he is revealed to be adopted (uncovering his true heritage) and learns Seti committed the horrific act of throwing Hebrew infants to the crocodiles. Moses becomes infuriated by his this revelation, and starts to emotionally distance from his "father" and leaves him and his kingdom altogether after accidentally killing a guard.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Or HistoricalBeautyUpdate. Literature/TheBible doesn't mention Moses' looks, either. However, he definitely gets an AgeLift, returning to Egypt in his thirties, rather than eighty. An important factor of Moses' biblical character was being "heavy of tongue and mouth" - he stuttered, and likely quite bad. An apocryphal story tells that this was due to burning his tongue on a hot coal as a baby (in order to test his loyalty, the royal servants of Egypt presented him with a crown and a brazier full of coals. Moses instinctively reached for the crown, but an angel invisibly turned his hand to the coals. He tried sucking on it to cool it down but it was still covered in burning ash). In the biblical tale, Moses' stuttering is actually one of the major reasons for his initial doubt that he could ever become the leader of a people, resolved only when his brother Aaron promises to speak for him. The makers of the film figured a stuttering protagonist wouldn't make a very good musical, and just dropped that angle.

* NatureLover: He loves his life as a shepherd, after leaving Egypt.

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: While still the villain, he's portrayed in a more tragic, sympathetic, and all-around human light than his Biblical counterpart. Rameses is clearly torn up about having to go against his brother, hoping that they can work things out, but ultimately decides they can't and refuses to see things any other way. Some scenes ended up having to be re-written from the original drafts of the script because Rameses came across as too nice.

* AbusiveDad: Seti is emotionally abusive towards Rameses. He even calls him the "weak link". Although despite this, with a little pushing he's still willing to name Rameses Prince Regent to give him the chance to prove himself he wants so much.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The last time the magicians are seen, they hurriedly try to cure their boils with lotions before Rameses flips their table over in a fit of anger and commands that they leave. They complied to their Pharaoh's wish, gathering their spilled lotion bottles and leaving. It is unknown what became of Hotep and Huy but it was most likely they were banished by Pharaoh to parts unknown for failing to match the power of God or that they were killed by the rest of the plagues.

** During Moses' nightmare He seemingly appears through the symbol of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aten Aten]], a monotheistic deity forced upon Egypt by a prior Pharaoh, and Unpersoned the instant they could get someone else on the throne.

* HeelFaceTurn: When the Hebrews are finally leaving Egypt, two guards throw down their spears and walk with them into the desert.

* MinorCharacterMajorSong: "Through Heaven's Eyes", sung by Jethro, knocks Moses out of a HeroicBSOD caused by his accident and finding his heritage. In his growing closer to them and marrying Tzipporah, it also gives Moses a more gentle, affable, and reasonable father figure in his life, and helps increase his empathy for when he does eventually go back to Egypt, this time fully on the side of the Israelites.

* AdaptedOut: Huy does not appear in the musical.

* TheHighQueen: To Rameses' [[TheHighKing High King]].

* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Implied. His comment of him not wanting to be the "weak link" may mean that he feels inferior to his father and, by proxy, other pharaohs before him. This is also seen with his constant groaning and deep regret, as if he's fighting his own emotions and his importance as pharaoh. This is even implied at the beginning of the movie, as his father mentions that he has lots of responsibility as the first-born son, which would definitely had taken a toll on his mental health and make him develop inferiority.

* TitleCharacter: Moses is the "Prince" in the title.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: When Moses tells him he's the wrong man to be his representative, God flips out. But in the ForegoneConclusion Moses ''was right''. Moses in the wilderness of Zin, loses faith in God, and is forbidden to enter The Promised Land. God tries to show some leniency and favour later, but the [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption damage is already done]].

[[caption-width-right:320:"Let my people go!"]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"I will ''NOT'' be the weak link!"]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill."]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"I'm coming with you."]]

[[caption-width-right:297:"When did God start caring about any of us? In fact, Moses, when did ''you'' start caring about ''slaves''? Was it when you found out that you ''were'' one of us?"]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"Oh my son- they were only slaves!"]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"When the gods send you a blessing, you don't ask why it was sent."]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"Father..."]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"It's not your fault your sons learned nothing!"]]

[[caption-width-right:350:"Sleep and remember my last lullaby so I'll be with you when you dream..."]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"First you rescue Tzipporah from Egypt, then you defend my younger daughters from brigands. You think that is nothing? It seems you do not know what is worthy of honor."]]

[[caption-width-right:320:"We're trying to get the funny man out of the well." ''(from left to right: Ephora, Ajolidoforah, Jethrodiadah)'']]

[[caption-width-right:210:"I am that I am."]]

->'''Voiced by''': Bobby Motown, Gabriel Ramos (Latin American Spanish), Masumi Mutsuda (European Spanish)

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FrancescaMarieSmith (Ephora), Stephanie Sawyer (Ajolidoforah), Aria Curzon (Jethrodiadah)

* MessianicArchetype: Which is ironic since Jesus wouldn't be born until over a millennium later.

* MirrorCharacter: To his indirect predecessor, [[Literature/BookOfGenesis Joe]][[WesternAnimation/JosephKingOfDreams sph]]. Both were Hebrew [[ChosenOne Chosen Ones]] who impacted the history of Egypt, and had connections to the pharaohs of their times. While Joseph not only saved Egypt through a major drought with [[DreamingOfThingsToCome prophetic foresight]] and agricultural knowledge, but helped in making it thrive and prosper from Egypt trading its excess grains to its neighbors who weren't so fortunate. Meanwhile, Moses wanted to try to prevent the suffering of Egypt and its peoples, but due to Rameses' stubborness, he can only [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone watch on in horror and regret]] for what [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne he feels his destiny]] has brought on.

* MosesInTheBulrushes: As usual, he was hidden in a basket by his mother and sent adrift on the Nile in hope that someone would find him and keep him safe. It's only natural since he's the TropeNamer.

* MyMasterRightOrWrong: After accepting his destiny as messenger, he doesn't challenge or question Yahweh, even when the first born are slain, [[JustFollowingOrders he remains obedient]] severing all former ties to his homeland, although he clearly isn't happy about it. Rameses doesn't realize or accept any of this, until it's too late.

* TheChosenOne: God never does explain why Moses is chosen to be [[MessianicArchetype the Deliverer]], rather than someone else. Nevertheless, despite his [[RefusalOfTheCall initial reluctance]] and later [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne hardships]], he accepts [[MissionFromGod his call]]. Unlike some examples of this trope, there is no widely known prophecy which proclaims him to be the Chosen One; the closest thing to this would be Miriam's words to him when they first meet, which he did not believe at that time. It is implied (but not outright stated) that his unusual status as a Hebrew who was raised as an Egyptian prince is the reason God chose him--his close relationship with Rameses gives him the unique position of being able to demand his people's freedom without the threat of immediate imprisonment or death, which the other Hebrews lack. From this perspective, he makes perfect sense to be the ChosenOne and the Israelites' deliverer.

* MessianicArchetype:

* BigBad: Of the second half, when he is the primary block in the way of the Hebrews' freedom. A given, since he is an adaptation of the second Pharaoh in the ''Literature/BookOfMoses''.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Seems like the pharaoh that Moses must go up against to free his people, but dies offscreen halfway through, after which his son Rameses takes over.

* BigBad: Of the second half, when he is the primary block in the way of the Hebrews' freedom.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The real Rameses II was almost certainly ''not'' the Pharaoh of the Exodus (Who was likely from earlier in the New Kingdom period), and there is no evidence that he attempted genocide against any ethnic group, let alone the Hebrews.