Lightheartedness gives way to somber soul-searching when, outside the palace, Moses' sister confronts him with his true identity and his destiny as Israel's deliverer. In a brilliantly conceived dream sequence, hieroglyphics drive that truth home, tastefully illustrating the dark edict and subsequent infanticide that threatened him as a baby. The next day, Moses confronts Pharoah, asking why scores of Hebrew infants were thrown to the crocodiles. There he marries Zipporah and, while tending sheep, finds himself drawn into God's presence via the burning bush. Moses emerges with a steely determination to rescue his fellow Hebrews.
Plagues arrive in spectacular fashion.
After losing his first-born, Rameses reluctantly grants the nation its freedom, but pride inspires a change of heart. In the end, Moses and Rameses find themselves on opposite shores, divided by allegiances sprung from polarized hearts-one softened to the plight of slaves, the other hardened against God and His people. It was our goal and mandate to take this Bible story and tell it in its context as accurately as possible. DreamWorks screened the movie for leaders of various faith communities to help accomplish that. Some theological suggestions impacted the final product.