Joseph: King of Dreams

Joseph: King of Dreams is a DreamWorks Animation movie. It is based on the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. It stars Ben Affleck as Joseph and Mark Hamill as Judah (Biblical personage). The film was released direct-to-video on November 7, 2000, in the United States by DreamWorks Home Entertainment.

Plot
Jacob is an old man by the time his favorite wife Rachel, who, he was once told, could never have children, gives birth to a baby named Joseph. Jacob sees Joseph is a miracle and says that he must have a great destiny because he is a miracle child. Years later, Jacob gives him a colorful coat to prove Joseph is his favorite son. Joseph’s half-brothers get jealous of him especially after Joseph starts to have dreams in which he rises over them. After Joseph starts to tell their father Jacob bad reports about them, they get very angry. When Reuben tries to make peace with Joseph because they are brothers Joseph tells him that he’s not his brother but his half-brother. Joseph’s half-brothers under the leadership of Judah then kidnap him and sell him into slavery. Joseph is taken to Egypt and has to serve an Egyptian captain named Potiphar, who is obsessed with honor. Joseph becomes well-treated by Potiphar and meets a woman named Asenath with whom he falls in love. Potiphar’s wife decides she wants Joseph but he turns her down because she is already married. When she frames Joseph for rape, Potiphar realizes that she is lying but refused to admit it because of what believing a slave over his wife would say about his honor and Joseph is sent to jail. He explains the dreams of other prisoners. When Pharaoh cannot find anyone else to explain his dreams, he asks Joseph who predicts seven years of having grown plenty of grain and seven years of famine. Joseph is put in charge of collecting the extra food during the years of plenty so that Egypt can survive the famine. Joseph married Asenath. When Judah and his brothers go to Egypt looking for food, Joseph at first wants revenge, but Asenath suggests him to forgive them. Joseph comes up with a test to find out if they deserve his forgiveness. They summon Benjamin, Rachel’s only other son, who became Jacob’s favorite after he was told that Joseph died, to Egypt and framed him for theft, threatening to enslave him as punishment. When the brothers, under the leadership of Judah all offer themselves in Benjamin’s place, Joseph asks why they would give up everything for “a spoiled half-brother”, Judah, who does not recognize Joseph, tells him the truth about how he and his brothers sold Joseph into slavery out of jealousy and how they want more than anything else. Joseph reveals that he is actually himself. He forgives them because God brought him to Egypt to save lives.

Songs
Miracle Child
Bloom
You Know Better Than I

Differences with the Bible
The movie never mentioned in the Bible that Jacob’s oldest son is Reuben.
Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin in the Bible, while the brothers sold Joseph to the slave traders.

 Reception
The movie was compared unfavorably to The Prince of Egypt. Though there were some critics who said that Joseph was better in relation to spirituality when one compared the song You Know Better than I and When You Believe.

Category:2000 movies
Category:2000 animated movies
Category:2000 Direct-to-video movies
Category:American adventure movies
Category:American biographical movies
Category:American drama movies
Category:American family movies
Category:American musical movies
Category:DreamWorks Animation movies
Category:DreamWorks Pictures movies
Category:Direct-to-video movies
Category:English-language movies
Category:Movies based on the Bible
Category:Movies about slavery
Category:Movies set in Egypt
Category:Prequel movies
Category:The Prince of Egypt
Category:Screenplays by Joe Stillman