The Life of Jesus: A Screenplay?

The Prince of Egypt ranks among my all-time favorite movies. I feel it's one of the best animated films ever, if not THE best.

I had the privilege of watching it just last week, while I was staying at my cousin's house in Tooele (once in a while, she pays me to look after her dogs and cat for a few days), and it still won me over.

All historical inaccuracies and Hollywood twists aside, I believe this movie does the story of Moses the most justice. As dazzling as the animation, music, and voice acting are, it's the portrayal of Moses himself that truly captures my heart.

In this version, Moses isn't some infallible, invulnerable, incorruptible Superman who totally pwns Pharaoh and squashes every other enemy flat. (That's not to say I don't find The Ten Commandments impressive, but that Moses is, I must confess, a tad too perfect.)

 
Quite the contrary, in fact. The DreamWorks Moses is so much more human...more like me, if you will.

He's afraid, he's sensitive, he makes mistakes, he learns from those mistakes, he improves over time, and God makes something truly remarkable out of him. Overall, his character growth is nothing short of phenomenal, and I just feel I can relate to him so much better.

Plus, his relationship with Pharaoh is so much more intimate and heartbreaking. I dare anyone to watch what transpires between the two brothers without getting a major lump in their throat.

 

(courtesy of Disney Screencaps)

Sorry, couldn't settle for just a few pictures!

Anyway, I'm often telling people that I would pay big money to see the life of Jesus Christ told in PoE style. That will probably never happen, and it most likely will never come from DreamWorks. Still, I think such an animated film would be AWESOME!!!

Then Jill, one of my good buddies, told me just the other day, "Maybe the screenplay doesn't exist yet because it's waiting for you to write it."

I have to admit, that kinda threw me off guard!

But when I thought about it, I figured, "Why not?"

I do want to write a few screenplays in addition to novels. I'm hoping my Terence series will become a TV series someday. Beverly Cleary once said, "If you don't see the book you want on the shelves, write it." I suppose such a principle could apply to movie scripts, too.

Even if my script never makes it to the big screen, it couldn't hurt to experiment. And if the dream does become reality...well and good.

In the meantime, it's fun to "reimagine" the stories of Jesus, involving Terence and my other Christian characters.

Goodness knows how our world could use more spiritual stories, especially these days.