A new live-action movie is now in theaters, bringing the beloved story of a Viking boy and his dragon friend to a new audience. While based on the popular 2010 animated film, this remake recreates all the memorable scenes and comes remarkably close to matching the quality of the original.
As a huge animation fan, I’ve been hearing amazing things about How to Train Your Dragon – everyone loves how true it is to the source material and those incredible flying scenes! It’s no surprise DreamWorks was already planning a sequel – reportedly based on How to Train Your Dragon 2 – even before the first movie came out. But it sounds like How to Train Your Dragon might not be the only DreamWorks animated film getting a live-action makeover. With Disney seemingly running out of classics to remake, DreamWorks has a ton of options. And if they do decide to make more live-action versions after How to Train Your Dragon, there’s one film they absolutely need to tackle first.
Prince of Egypt Should Be DreamWorks’ Next Live-Action Reboot
The popularity of How to Train Your Dragon almost guarantees we’ll see more DreamWorks animated films turned into live-action movies, though not all of them would work well. Finding the right follow-up project has been challenging. However, one often-overlooked gem seems perfect for a revival: The Prince of Egypt. This film holds a special place in DreamWorks history as their very first movie. In fact, DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg had long hoped to create an animated version of the story of Moses while he was still at Walt Disney Animation, but the project never happened.
As a movie reviewer, I was really intrigued by DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt when it came out in 1998. Jeffrey Katzenberg had finally gotten his vision on screen after launching the studio with Spielberg and Geffen. The film takes the first twenty chapters of Exodus and beautifully reimagines Moses’ story – from his privileged upbringing within the Pharaoh’s family, to his forced exile after standing up against injustice, and ultimately, his divine calling to lead his people to freedom. It’s a loose adaptation, but a powerful one.
As a huge fan of animation, I’ve always been captivated by The Prince of Egypt. What really struck me was the emotional core of the story – the powerful relationship between Moses and Ramses, even though Ramses was the Pharaoh who wouldn’t let the Israelites go, leading to those incredible, yet devastating, plagues. While critics generally liked it, it didn’t make huge money at the box office. But you know what? That moderate success was a lifesaver for DreamWorks back then. It kept the studio going and allowed them to create some of my other favorites like Shrek, Shark Tale, and eventually, How to Train Your Dragon. It’s amazing to think how one film can have such a ripple effect!
Over twenty years after it came out, The Prince of Egypt has become a beloved classic for those who watched it as children. People still highly regard the film, which features a star-studded cast including Val Kilmer as Moses and Ralph Fiennes as Ramses. The supporting cast also boasts well-known actors like Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, and Danny Glover.
Although it would be hard to recast the roles, many of the original actors are still working today, which opens the possibility of seeing some of them return. Fans would likely be thrilled to see Ralph Fiennes as Ramses or Steve Martin and Martin Short recreate their roles as the Pharaoh’s magicians. Sadly, Val Kilmer, who passed away earlier this year, won’t be able to rejoin the cast. Even with a completely new cast, the strong characters and their compelling stories in The Prince of Egypt would be fantastic to explore with a new generation of actors.
The music from The Prince of Egypt continues to be highly praised. Legendary composer Stephen Schwartz, known for his work on films like Pocahontas and Enchanted, created the memorable songs and lyrics for The Prince of Egypt. Songs like “Deliver Us,” “All I Ever Wanted,” and “When You Believe” are still popular decades after the movie came out. It would be great to hear fresh, modern versions of these classic songs performed by today’s talented singers. Following the successful movie adaptation of Wicked, DreamWorks might be looking to revisit another of Schwartz’s fantastic soundtracks, giving The Prince of Egypt the attention it deserves.
Why Prince of Egypt and How to Train Your Dragon Can Work in Live-Action (When Other Movies Can’t)
Unlike many animated films, The Prince of Egypt could realistically be made into a live-action movie, largely because it’s based on a real historical event – the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Like How to Train Your Dragon, which features fantastical creatures but focuses on relatable human struggles, The Prince of Egypt grounds its story in a recognizable world.
Despite its epic, larger-than-life moments – like the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea – The Prince of Egypt is ultimately a story about people. These fantastical scenes would be even more impactful in a live-action format, much like they were in the classic 1956 film The Ten Commandments. A live-action version of The Prince of Egypt could use today’s visual effects to truly bring these moments to life, similar to how How to Train Your Dragon used CGI to make its dragons and flying sequences feel real.
A live-action adaptation of The Prince of Egypt would likely be more successful than some other DreamWorks animated films. Many of DreamWorks’ biggest hits feature characters from fantastical worlds – like ogres and talking animals – which would still require extensive CGI even in a live-action format. Films like Shrek, Madagascar, Shark Tale, Kung Fu Panda, Spirit, The Bee Movie, and Puss in Boots all fall into this category. This raises the same question that Disney’s 2019 The Lion King remake did: if the characters are entirely computer-generated, is it truly a live-action film? How to Train Your Dragon and The Prince of Egypt, however, could bypass this debate because they’re set in more realistic worlds with characters that could be portrayed convincingly with live actors.
With the huge success of How to Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks is likely to revisit its earlier films, similar to how Disney has been doing recently. A perfect starting point would be their very first animated movie, The Prince of Egypt.
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2026-03-10 17:07