Joseph: King of Dreams

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What’s the Story?

In the opening song, Joseph (voiced by (Ben Affleck) is told repeatedly he is "a miracle child," whose special purpose God has not yet revealed. This infuriates his brothers, who labor in the field while their younger brother studies, draped in his many-colored cloak. The brothers decide to sell Joseph into slavery, telling their parents that he's been killed by wild animals. In the pharaoh's palace, working for Potipher and his wife, Joseph shows skill in dream interpretation, organizing, and managing. During a jail term for a crime in which he was falsely accused, he gains perspective and trust in God. Joseph emerges more powerful than ever. As a result, he is given a chance to make a choice: to seek revenge on his brothers or forgive them.

Is It Any Good?

Two years after Moses' story got the animated musical treatment in The Prince of Egypt it was Joseph's turn. JOSEPH: KING OF DREAMS sticks to the same winning formula, drafting A-list voice talent and even better animators. But it lacks Egypt's poignant tunes and powerful storytelling -- which is perhaps why it ended up skipping the theaters and going straight to DVD.

The animation is accomplished. Particularly compelling are the dream sequences, which almost look like animated Van Gogh paintings. For an animated kids' feature, there is a fairly high level of violence, from the brothers menacing Joseph to his grisly dream interpretations for fellow cell-mates in prison. His struggle with whether to punish his brothers is touching, as is his wife Aseneth's (Jodi Benson) counsel to her husband.