Passover parody season is upon us. We’ve already got a delightful parody of the 1981 Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which came out over four decades ago now. But if that doesn’t make you feel old, consider that a new parody by Six13 takes on a movie that just turned 25: “The Prince of Egypt.”
Has it truly been a quarter decade since the masterful animated movie about the Exodus from Egypt came out?? Really?? I mean, I read that excellent and titillating Taffy Brodesser-Akner New York Times Magazine profile of Val Kilmer, voice of Moses, so I know a lot has changed, but still… I think I need a moment.
Now that I’ve taken a moment to contemplate my new wrinkles and lament the passage of time, let’s talk about this new parody — which honor the excellent Hans Zimmer soundtrack that’s worth all of our respect. It covers “Deliver Us,” “Ashira,” “Through Heaven’s Eyes” and “When You Believe,” the movie’s most iconic songs. The video itself largely features the band’s nine members — Nathaniel Ribner, Josh Sauer, Mike Boxer, Lior Melnick, Carl Haber, Chaim Moskowitz, Aaron Kohl, Mordy Weinstein and Craig Resmovits — singing (and dancing!) in different locations.
Did Six13 just hack the Passover parody by choosing to do a parody of a movie that’s literally about the story of the seder? After all, they had to make very few changes to the actual lyrics, which let them focus on the beautiful vocals.
I must say that no matter what you do with “The Prince of Egypt,” no one will ever surpass Ofra Haza (of blessed memory), Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston (RIP), the three amazing women who made this movie soundtrack as iconic and immortal as it is. It’s a fact that makes the reality of all-male Jewish a cappella groups a little bit more jarring than usual.
But still, I will never pass up an opportunity to jam out to these tunes. Watch here:
