The Road to El Dorado (2000) Reviews

• One of my favorites...

  demonelipso2006-08-27

  One of the few more-modern animated films I still enjoy; maybe that's because it doesn't happen to revolve around "The power of friendship/love/whatever" and isn't some sappy love story, like many of Disney's drek has been (though it does have a minor, slightly sleazey love-ish story in the background). Dreamworks is a breath of fresh air in times like these, it would seem. The plot works on many levels; it's straightforward enough for the general kid to understand and enjoy, but is piled under levels of wit and more jokes that rely on understanding more of it, making it balanced and still funny the 150+th time I watch it. The songs are catchy (as can be well-expected from the good man Elton John), the characters are lovable yet total sleazeball con-men, and the humour is on many levels; and with it, it brings many good, memorable lines ("'For three days?!' 'YES! Don't even breathe!'" and "'You're buying your own con!' 'At least I'm not DATING mine!' '... oooh, low blow.'" come to mind). As a basic rundown, there's Miguel, the fun-loving, more light-hearted of the two con-men; he tends to appreciate the beauty in fun and people. Tulio, the other half of the duo, has a bit more preoccupation with material possessions and wealth, though he still remains human. Then there's Chel; the seducer from the city of gold, able to help the two (at a price). And our main antagonist? Tzekel Khan (spelling unsure), a rather nutsy high priest and speaker for the gods, who proves to be... well, a basket case. The animation pulls itself off well; the movie is bright and colourful, but not a kiddie flick at all- rather, it's humorous on all scales- my friend's 6-year-old-brother, I, and my 55-year-old dad agree. The Road to El Dorado is enjoyable on all accounts. If nothing else, consider renting it.

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• People are Missing the Most Important Point.

  krasnegar2002-07-10

  Of course, i was missing it too, until about fifteen minutes in. Okay -- the title is "THE ROAD TO El Dorado" Hands up, everyone with whom that rings a bell. No? Okay -- its stars are two fast-talking con men who get out of trouble by faking fights with each other,and who *almost* play pattycake at a point. Still no bells ringing? How about if i point out that, at one point, our heroes' images are briefly morphed into the faces of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby for about two frames? Right. This is a tribute to/animated version of those hilarious (if you're in the right frame of mind) "B" comedies starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby (and Dorothy Lamour in a sarong -- does Chel look any more familiar, now?), all of which were entitled "The Road to..." somewhere or other. Nothing in them was meant to be taken seriously, and very little in this film is. I have to agree with a number of reviewers who say, with varying degrees of indignation, that this is not a kids' film. Duh. It wasn't meant to be. It was meant to ba a general-audience, PG-rated film. WILL you people PLEASE get it through your heads that "animated" does not, necessarily, equal "kids' movie"? Animation is just another film-making technique, to be used to make any kind of film the animator wants to make, and if you think that animation is automatically for kids, check out... oh, say... "Akira" or "Fantastic Planet" or "Heavy Metal". "Road to El Dorado" is an excellent all-ages film, (with the caveat that is IS a PG-rated one, and that you ought to think about what you want your kids to watch) and anyone who sees anything bad or prurient in the scenes that everyone has been complaining about should take a close look at themselves...

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• The Road to El Dorado...hooked from start to finish.

  qball_822000-09-24

  What can I say? The Road to El Dorado kept me hooked right from the very start, proving to be an amazing adventure filled with action, comedy, color, breath-taking imagery and music. After The Prince of Egypt, I wasn't too keen on another Dreamworks animated film. Don't ask me why, but Prince of Egypt just failed to reel me in. El Dorado on the other hand has restored my faith in the studio. I'll keep this short and to the point. El Dorado seemed to deliver the goods in every aspect. The music was great and certainly enhanced the mood and scene, Tim Rice and Elton John did a fantastic job with the instrumental score. The characterisation was done quite well, and you could really sense the strong friendship that Tulio and Miguel had with one another. Chel was also a character favorite of mine, and Rosie Perez did a great job providing her voice! The artwork was also exceptionally good, with the colorful Mayan themes and designs providing an amazing backdrop for the story. Of course the film is not without its fair share of eye-candy, the special effects were excellent and Dreamworks didn't go overboard with them. The story was also a nice change. For once it wasn't the tired, rigid old formula of "good guys meet bad guys, conflict, defeat bad guys and everyone's happy". I mean..sure everyone is happy in the end...and there is the token good guy VS bad guy routine but Dreamworks seemed to mince it up somewhat and introduce all-new elements. Surely it has its flaws, you say. Well in all honesty, I'm hard pressed coming up with any. I didn't exactly love the character design for Tulio and Miguel but that's just being incredibly petty.... All in all, The Road to El Dorado was very refreshing and a welcome change from the usual Disney-formula-based feature. As for comparisons and similarities with the "brilliance of Disney", I believe that there is no need for that talk. I ask you, why do we need more Disney? The Road to El Dorado shines in a light all of its own.

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• They don't make movies like that anymore

  stamper2003-06-14

  You probably think the one line summary of this comment is a bit strange, since The Road to El Dorado isn't in fact that old, but what I meant by it is that they do not make feature films like this anymore. Sure every now and then there is a great animated film that revives the Adventure genre of film-making, but that's basically it. If you're an adventure freak like I am and you simply love Indiana Jones or Stargate or The Mummy for all I care you should definitely watch this film. I bet you'll enjoy it, disregarding your age (although very small kid's might get frightened at times). Thank you Dreamworks for providing me with a fantastic story of adventure. I appreciate it. It's been so long since I've seen any good adventure (The Mummy was last and Indy before that). TO ALL STUDIOS I MUST SAY THIS: start making feature films like this again please, I miss them. Does it seem ‘right' to you that I I have watch an animated film mostly aimed at children, to get a film with a good plot, a good villain, great action, enough thrills, blood and emotion? It does not sound right to me. No Bad Boys II, no Triple X 2, no stupid and expensive action. You can do big with little as long as elements fit together. 8 out of 10

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• HOLY SHIP!

  TuckMN2000-04-04

  Every new animated film seems to break new ground in technique and execution. Technology and computers have brought animation to new heights of excellence. "The Road to El Dorado" is no exception. There is a scene in which Cortez' ship is bearing down on the boat that Tulio (voice of Kevin Kline) and Miguel (voice of Kenneth Branagh) are escaping in -- Miguel looks up and, just before their boat is capsized, yells "HOLY SHIP!" Some parents grabbed their children and stormed out of the theater because of what they THOUGHT they heard. If you are going to watch a movie -- PLEASE pay attention and do not jump to erroneous conclusions. The soundtrack with music by (Sir) Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice has Oscar nomination written all over it. Rosie Perez as 'Chel' is magnificent -- giving just the right amount of innuendo (so the parents will get it) without it being blatantly obvious. She is great -- but then I have always liked her. There is a hint of "Shangri-La" about this film... All too rare for an animated film "The Road to El Dorado" has a cohesive story and a real plot. While it does drag a bit at times the music helps to move the story along and is always a pleasant diversion. Some of the story was fairly predictable. However, I was wondering right up to the conclusion just how this fable would end. I was pleasantly surprised. It was all wrapped up in a neat package complete with a bow. Of course it left a sequel wide open.

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