The Road to El Dorado (2000)

Pretty Good

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The Road to El Dorado is a fairly standard animated film, about to two Spanish con-men that acquire a map to the fable city of El Dorado in a game of chance. That they've also happened to of rigged. The first half of the film is really enjoyable as Tulio and Miguel have to smuggle themselves out of Spain. After being caught on the ship they've stowed away on they manage to escape from captivity using a rowboat. Whilst being stranded on the high seas, they find themselves washed up on the shore of Mexico, and find a sign that they're on the right path to El Dorado.This is definitely the best part of the film. It feels adventurous and the film skips along at a brisk pace. It's only when they come in to contact with the native population that film begins to stall and enter very familiar territory. Tulio and Miguel are mistaken for Gods, and film becomes dull as they convince the natives to shower them with gold. This plot-line is fine but It's one that's been done before and a lot better, then this film. The main antagonist of the film is a high priest called Tzekel-Kan, he's a lot of fun and steals every scene he's in. At first he gets sucked into their charade to begin with, but slowly becomes suspicious leading to a final confrontation, that felt incredibly lacking.This film has lovely hand drawn animation that is gorgeous to look at. The characters are all enjoyable, despite nobody learning from their mistakes or face any type of consequence from their actions. The biggest problem with this film was the script, whilst it did everything it need to do, in the end it felt Inconsequential and In large parts dull. The Road to El Dorado is a decently entertaining animated film that is good for a casual watch, but one that will be forgotten with time.

The Road to El DoradoUnopened cold and flu medication would have decimated native cultures if it weren't for early white explorers.Thankfully, the itinerants in this animated adventure come fully infected.With a map to a city of gold on the other side of the ocean, Spanish con artists Tulio (Kevin Kline) and Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) hitch a ride to the New World in hopes of locating it.When they do, however, they must convince the chief (Edward James Olmos) and high priest (Armand Assante) that they are Gods in order to access to the riches. They accomplish this with help from a local (Rosie Perez).DreamWorks' most overlooked outings, this buddy-comedy set during the Americas colonization by Spain is also one of its most enjoyable - thanks to its mature themes, Elton John songs and one hilarious equine sidekick. Moreover, it's exciting to learn about a time in history when Spain was relevant. Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

The premise of The Road to El Dorado is nothing new. Two con artists, one a schemer and the other a dreamer, find their way to the ancient city of El Dorado where the locals mistake them for Gods. What sets it apart is if it can take advantage of this premise with enjoyable characters and good jokes, and El Dorado certainly does that. It knows just when to deliver the comedy, capitalise on the films adventurous aspects and when to let the characters breathe.Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh seem like the perfect pairing for the two leads, and many ways they are just that. They have excellent chemistry and you do get the impression that they are long-time friends, as both bring a great deal of wit and energy to their roles. Tulio and Miguel may not be the most complex characters, but they are a lot of fun. Chel (Rosie Perez) is a really fun character. Forced into helping the two pretend their Gods leads to a lot of effective comedic moments. The horse Altivo provided some humorous moments too, mainly due to his well animated expressions. None of the other characters were developed too much, but I liked the kind-hearted Chief (Edward James Olmos) and Jim Cummings' voice always sounds great. Tzekel-Kan was an enjoyable villain and served his purpose fine, but he could have been better. They should have made him a more tragic villain because he put his faith in the wrong Gods or more sinister by making want to dispose of our main characters more viciously. Elsewhere the jokes are well varied throughout, ranging from smart wordplay to amusing visuals and they frequently hit the mark. There's nothing absolutely hilarious, but the film is consistently amusing which more than makes up for it. The animation is very bright and always beautiful to look at, and it is a shame that DreamWorks decided to stop making 2-D animated films. The vibrant colour scheme really makes everything standout and El Dorado itself is smartly portrayed as an elegant city. When the shots need to look big or the angles comedic it usually works just fine. However, for some people the animation here might be too clean and if it was a little more rubbery then it would make the slapstick more amusing, but it doesn't bother me at all. The big action set-pieces are very well shot and convey a sense of danger effectively. Elton John does a very good job with the songs. Where in many other DreamWorks films the songs can feel out of place or ruin the flow, all of the ones on show here are enjoyable and feel as if they have a connection to the story taking place. The one song sung by the characters 'It's Tough to Be A God' is catchy in all the right ways. The score provided by Hans Zimmer and John Powell is excellent when it shows up. The film only suffers some minor flaws and it definitely could have been longer with certain areas developed slightly more, but this is more of an issue with the majority of DreamWorks films. The film flopped at the Box-Office and that is a great shame. It is an easy to enjoy, feel good adventure and I don't think it was ever meant to be anything more than that. I cared about the characters and wanted to know where the film was going to go, which is more than I can say for many films of this type. It certainly delivered in the areas it needed to with the characters, animation, music and comedy all being carried off well.

This was an OK movie. There are some issues with it though. There are quite a few adult themes that kind of ruin the children's movie feel. The movie did not have to have an oral sex scene. Also, the music was a bit lacking. I know that most people feel like this movie was good, but truly it was mediocre. This is not Dreamworks' best movie, and is over-rated as much as it is under-rated. There were some historical errors. The characters were also an issue. They had no real moral, or any way to make you like them. The horse was the best character. Overall, this movie was not all that good. Dreamworks stepped it up later, and for that I am thankful.