Movie Reviews for The Road to El Dorado

The Road to El Dorado

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Movie Reviews of The Road to El Dorado

Movie Review: Never a Dull Moment
Summary: 4 Stars

This film is incredibly fun. The over-the-top expressions and gestures, the striking character designs, the bright colors, the lovable characters, and the fabulous voice actors weave a fantastic tale that never drops interest for a moment.

What separates this movie from the pack is its snappy dialogue, which flows effortlessly and brings a laugh a minute. The excellent voice acting, combined with the overly dramatic gestures and sharp facial expressions, bring the characters to life in a way that I have seen very rarely before.

The plot is a lot of fun, too. It surrounds a rarely-touched myth and culture (refreshing!). Furthermore, who hasn't dreamt of finding a treasure map, and what would be more fun than being thought of as a god by an unwitting culture? I especially like the angle Dreamworks took with this by using a couple of gangly, worldly cons as its protagonists rather than doe-eyed kids or macho explorers.

There are some minor flaws in this film. For one thing, this rosy image of South American natives and demonization of Spanish colonialism is so politically correct it's sickening. However, it's easy to overlook; just remember to keep history at arm's length and remember that this is entertainment -- a realm where the film excels.

Another negative thing is the over-dependence on really blah songs by Elton John. I mean, BLAH. The animators did what they could with it -- excellent jobs, even. However, it takes two to tango; the animation never completely meshes with the boring songs (which all sound completely the same), and the fact that you can feel boredom setting in in the first five seconds of each tune is a bad, bad sign. The animation does pick it up, but it carries most of the load. You'll be waiting for the songs to end so that the plot can continue.

Although all of the characters are fantastic, one manages to leap into the film and smudge the whole affair. Chel is well-animated and has a great voice, but the character herself is downright disgusting. She is a smug, oversexed trollop, crawling all over one of the protagonists in a way that'll be hard to explain to the little 'uns. At one point she's saying goodbye to all the children of her town, and I can almost imagine the subtext: "Chel says farewell to her illegitimate kids." She is almost never likable -- if she's not blackmailing the protagonists, she's purposely trying to part them.

Also, although it is billed as kid's fare, there are some really intense parts in this movie. Parents should be aware that a guy is sacrificed at one point (kicked into a vat of glowing green potion), a man is stepped on by a gargantuan statue, and the High Priest is a frightening, nigh demonic foe with some pretty creepy powers.

These are not reasons to turn away from this film, however. The plot is fun, the characters are 99% great, there's one catchy song in the middle, there are adorable animal sidekicks in the way of an armadillo and a horse, and the animation and voice acting is fabulous. All the good points outweigh the bad with ease. It's a great film definitely worth having, great for older kids and fun for parents as well!

Movie Review: Dreamworks struck pure gold with this film!
Summary: 5 Stars

I can't say enough good things about the hilarious, rollicking fun that is The Road to El Dorado. Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh make the two main characters, Tulio and Miguel, into two of the funniest and most naturally likeable partners-in-crime you'll ever see, animated film or otherwise. It's obvious from their performances that they had a great time making this film, and that enhances every single scene immensely. I first saw this film when it came out - I was 17. I'm now 25 and my affection for it has not swayed; I could still watch it every week and never tire of it! I read another review that said this film could be dissected as if it were literature, and I definitely agree. There is so much to it. But most of all, it's witty and fast, the animation is exquisite and exceedingly intricate, and the characters, especially the two main ones, are superb and my favorite of any animated film...maybe even any film, period!

Movie Review: The Road to El Dorado
Summary: 4 Stars

Excellent action, fun movie for the entire family. My 2 yr old grand daugher to 7 yr old grand son LOVED it.
We, grandparents even enjoyed it.

Movie Review: Great fun, visually beautiful, and a kid's introduction to Mayan culture
Summary: 5 Stars

Wow, I wouldn't add another review of this movie except that some of the posted ones are sooo bizarre!

We first rented this movie when my daughter was maybe 5 and loved it. There are several sequences where the color and animation are just stunning, and the buddy-movie plot in a historical setting is very funny and (somewhat) educational at the same time. The story involves two Spanish con-artists, Tulio and Miguel, who are accidental stowaways on Cortez' ship and end up in El Dorado, where they are received as gods. Although no specific location for El Dorado is identified and story elements are borrowed broadly from Meso-American culture, the imagery is largely Mayan, and the woman with bigger dreams who helps our Spanish heros is named Chel, no doubt taken from the Mayan goddess Ix Chel.

I find it bizarre that some reviewers find a few seconds (literally) of rear nudity of cartoon characters who are bathing to be objectionable for children. Children are likely to be last ones who think this is unusual. And the suggestion that there is implicit sex in this movie is even stranger, unless you are talking about the fact that children are depicted in some scenes (and we all know where children come from!) Adults can read what they want into the relationship of Tulio and Chel, but I had no problem with my daughter seeing this either when she was 5 or now that she is 8.

A more serious issue than the sex that isn't there is the theme of human sacrifice. This was indeed hard to explain to my 5-year-old, but certainly no worse than many other 'kids' movies, and much easier than explaining the daily news. The actual implied deaths in the movie are limited (if I recall completely) to an anonymous skull on the beach and the sadistic priest's assistant, whom one understands to be murdered in a cutaway scene that shows no actual violence. The scene in which heros Tulio and Miguel are being pursued by a giant stone jaguar was a little scary to my 5-year-old, but is viewed as fairly tame now that she is 8. Overall, it's a far less violent movie than things like Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the ubiquitous shoot-em-up TV cartoons (or old cartoon standards like Huck Hound and Road Runner). It is certainly less violent than most of the Bible or kids' movies based on it such as Prince of Egypt. More importantly, the message is clearly anti-violent, and the off-screen violence is not glorified as something noble, ethical, patriotic, or the will of God.

A historical element that was more difficult for a 5-year-old to comprehend than why there was human sacrifice is why the Spanish were received as gods, and what exactly that meant. Sometimes it's good to be forced to explain theologcical concepts and how they vary among cultures to 5-year-olds. It can help sharpen your own understanding or ability to communicate it.

From a historical perspective, the good chief/sadistic priest dichotomy is an overly simplistic view of how sacrifice functioned in meso-American cultures, but it seemed about right to introduce kids to an unsavory historical topic, and works in the plot as the standard good/evil conflict that many or most stories revolve around. There are other historical and cultural tidbits that may not all be exactly in the correct context, but nevertheless introduce kids and many adults to details of Mayan and broader meso-American culture. For example, the movie is appropriately set in 1519, the year when Cortez actually did set out (from Cuba, not Spain) to Mexico, and landed first on Cozumel, a major pilgrimage site for the temple of the goddess Ix Chel, before heading on to conquer the Aztecs. The movie features in fairly accurate way the ball game that was a central cultural element of Meso-American cultures and is a key element in the Mayan creation myth (Popol Vuh). In one scene, Miguel takes a turn as a voladore (a person who swings upside down suspended from a tall pole). I don't know if the Maya specifically had voladores, but they are a ubiquitous and colorful feature of Mexican tourist spots, including at Maya ruins.

I rented this movie a second time (and eventually bought it because I like it) this year to help my daughter understand who the Maya are (and were) before we took a family vacation to Cozumel. Although it might not be as accurate of a cultural depiction as the books I also got for her, it is safe to say that she was more easily engaged in the movie. Fortunately, she also got to meet real Maya and see how they live now. I took the movie along on our trip and watched it with the entire extended family, who all enjoyed it immensely and laughed frequently (ages 8-80).