The Road to El Dorado

"Any last words?"

"I will cut you to ribbons!"

"Fool! Such mediocrity! Let your *sword* do the talking!"

"I will, it will be loquacious to a fault!"

Tulio (Kline) and Miguel (Branagh) are best friends and con men.  They win a map that is supposed to lead to El Dorado: The City of Gold, in a game of craps.  When the other players discover that they cheated, they hide out on a ship headed to the New World.  The ship belongs to explorer Cortes (Cummings), who throws them into the brig.  The escape with the help of war horse Altivo (Welker), and follow the map to El Dorado.

In El Dorado, they are mistaken for gods.  Only Chel (Perez) knows the truth and strikes a bargain: she will help them pass as gods if they take her when they leave.  The people, led by their Chief (Olmos) and the blood thirsty high priest Tzekel-Kan (Assante), shower them with gold and parties.  But the longer they stay in the city, the more they deviate from the plan.  Can they (and their friendship) survive El Dorado?



I know I saw this film when it was released in 2000... but I didn't remember much about the film, so when I saw it was Netflix Instant Streaming, I decided to revisit the film.

I love the chemistry between Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh.  Apparently they recorded dialog together, which adds so much to the performance.  I love the little snarky comments and absurdity of the situations.  I love their interactions, especially their fight at the beginning of the film (partially quoted above).  But they are endlessly quotable.  When you add Chel, voiced by Rosie Perez, into the mix, things get really interesting.

The songs, written and performed by Hans Zimmer and Elton John, are entertaining in the moment, but are not overly memorable.  This is not a kids movie, but it is enjoyable as an animated film.  Apparently the film was meant as a homage to the "Road to" films from the 1940s and 1950s that starred Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.  In the song "It's Hard to be a God", Tulio and Miguel's faces morph into Crosby and Hope.

This film was one of the only Dreamworks Animation films that did not turn a profit.  Originally it was planned to be the start of a franchise, but plans were scrapped after it bombed.  Watching the film now, I wish it had done better to see what the filmmakers would do with future films.

The Road to El Dorado (2000) 89 minutes
Director: Eric "Bibo" Bergeron, Will Finn, Don Paul, David Silverman, Jeffrey Katzenberg
Starring: Kevin Kline as Tulio
Kenneth Branagh as Miguel
Rosie Perez as Chel
Armand Assante as Tzekel-Kan
Edward James Olmos as Chief
Jim Cummings as Cortes
Frank Welker as Altivo