The Road to El Dorado was one of the first movies produced by DreamWorks Animation, back when they still worked with traditional animation. The film tells the story of two Spanish con men, Tulio and Miguel. In one of their cons, the two acquire a map to El Dorado, the city of gold. They stow away aboard a ship of conquistadors and sneak off when they arrive in the New World. Upon finding the city, they are worshiped as gods.

The story of the movie was good. The heroes are both likable, as are Chel and the chief of the Aztecs (I think they're Aztecs. Maybe they're Mayan?) Cortes and the head priest are both good villains; very menacing. Of course, the horse and the armadillo were good for comic relief as well as helping out when the time came.

The animation itself was good for the most part. The characters and backgrounds look good. My favorite parts are the scenes they created for the various songs. They really felt free to ignore reality and get inspired by Aztec art. The results are excellent. The thing I didn't like is the way they used computer graphics in certain parts of the movie, specifically in the spots involving water and lava. It seemed out of place to me.

The music in the movie was just okay. It wasn't awful, but it was forgettable overall. I can only remember two of them as I write this and only pieces of those.

Overall, it's a good movie, if not a great one. If you like buddy films or movies about Meso-America, it's worth checking out.

Back in the day (yeah I guess 1998 wasn't really that long ago) Dreamworks used to make a different kind of animated film. They busted into the scene with The Prince of Egypt which boasted fantastic traditional animation and leveraged the Disney formula of songs and heart and mustered a modest hit. A year and a half later, Dreamworks delved out of the spiritual story realm into that of the buddy comedy with The Road to El Dorado. Unfortunately, earing just $51 million, this film was not the success Dreamworks had hoped for, and in a few short years Shrek would forever alter that kind of films that Dreamworks would be known for.

This film followed two conmen Tulio and Miguel voiced by Kevin Kline (not Calvin) and Kenneth Branagh on an adventure to the City of Gold. The two were welcomed as gods, but all they really wanted was to loot the city and return to live as kings in Spain. Then they realize that King is a demotion from God. Also, Tzekel-Kan, one of the priests is hell bent on having a human sacrifice whether the gods demand it or not.

Its actually a pretty funny film along the lines of that other South American buddy comedy that came out in 2000, The Emperor's New Groove. In fact, I think the animation here is even better than the Disney entry with bright colors and a good blend of CG elements. The music in this film is so-so featuring several songs by Sir Elton John. None of the songs really stand out as singles, but they fit the film well enough. I quite enjoyed this film. One scene involving armadillo basketball was particularly fun to watch. There is nothing grandeous here, its just a nice movie about a couple of pals on an adventure. Its too bad films like this do not do better. Anyhow, for hailing back to simpler times, this Dreamworks film earns a B.

Ah, so many people loved this film...but it really didn't do a thing for me.

An epic of bad songs as Frick and Frack make comical dialog with each other and plan to load up on Mayan gold and get the buxom but personality-deficient Maya girl. Meanwhile playing basketball and posing as gods 'n' stuff.

I mean, 10 out of 10 for silly, and I admit I smiled through a lot of it. But it was featherweight, and maybe I saw it when I was in the mood for something with teeth.

Horrible songs, boring story, good animation.
Not worth 8 bucks. Maybe a decent rental if even that.
James

This is a great movie. It isn't aimed at younger children though, which I like. There are quite a few parts that I think small children would find scary or just wouldn't understand.
The songs were pretty catchy. There was only one that the two main characters sang, and all the others were in the background. All the music fit in nicely.
Eldorado had a good fast paced story and a good moral. I found the characters were quite intriguing, and I especially like Miguel. The animation is some of the best I've seen too. Overall I think it's one of Dreamworks better animation films.

What people see in this movie is beyond me, but I guess it has its strong points. When I first saw this movie in theaters I somewhat enjoyed it but couldn't shake that feeling in the back of my brain that something went wrong somewhere. Is this movie funny? Yes. But it's more funny "Heh heh" than funny "Ha ha". In between the terribly written, jarring, and out of place songs are jerky pacing and very weak villains. There are tacked on scenes all over the place, but the innate sexual tension of the movie may please certain watchers. And the climax may seem tacked on as well, but in its way it's still just as exciting as any Disney fight scene.

After 'Pocahontas' you think people would know better, but no - here are a couple of zany Spanish guys in the 16th century turning up for some laughs with the Mayans, or Aztecs (bit hard to be sure). Recipe for cringe-making disaster, right?

Actually, no. Sandwiched between Dreamworks' obnoxious 'Prince of Egypt' and its bland 'Spirit' is this film, which while not great, is probably better than anything else in Dreamworks stable which springs to mind.

Just given the subject matter alone, you'd think it would be sure to be so politically incorrect as to defy belief, but somehow it manages to keep its foot out of its mouth for the most part.

The pace is good. The dialog is good. The comic timing and editing are good. Originally I gave this movie 3 stars but time hasn't been kind to it and I've downgraded to 2.5, though it's still an excellant adventure/comedy film, if you're in the mood for it. Miguel and Tulio are likeable con artists, who somehow misadventure their way to the New World (with Cortez hot on their heels) and go off in search of El Dorado - initially with greed as their only motive.

The film falls short of greatness - partly because of one thing I regard as a huge clanger.

Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline are very good as Miguel and Tulio (though Brannagh's accent slips sometimes) - but until the halfway stage of the film, they're basically the same character, and even when you can tell them apart, it's only because of what they do, not, as far as I can tell, by how they think.

Watch the first half of the movie, and imagine Tulio as a blonde, and Miguel with black hair. Now which one is which? BAD slip-up to make the two major characters almost indistinguishable. Like I said, this does improve later in the movie, but never to the point that it ought to have been in the first place.

El Dorado gets 2.5 from me, though it's pushing 3.0. It's the best thing I've seen from Dreamworks, who have been otherwise disappointing to plain horrible. It's just a shame that after this they backslid. This is as good as anything Disney made between 'Lion King' and 'Tarzan', which isn't saying all that much, I suppose.

As I see it, this movie is one of the most top-quality animated creations. It's also possibly my favorite animated movie...ever. Charm, hilarity, wit, breathtaking animation combined with ear-candy music will have most anyone over the age of ten sparkling with pleasure and delight.

The movie bases on real-life characters such as Cortes, but adds it's own little twists along the way. The first thing to mention is possibly the music...the score is amazing. Elton John composed some truly fantastic numbers, and best of all, none of the characters sing them. (Except for "It's Tough To Be A God", which is a fun little drunken scene in itself) The makers blended his music right into scenes, giving it a more "music video" type feel while at the same time weaving the storyline along the way.

This movie, however, is not for kids. I saw it first when I was around nine and hated it. It bored the hell out of me, I didn't get the jokes, and some of the more dark images I found confusing. Bottom line: DO NOT SEE IT WITH YOUR KIDS.(preferably younger kids). It's a movie about greed, love and friendship. Although the humor gets a tad cheesy in some places (and just a bit), if you're in a general good mood you'll more than likely find it very funny. Most of the humor (taking cracks at hangovers, drinking, sexuality and even death) are purely adult. However, it makes the movie even more pleasurable, as it combines a magical-sort-of and gorgeous feel with a not-so-fuzzy adult theme, all while maintaining a strong plot in a somewhat kid-friendly enviorment.

Another point to make of this movie is the violence and intensity factor proves further it's not aimed at kids. Yes, there is real blood in one or two scenes. The movie also deals with morality and the strength of mankind, as Miguel delivers uplifting speeches in certain areas that are quite chilling.

I absolutley *LOVED* the characters. They were so deeply written out, so full of life and pizzaz and charm it's hard not to resist them. We have Miguel, the thoughtful and "pro-anthro" kind of puppy-dog guy...Tulio, the more self-centered yet charming and witty comedian...and Chel, who's sex appeal is sugarcoating her true desires of love and pleasures of life. The Chief character who cares deeply for his village could have been more pursued in character depth, but his rivalry with the sadistic and utterly eerie Tzekel Kan adds to his charm.
There are so many themes in this movie it's hard to list them all. I think perhaps, it's very underrated. Many people disregard this film for a "fun filled family" kind of ride, sending an uneven message about the story and overall production. Still, if you're looking for a funny, fun and vivacious kind of sexy yet amazing movie that glistens with life...this one is definatly for you.