Jawbox5 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.

Steve Pulaski The Road to El Dorado was birthed during the period where Dreamworks was still getting started, per say. After releasing the deeply sophisticated Antz and the cult favorite The Prince of Egypt, moviegoers still really had no true idea of what kind of film the company would give them. If Antz was sophistication, then The Road to El Dorado is anarchy - the coherent and easily-lovable kind. Filled with catchy, spur-of-the-moment songs, bright stylistic animation, and an immersing storyline, it majors in the field of uncompromising fun.The film's lead characters, two extremely hilarious ones, are Miguel and Tulio (voiced by Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline), two con-artists who rig gambling games and deliberately turn the tables on unsuspecting folks so they come out on top of everything. During a small gambling session, where the two are winning because of loaded dice, the two rustle up a map of El Dorado, a place bearing untold heavens. Just as they get the map and all their winnings, the other group finds out their swindling tactics and quickly run them out of the area. The two, and a horse, escape on a small boat, which washes up on the beach of El Dorado. There the two are mistaken for almighty, powerful gods of El Dorado and are treated like royalty. They decide to live in the luxury for a while, sneak some goodies, then ditch it in search for a new land to rob. Obligatory subplots involve Tulio falling for a native to El Dorado (Rosie Perez), who is aware of the two's secret, and the thought that both Miguel and Tulio will grow angry at one another and contemplate going their separate ways.While in some regards the story of this film is standard and somewhat foreseeable, it's nonetheless a competent, potent production. For example, the animation is presented in a believable, realistic light, not making everything too silly and bombastic, yet not entirely life-like. This is almost guaranteed to offput some; I can see people saying that it's an animated film that doesn't take full advantage of its medium. Yet the crisp, controlled style of the film let's loose on occasion, particularly during the chase sequence on water that concludes the film, which is lively and exhilarating. Rather than grounding the film to reality, it seems that the animators wanted to provide the illusion that it was an animated film that can capture the events of its story in th way that if this was real, but certain laws, rules, and logic didn't apply, this is how it'd look. It's fascinating and often absorbing. A similar style was used in Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, when Disney took a shot in the dark, attempting to usher in a fanbase that wasn't so reliant/content with songs and candy-coated colors.This is one of the first animated films in a long time that doesn't use big-name actors to market its story, content, and animation. I guess Dreamworks used all its big-casting abilities on Antz. While Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh are certainly not "unknowns" in Hollywood, they aren't the kind you usually see receiving top-billing in an animated feature. Because of this, it's nice to hear voices that are not plagued by celebrity recognition and familiarities, so there's an easier transition to believing and knowing the character.The Road to El Dorado is wonderfully scored and livened by Elton John, whose song "It's Tough to Be a God" is one that will not leave my head soon enough. The film's music sequences are fun and spontaneous, much like the exposition as a whole. This is a good family endeavor; one that is light-years more fun than much of what passes for basic family programming.Voiced by: Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, and Rosie Perez. Directed by: Eric Bergeron and Will Finn.

Yvonne Hult This movie is quite impressive with the animation, use of color and cast of characters. It's bright, delightful and humorous. Even though the plot is pretty basic in it's dramaturgy, it's still fully enjoyable.It might not be considered a kids movie (At least not under the age of 10) because of the sexual innuendos, and mild violence (scenes with blood etc.) But it might as well appeal to them seeing how Dreamworks wanted to give it captive bright colors and Disney-like animation style.The characters though, have hints of stereotypical personalities which almost seems forced to fit the plot. But the way they're portrayed with appearance and how they interact with the rest of the characters, makes up for it. Because the characters tends to have a stereotypical approach, their actions can be anticipated which helps to build up the plot, even if it's a tad bit obvious at times. I really enjoy the characters Tulio and Miguel however. This red and blue duo gives the movie a comedic touch which is fun to watch.The musical pieces all have a nice touch of atmosphere in them. It describes the present plot and co-operates effectively with the feeling of the scene it appears in.Looking at it as a whole, it's a fantastic movie which still makes people laugh, and with it's great set of characters and music it can still entertain people as much as it did when it first came out. I recommend this to any classic 2D fans!

fishy_is_wicked I remember the first time I watched this; I was 9 years old and I was sick. My mother had to go to work (leaving me alone), so she bought this movie on DVD, got some oil paints and a art book and set my bed up in front of the TV in the lounge room. As she left, I felt all the comfort leave with her. I was in a state of boredom/sadness and felt a little bit scared. That all left me when this movie started - I don't remember a second that I wasn't immersed into this animation film, experiencing so much emotion (probably side effects of my sickness). None the less, I have to say this is an all time Favorited for me within all genres of film. I know what you're going to say, "oh, but it's rated 6.4 or something, and you're picking it over classic Disney films?"YES. MOST DEFINITIVELY. This film is so funny and clever that I still can enjoy it today - I have to say that Elton John's music was the cherry on top. It was just so memorable and heart warming/wrenching (depending on the scene). People read to much into movies such as these, commenting that it doesn't have that much depth or isn't historically correct or just plain simple hate it.I just enjoy it for what it is - a humorous animation movie made for children and adults.