The Road to El Dorado [VHS]

I missed this when it came out twenty-two years ago, but I finally got the chance to watch it with a friend and it was a fun ride! Miguel and Tulio are super likeable, their chemistry is just so natural that you forget you're watching characters in an animated film. Great casting, a lovely story, wonderful music by the always-great Elton John and Tim Rice! I laughed, I felt for Miguel and Tulio when they went through their problems. I rooted for Altivo the horse, Chel was just plain fun-- the whole movie was just a great adventure. It left me wanting more. The jokes landed and I think they'll appeal to both kids and adults. At least, they did with this adult. Would recommend giving it a watch and maybe making it a family affair if the kids haven't seen it. All in all, enjoyed it very much!

I didn’t remember this movie growing up - boyfriend forced me to watch with him, but it was enjoyable. I loved seeing him happily reminiscing, and that’s why it got a five star from me.

Great songs, animation and voice actors. Not as good as The Prince of Egypt but still highly enjoyable.

A top tier animated film from Dreamworks!Bibo Bergeron and Don Paul’s animated adventure comedy The Road to El Dorado (2000) celebrates native culture, history, adventure, love, and above all, friendship in an entertaining odyssey. Bibo and Don’s direction is remarkably swift with a succinct 89 minute run-time thanks to Vicki Hiatt’s creative cuts and pertinent editing. They let scenes play out emotionally with genuine drama and sincere tenderness towards their characters.The Road to El Dorado remains one of Dreamworks’ greatest pictures and displays of hand drawn animation. It was unfairly panned by critics and ignored by audiences largely, which is ridiculous as Dreamworks’ animation is excellent. The motion of characters flailing about is so smooth and their linework looks pristine. The water crashing around and vivid colors look particularly wonderful in The Road to El Dorado.Disney obviously covered this territory before, but Dreamworks’ The Road to El Dorado remains a childhood favorite of mine that truly held up. I still laugh along to writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio’s hilarious jokes. They tell the story of two Spaniard con artists who embark upon an unlikely adventure to search for the lost city of gold: El Dorado. They set the film during the time of the Spanish conquistador Cortes for frightening results, while affectionately portraying native people as kind, welcoming humans with complex culture and rich history. I appreciate Elliott and Rossio’s themes of devoted friendship, understanding cultures, learning lessons, forgetting wealth, and standing up for the common man. All important ideas for kids to learn from this outstanding children’s movie.Elton John’s songs make The Road to El Dorado’s a blissful adventure. You can actually sing along because of Elton’s memorable melodies and Tim Rice’s thoughtful lyrics. Hans Zimmer’s epic score brings together symphonic grandeur with sweet world music for a powerful sonic synthesis. Zimmer will give you chills, then Elton will sweep you away on a friendly journey.Kenneth Branagh is hilarious and endearing as the dim witted, yet earnest conman Miguel with his love of people and experiences. His chemistry with Kevin Kline as the clever and greedy Tulio is sublime! Branagh and Kline absolutely elevate The Road to El Dorado into a brilliant comedy. Miguel and Tulio are phenomenal characters because they are flawed and grow as men and friends due to their good nature and trust in each other. Rosie Perez is wonderful as the sly Chel. Her playful and sultry voice makes Chel a very fun leading lady and love interest for Kline’s Tulio.Armand Assante is impressive as the devious villain Tzekel-Kan. Edward James Olmos is pleasant as the warm Chief in his understanding nature. Jim Cummings is fearsome as the imposing Cortes. Frank Welker is very funny as the expressive horse Altivo. Tobin Bell delivers a funny supporting role as Zaragoza. Elton John masterfully narrates The Road to El Dorado.In all, The Road to El Dorado boasts a wealth of crafty animation, charming characters, fantastic music, and talented voice actors for a splendid thrill ride that will keep you smiling.

The kids and adults all love this movie. Easy watch for the whole family!

awesome

Today at the tender age of 23, I woke up with one of the songs from this movie stuck in my head ("Without Question"), so I rented it, and since I'm a screenwriter and really enjoy studying scripts from my favorite movies, I thought I'd try to follow the script along with the movie as I watched. When I did some research, I couldn't find the script anywhere, but I found a page on TvTropes.com talking about how disastrous the film was for the creators. Not only was it the first Dreamworks film to NOT make a profit (they lost millions of dollars), but from the tidbits of the original script that I could find, the writing was absolutely atrocious. The creators had such a headache making it, it doesn't surprise me how even though it has a cult following, the creators still consider it to be one of the worst movies they've ever worked on. They even changed directors part of the way through because the guy either had better stuff to work on or just couldn't stand working on it anymore (apparently he "still has nightmares about it").To give you a taste of the original, not only were Miguel and Tulio supposed to be lovers, but even after they changed that, it was clear the writer didn't know what he was doing, constantly including inappropriate dialogue and then breaking the fourth wall to apologize to the audience (who were supposed to be kids?). In the scene where Cortes finds them on his ship, in the original script, he says, "The two of you will be flogged. Then flogged some more. Then raped." Then [the film's producer (30s, sunglasses, suit), taps Cortes on the shoulder], whispering something to him. Then Cortes turns back and says, "My apologies. I'm being told this is a family film." And yes, it got worse (at one point, the characters were struggling with their erections). The script was just horrid, too inappropriate for kids, but too simplistic and boring for adults.I'm saying all this to make the point that it's a miracle the production crew was able to turn this into such an enjoyable movie in the end. No, it's not for small kids, but it's entertaining, and being someone who grew up on anime, a little nudity and suggestiveness didn't faze me. Years later, I still think it's a classic that both adults and mature children can enjoy. Thank you production crew for sticking with it to the end, and thank you voice actors for really breathing life into these characters, despite the utterly bland script. :)

I just got it for my daughter. She loves it

I had to see this film as it's the basis for any number of internet memes (can you say that about Dostoyevsky?). Thoroughly enjoyable, with likeable characters, a half-decent story line and well-presented, I'll keep coming back.

This was one of my favourite childhood films for the catchy songs and beautiful aesthetics and when i rediscovered it as an adult i am pleased to say that it is just as enjoyable to watch. The characters have a great humour, unlike most animations the actors did their recordings together and you can really tell by the way they bounce off eachother. Some of the sarcastic one-liners made me think that the film was maybe more aimed at the adults than the children watching because it is always so on point and on top of that the songs are catchy and the storyline is great. I always put it on when babysitting and i think i enjoy it even more than the kids, highly recommend and hugely underrated for such an amazing film!

A lovely movie to watch and enjoy

I am so glad to find that other people love this as much as I do. Was buying it for my 3 year old godson because my boys (and I) loved it so much and reading these reviews brought back memories of my sons dancing round the living room and making me replay the songs over and over again, and of me spluttering tea with laughter at some of the jokes. I loved all the Hope and Crosby Road to ... films and wished that Branagh and Kline would do some more animation versions or remake them as they had a great chemistry. In my view an absolute classic family film.

Kids and adults will enjoy this film!Join two friends on their quest to find the lost city of El Dorado.Miguel and Tulio are tired of being poor and go on a search for wealth and power. They find what they are looking for but the power goes to their heads. With danger just round the corner, the friends must choose between their new life and doing the right thing.