The Road to El Dorado Reviewed by Christian Pyle Directed by Bibo Bergeron and Don Paul Written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio Starring the voices of Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Armand Assante, and Edward James Olmos Grade: A-
For several years Disney enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the lucrative market for animated features. A monopoly breeds monotony, and Disney's annual offerings soon slipped into a predictable "ugly duckling" formula (a misfit having an identity crisis has an adventure and discovers how special he/she is). Gradually, though, competition emerged: Fox entered the fray with "Anastasia" (1997), and Dreamworks pulled off the unlikely combination of Woody Allen and family animation in "Antz" (1998). "Antz" was followed by "The Prince of Egypt", Dreamworks' first foray into traditional animation. "Prince" stuck close to the Disney formula but showed a lot of guts in its choice of a religious subject and in its refusal to sugarcoat the unpleasant elements of the story of Moses. (After the way Disney sanitized the myth of Hercules, I doubt the House of Mouse would have shown God's destruction of the first-born children of Egypt.) Now Dreamworks gives us "The Road to El Dorado," which is a pleasant antidote to Disneyfication.
Inspired by the "Road" movies of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, "El Dorado" is the story of two Spanish con men, Tulio (Kevin Kline) and Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) who win a map to the legendary city of gold, El Dorado, in the Yucatan. When the losers discover that our heroes were playing with loaded dice, Tulio and Miguel beat a hasty exit and unintentionally stow away on the ship of explorer Hernando Cortes (Jim Cummings). Cortes threatens them with a life of slavery, but the guys manage another escape with the aid of Altivo, a war horse who's smarter than both of them. Wouldn't you know it, they wash up on the shores of the New World right at a spot on the map. With the help of Chel (Rosie Perez), a young thief who's not too keen on life in the city of gold, Tulio and Miguel enter El Dorado and, much to their surprise, are treated as gods by the high priest Tzekel-Kan (Armand Assante) because their arrival fulfills an ancient prophecy about how the Age of the Jaguar will begin. There's a power struggle going on between the evil Tzekel-Kan and the benevolent Chief Tannabok (Edward James Olmos), and both badly want to earn the favor of the "gods." The boys have to keep up the ruse as long as they can if they want to get away with all the golden tribute they collect. All the time, of course, Cortes is on his way . . .
If you overlook the coincidences in the plot (our heroes just happen to land at a spot on the map, the natives just happen to be speaking the same language they do), "The Road to El Dorado" is lots of fun. Kline and Branagh bring rare enthusiasm to their vocal roles, and the friendship between Tulio the realist and Miguel the dreamer is touching without the overbearing sentiment of Disney. It's also refreshing to see such rascals as these in an animated film. Altogether, it's a breezier "Butch and Sundance."
The music for "El Dorado" reunites the Oscar-winning musical team from "The Lion King": songwriters Elton John and Tim Rice, and composer Hans Zimmer, with marvelous results. When I saw "Tarzan" recently, I grew to hate Phil Collins, but when I left "El Dorado" I wanted to run out and buy the soundtrack.
Bottom line: Refreshing romp
© 2000 Christian L. Pyle
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