Cast (voices): Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Armand Assante, Edward James Olmos
Directors: Bibo Bergeron, Will Finn, Don Paul
Producers: Brooke Breton, Bonne Radford
Screenplay: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio
Songs: Elton John, Tim Rice
U.S. Distributor: Dreamworks SKG
Of all the high-profile animated films to come out since Disney began its revival in 1989, The Road to El Dorado is the least inspired. While the animation is up to snuff, the storyline is thin and loosely structured, the characters are uninteresting, and the requisite musical numbers are forgettable. While young children will probably be enthralled by the production, The Road to El Dorado fails the litmus test of the family film: it does not represent engaging entertainment for parents as well as their children.
Historians will probably be outraged by the film's mild and seemingly non-violent account of Cortes' arrival in the New World, but does anyone expect any sort of historical faithfulness from an animated movie? Consider Pocahontas, for example - and that was considerably more accurate than The Road to El Dorado. The core problem with this picture isn't that it hasn't got its facts right, but that nothing really happens. The two protagonists - Spaniards named Tulio (voice of Kevin Kline) and Miguel (voice of Kenneth Branagh) - are colorless individuals and the villain, the high priest Tzekel-Kan (voice of Armand Assante), generates almost no sense of menace. He's about as fearsome as a mosquito.
The story goes something like this: It's 1519 and Tulio and Miguel stow away on Cortes' ship, which is bound for the New World. After their presence is discovered, they are put in shackles to await torture and perhaps death, but they escape, steal a boat, and make it all the way to dry land. There, after stumbling around for a while looking for El Dorado, the fabled City of Gold, they are greeted by the natives and hailed as gods. The Incan high priest, Tzekel-Kan, and the king, Tannabok (Edward James Olmos), vy for the new gods' approval, with Tzekel-Kan proposing mass sacrifies and Tannabok favoring a feast. Meanwhile, the maiden Chel (Rosie Perez) sees through Tulio and Miguel's con and offers to help them, but with two conditions: they take her with them back to Spain and they cut her in for a share of whatever gold they steal.
The movie, the second traditional animated effort from Dreamworks, is inferior to The Prince of Egypt in almost every way. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about The Road to El Dorado is that virtually nothing happens. The film's high points are a silly sports game and a lackluster battle with a magical beast. When Cortes arrives on the scene with the promise of a little action, his advance is cut short by a plot contrivance and the anticipated confrontation never transpires. (Maybe I'm just bloodthirsty, but so were the real-life Incas, who are predominently portrayed as cuddly, friendly, and lots of fun.) The Road to El Dorado is lean on conflict, and doesn't have much to fill in the blanks.
The film's vocal characterizations are of dubious quality. The best animated films typically use unfamiliar or unrecognizable voices in major roles - this allows the viewer to accept the character rather than becoming hung up on the voice. And, while Kevin Kline talks with an "everyman" quality, Kenneth Branagh's speech patterns are distinctive, and it doesn't help that Miguel is animated in a way that makes him look like a caricature of the actor. As Chel, Rosie Perez is as miscast as Demi Moore was as Esmerelda in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Of course, in order to fit Perez's personality, Chel becomes the latest animated feminist.
And what would an animated movie be without songs? (In the case of The Road to El Dorado, shorter and better.) With an eye towards the success of The Lion King, the filmmakers recruited Elton John (along with lyricist Tim Rice). The noted singer/songwriter responded with perhaps his least inspired work in a decade. The CD will probably sell - John's name alone virtually guarantees it - but there's nothing on it to rival "The Circle of Life." Or "Hakuna Matata" for that matter. I long for the day when animated films no longer feel the need for the crutch of songs, especially when they're inappropriate and intrusive - both of which apply here.
There is enough "adult" material in The Road to El Dorado to earn it a hard PG. In what is a first for this sort of movie, we have an opportunity to see the naked cartoon buttocks of the two lead characters when they go skinny-dipping. The character of Chel dresses and acts like a harlot, raising the question of which segment of the audience she was supposed to appeal to. The film also contains some salty double-entendres and a few instances of mild profanity. And, while there's nothing overt, a case could be made that the relationship between Tulio and Miguel strays beyond the bounds of conventional friendliness.
The Road to El Dorado is directed by the trio of Bibo Bergeron, Will Finn, and Don Paul. All have previous experience with animated fare. Bergeron was the supervising animator for An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. Finn came from Disney, where he was a supervising animator on Hunchback, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. And Paul worked on Pocahontas and Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt. As one might expect from such an accomplished group, the animation is solid, but the genre has evolved to the point where impressive visuals are not enough. Plots are becoming more complex, not less so. Too much of this movie fails to impress. The Road to El Dorado doesn't go very far, and there's certainly no pot of gold at the other end.
© 2000 James Berardinelli