Today’s quick review: The Road to El Dorado. After a series of mishaps, Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) and Tulio (Kevin Kline), a pair of 16th-century Spanish rogues, find themselves bound for the New World with a map to El Dorado, the legendary city of gold. Following the map, they manage to find the city, where they are hailed as gods. Together with Chel (Rosie Perez), a local woman who sees them as her meal ticket, they scheme to use their newfound divinity to fleece the locals out of as much gold as they can carry back to Spain.
The Road to El Dorado is an animated family adventure film from Dreamworks. Set during the early stages of the Spanish conquest of South America, The Road to El Dorado follows the misadventures of two con men as they stumble into the score of a lifetime. For all their faults, Miguel and Tulio are not bad men. The delicate balance of power in El Dorado offers them moral choices as to how to profit from the situation without empowering the bloodthirsty priest claiming to speak on their behalf.
The Road to El Dorado offers a trio of fun protagonists, comedic writing, and a soundtrack by Elton John. Miguel and Tulio have a great dynamic; they are charming, friendly, and loyal to each other, but their differing personalities occasionally cause them to bicker. The plot is a competent con artist tale with El Dorado’s high priest as antagonist.
For all this, The Road to El Dorado does not quite live up to its potential. None of the songs are particularly catchy or memorable. The Spanish conquest of South America is left in the background, in spite of its dramatic potential. The early stages of the adventure are driven mostly by chance, while the search for El Dorado is relegated to a single travel montage.
Watch The Road to El Dorado if you are in the mood for a light adventure. Though outclassed by many other animated films, The Road to El Dorado is a fine, breezy watch that will surely catch some of its viewers the right way. But for most, it will offer nothing exceptional and can be skipped or put off without much loss.
6.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for decent execution with a couple of moderate flaws.