Customer Reviews
Dreamworks struck pure gold with this film! 
2008-10-05
I can't say enough good things about the hilarious, rollicking fun that is The Road to El Dorado. Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh make the two main characters, Tulio and Miguel, into two of the funniest and most naturally likeable partners-in-crime you'll ever see, animated film or otherwise. It's obvious from their performances that they had a great time making this film, and that enhances every single scene immensely. I first saw this film when it came out - I was 17. I'm now 25 and my affection for it has not swayed; I could still watch it every week and never tire of it! I read another review that said this film could be dissected as if it were literature, and I definitely agree. There is so much to it. But most of all, it's witty and fast, the animation is exquisite and exceedingly intricate, and the characters, especially the two main ones, are superb and my favorite of any animated film...maybe even any film, period!
The Road to El Dorado 
2008-05-27
Excellent action, fun movie for the entire family. My 2 yr old grand daugher to 7 yr old grand son LOVED it.
We, grandparents even enjoyed it.
Great fun, visually beautiful, and a kid's introduction to Mayan culture 2007-03-25
Wow, I wouldn't add another review of this movie except that some of the posted ones are sooo bizarre!
We first rented this movie when my daughter was maybe 5 and loved it. There are several sequences where the color and animation are just stunning, and the buddy-movie plot in a historical setting is very funny and (somewhat) educational at the same time. The story involves two Spanish con-artists, Tulio and Miguel, who are accidental stowaways on Cortez' ship and end up in El Dorado, where they are received as gods. Although no specific location for El Dorado is identified and story elements are borrowed broadly from Meso-American culture, the imagery is largely Mayan, and the woman with bigger dreams who helps our Spanish heros is named Chel, no doubt taken from the Mayan goddess Ix Chel.
I find it bizarre that some reviewers find a few seconds (literally) of rear nudity of cartoon characters who are bathing to be objectionable for children. Children are likely to be last ones who think this is unusual. And the suggestion that there is implicit sex in this movie is even stranger, unless you are talking about the fact that children are depicted in some scenes (and we all know where children come from!) Adults can read what they want into the relationship of Tulio and Chel, but I had no problem with my daughter seeing this either when she was 5 or now that she is 8.
A more serious issue than the sex that isn't there is the theme of human sacrifice. This was indeed hard to explain to my 5-year-old, but certainly no worse than many other 'kids' movies, and much easier than explaining the daily news. The actual implied deaths in the movie are limited (if I recall completely) to an anonymous skull on the beach and the sadistic priest's assistant, whom one understands to be murdered in a cutaway scene that shows no actual violence. The scene in which heros Tulio and Miguel are being pursued by a giant stone jaguar was a little scary to my 5-year-old, but is viewed as fairly tame now that she is 8. Overall, it's a far less violent movie than things like Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the ubiquitous shoot-em-up TV cartoons (or old cartoon standards like Huck Hound and Road Runner). It is certainly less violent than most of the Bible or kids' movies based on it such as Prince of Egypt. More importantly, the message is clearly anti-violent, and the off-screen violence is not glorified as something noble, ethical, patriotic, or the will of God.
A historical element that was more difficult for a 5-year-old to comprehend than why there was human sacrifice is why the Spanish were received as gods, and what exactly that meant. Sometimes it's good to be forced to explain theologcical concepts and how they vary among cultures to 5-year-olds. It can help sharpen your own understanding or ability to communicate it.
From a historical perspective, the good chief/sadistic priest dichotomy is an overly simplistic view of how sacrifice functioned in meso-American cultures, but it seemed about right to introduce kids to an unsavory historical topic, and works in the plot as the standard good/evil conflict that many or most stories revolve around. There are other historical and cultural tidbits that may not all be exactly in the correct context, but nevertheless introduce kids and many adults to details of Mayan and broader meso-American culture. For example, the movie is appropriately set in 1519, the year when Cortez actually did set out (from Cuba, not Spain) to Mexico, and landed first on Cozumel, a major pilgrimage site for the temple of the goddess Ix Chel, before heading on to conquer the Aztecs. The movie features in fairly accurate way the ball game that was a central cultural element of Meso-American cultures and is a key element in the Mayan creation myth (Popol Vuh). In one scene, Miguel takes a turn as a voladore (a person who swings upside down suspended from a tall pole). I don't know if the Maya specifically had voladores, but they are a ubiquitous and colorful feature of Mexican tourist spots, including at Maya ruins.
I rented this movie a second time (and eventually bought it because I like it) this year to help my daughter understand who the Maya are (and were) before we took a family vacation to Cozumel. Although it might not be as accurate of a cultural depiction as the books I also got for her, it is safe to say that she was more easily engaged in the movie. Fortunately, she also got to meet real Maya and see how they live now. I took the movie along on our trip and watched it with the entire extended family, who all enjoyed it immensely and laughed frequently (ages 8-80).
Movie received 2007-03-16
We received the movie in record time. Was packaged carefully and in great shape
Apocalypto, the Musical Comedy 
2006-12-12
Because, really, what better topic for easy laughs with the kiddies than ritualistic human sacrifice?
We really enjoy family movie night at our house. With kids of 13, 10, and 7, it can be a challenge to find something that a) no one has seen and b) has at least some appeal to all three. We came home from the video store with this movie with a rare consensus. By the time it was about 2/3 over, my wife and I had an even rarer consensus, we needed to turn this movie off. I can't say what happens after the point where we stopped, but the Spanish Conquistadors meeting with the Aztecs didn't seem like it would be good fodder for a children's movie. It is a measure of how bad this movie is that none of our kids objected.
Did I mention that the movie was bad? Bad, bad, bad, baddity-bad-bad. One of the worst children's cartoons I have ever seen. Possibly the worst ever. How is it bad, you ask? Let me tell you:
1) Bad plotting. I went in to the kitchen to make popcorn, and I missed the scene that introduced the European Villain (c'mon, it's a movie that includes Aboriginal Americans, how can there NOT be a European Villain). That's how little he was on the screen. Yet, fast forward to the ultimate conflict, and there he is, making a reappearance. Imagine Star Wars with Darth Vader showing up in the opening scene, and then only reappearing at the end to shoot at Luke outside the Death Star. That's what it was like. Bad.
2) Bad singing. I was listening thinking that it sounded like a bad Elton John impersonator who had cribbed from The Lion King. No, it actually WAS Elton John. I can't believe Sir Elton has not paid to have his name expunged from this turkey. This has to be the low point of his career. Elton, seriously, if you read this, if you ever need money this badly again, give me a call. I'll try to help. Bad.
3) Bad topic. I hope the idiot who gave this the green light lost his or her job. Murderous indigenous culture as a comedy vehicle? What's next? An animated musical comedy version of The Diary of Anne Frank? The whole time watching it, I had a creeping dread as to how they were going to deal with this. Bad.
4) Politically correct badness. Of course, the Aztecs were just a bunch of fun-lovin' pacifists with one bad apple leader. Of course they had magical powers that came from their superior communion with nature. Of course they were all fit, friendly, strong, and beautiful. Riiight. Bad.
5) Bad as in inappropriate. The female lead was drawn by someone who thought Disney's Pocahontas looked too childlike and demure. There is swearing for the sake of swearing. There is a love scene that, I kid you not, showed the male character, when interrupted, rising up from "off camera" between the female character's legs. None of this even advanced the plot. B-A-D.
6) Bad vocal talent. Kenneth Branagh's Royal Shakespeare British, Kevin Klein's American-pretending-to-be-British, and Rosie Perez's "you-got-a-problem-with-that" Puerto Rican are not so bad individually, but they were atrocious as a combination. Actively distracting, although, given the rest, maybe that was a good thing. Bad, bad, and bad.
So inappropriate, unentertaining, and politically correct, other than that, it was great.
(Did I mention that I thought it was bad?)
The Other City of Gold 2006-10-31
In its third foray into animated features, DreamWorks came up with something unfortunate: the routine animated picture. Plagued with production problems (it was originally conceived as a mold-breaking PG-13 adventure), the likable film is a Hope/Crosby-style road picture about two scalawags who stumble upon the Latin American paradise of El Dorado, the mythical city with riches of gold. Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline are quite fun as Miguel and Tuilo, two Spanish con artists who are shipwrecked in the New World with a scene-stealing horse. The pair follow a map to the secret city where their loyalty will be tested: do they return home rich men or continue to live in this paradise? Of course there are some obstacles: a high priest (Armand Assante) is locked in a power struggle with the benevolent chief (Edward James Olmos) and the perfunctory girlfriend (Rosie Perez) puts the two friends at odds. Like too many of the animated features of its time,
The Road to El Dorado impresses only on a visual level (it's drenched in gorgeous greens and golds). The story and Elton John's songs are quite forgettable; only Branagh and Kline's playful banter keeps the film alive. The PG rating is for some bare backsides and a suggestion of off-screen sex that should soar right over the little ones' heads. Slick and light, it's a fine 83-minute entertainment for ages 5 and up, including the nondiscriminating adult.
--Doug Thomas
On The Road with the Children 2006-07-05
My kids love this movie, when we are in the car traveling all I have to do is pull out this DVD and there is instance silence.
Cartoon Nudity 2006-06-06
Just a quick note for parents of young children- This movie has, in addition to some of the other suggestive scenes, some very raunchy scenes of exposed behinds, which was something that neither I nor my eight year old daughter were prepared for.
I really don't find the tone of this scene to be appropriate viewing for an eight year old. This scene could have been portrayed much more mildly and without the brazen and extended nature of the posterior nudity.
My daughter had never seen anything of that nature before and I was not aware that a Disney movie geared for children would be allowed to have those types of scenes. Partially my fault for being way out of touch with movie ratings, but I saw Disney and thought it was a "G" movie.
If I had known that it was for 13 and over, I never would have allowed her to watch it. In case other parents are new to the movie rating scene, this movie really is for way older children. I still don't think it necessary to have such an extended scene even for 13 year olds.
Wonderful Adventure Tale 2006-02-17
I really enjoyed watching "The Road to El Dorado." It's full of adventure that every young boy enjoys to watch. Unfortunately, I'm almost thirty, and the real reason I bought this flick was for my four-year-old daughter to enjoy. She liked it well enough, but it has many themes in it that are a little bit over her young head. Also, there are a couple of words in it(hell and crap), that some parents may not want their youngsters hearing.
That being said, this is a great film for older children to watch. Much like "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," "El Dorado" has plenty of action and even a little suspense that will definitely trigger the imaginations of youngsters who dream of being pirates, Indiana Jones, treasure hunters, etc.
The story begins with Miguel and Tulio, two generally low-brow scalawags trying to cheat their way to riches in a game of dice. They gain a map in their victory but are quickly found out to be cheats. They hide in barrels in order to get away from the authorities and those that they had cheated, but are placed on a ship headed for the New World. They manage to escape at sea and find themselves beached at El Dorado, the legendary city of gold. They are mistaken for gods and are treated as such. Along the way, they stockpile as many of the natives' riches that they can, but in the end, they must make a huge moral decision that leads to a swashbuckling conclusion.
With the voice talents of Kevin Kline, Rosie Perez, Edward James Olmos, and the wonderful Kenneth Branagh, "The Road To El Dorado" is essentially a buddy flick for the younger crowd, though this oldster found himself enjoying this film quite a bit. The music, by Elton John and Tim Rice, is ultimately forgettable, but the score, by Hans Zimmer, is much more memorable.
Pick this flick up for your older kids. Younger children may not catch the bulk of the humor in this film, but the comedy provided by Altivo, a horse, is sure to get some laughs out of them.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys adventure films like all of the Indiana Jones flicks and even "The Goonies."
DreamWorks First Animated Gold 2005-12-01
I gotta tell you, when it comes to non-Disney animated flicks, I usually passed in the past. Don Bluth did some breakaway stuff in the early eighties and there have been the occasional gems outside of the box like The Iron Giant. But before it hit paydirt with Shrek, DreamWorks animation department wasn't getting my money or my interest. I actually bought this movie on DVD as a last-minute stocking stuffer for my younger daughter and now its a family favorite. Tulio and Miguel...two 16th century con-artist sheisters who win a treasure map to the fabled City Of Gold - El Dorado hidden somewhere in the new world. Formulaic? So some reviewers say. I disagree. This movie is hysterically funny. Kenneth Branaugh and Kevin Kline are classic...and Rosie Perez is the sexiest animated character since Jessica Rabbit hit the big screen all those years ago. Some say that this isn't geared for children...and I gotta admit that there is a little bit of sexual tension going on here and there, but nothing to outlandish. Overall even the Elton John songs are catchy and you'll find yourself humming along if you're not careful. Renewed my faith in non-Disney animation.
Dig It!
