The Road to El Dorado (2000) is an animation musical movie that this very year reaches its 25th anniversary. I wanted to go back to some of the older animations and see how they compared with more recent ones – mainly in terms of entertainment. Since I remembered El Dorado as being quite good, I wanted to see if that recollection was mostly because of nostalgia; I can say now, having rewatched it, that it still holds its ground pretty darn well. I have to admit that there were some scenes that had me even genuinely giggling (rare thing to happen with most of the recent DreamWorks and Disney movies).
There are however some parts that didn’t age as well: in particular I’m thinking of several animation techniques that now feel a bit off, but that is just if one is nitpicky. Also, since it is partially a musical, I have to say that the songs are a bit forgettable. One final problem I might have is the suspension of disbelief required given that there is not linguistic barrier between the protagonists and the indigenous people they encounter in the New World. A big pro however is the voice acting: we’re talking Elton John doing the narration along with Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Rosie Perez as the protagonists; their chemistry is unquestionable and this works because the comedic effect comes from the banter itself. The writing, as such, always feels on point, characteristic that I have started to appreciate more and more in older movies.
For those who don’t know the premise, The Road to El Dorado is the story of a rogue and a bard (because that’s what Miguel and Tulio are) who get hold of a map to the fabled city of gold and their adventures between arriving, staying and departing from it. It is interesting to note that it is not the only movie relating to mythical cities produced in that time period, although in my opinion Atlantis was unquestionably superior.
As a further addendum, however, I will say that rewatching this movie I had not previously noticed just how horny it was. And it’s not like in many other cases where later on, with the help of internet degenerates and rule 34, the characters became overly sexualized – one should be afraid of perusing the web too much. No, in this case the writers let’s just say made the characters a bit too ‘zealous’; we are still talking mostly implicit jokes and innuendos, but still, they are still certainly there.
Anyway, I would give this movie 7 out of 10 bonks – go to horny jail.