ROAD TO EL DORADO / (2000) ***
By Blake French
DreamWorks Picture's "Road To El Dorado" is an adventuresome journey into the lives of two nomads in the midst of poverty and trouble. Miguel and Tulio are the lifelong friends with very different personalities. We first meet them gambling riches for a map to El Dorado, the secret city of Gold. They win through creating. Therefore Tulio and Miguel devise an improvised escape leading them to hiding in barrels boarding a ship. When the captain discovers the stowaways he is not happy-but at nightfall the friends escape from captivity once again. This is when they become accustomed to their new friend, a horse. As the three pondering souls drift about the massive sea, they begin to lose hope. Just when everything seems hopeless, however, Tulio and Miguel hit the shore, which just so happens to be the island inheriting the road to El Dorado.
"Road To El Dorado" certainly has an action packed, fast paced opening, which works well. We do lose character development, however. The filmmakers obviously presume audiences will relate to Tulio and Miguel through assumptions of lifestyles and cultures. The main characters are believable, colorful, and provoke some interesting and funny moments.
Miguel and Tulio stumble upon the city of gold after meeting a seductive and mysterious young woman named Chel. At El Dorado, the two drifters are mistaken for all powerful gods by the town's sadistic sorcerer, Tzekel-Kan, who convinces the high Chief they are truly miraculous immortals. Miguel and Tulio dream of riches, so play along with the city's hypothesis. With money on their mind and danger lurking beneath every motive, Tulio and Miguel must figure out a way to inherit the riches before the townspeople discover their real identity.
Throughout the production, the story moves along quite steadily. All the events are connected with a strong narrative drive. The movie never explains a few crucial plot nuggets, however, like why the natives presume Tulio and Miguel to be all powerful gods, or El Dorado's reason for existence. The second act stumbles slightly due to the lack of impact of several unnecessary scenes. The sequences do propel the story forward, but do not serve a real dramatic purpose.
"Road To El Dorado" has an effective villain, a character who is muscular and demonic in appearance and gradual in his development of evil. He contains hidden powers and mighty strength, all elements we come to expect modern day bad guys to occupy.
DreamWorks' animation is very impressive in "Road to El Dorado." The landscapes are detailed and visually enticing. The ocean's vast appearance is overwhelming. Previous achievements in DreamWorks' animation include "The Prince of Egypt," and "Antz." Although "Road To El Dorado" is not as mature as "The Prince of Egypt," it still offers an acceptable variety of humorous moments and entertaining characters.
The musical numbers performed in this feature are not memorable nor very involving. But the film as a whole contains a lot of energy and wit. I did not the like the ending, which felt rushed and inconclusive. Still, "Road to El Dorado" is a movie with enough effective material to be worth watching, not purchasing.
By Blake French
DreamWorks Picture's "Road To El Dorado" is an adventuresome journey into the lives of two nomads in the midst of poverty and trouble. Miguel and Tulio are the lifelong friends with very different personalities. We first meet them gambling riches for a map to El Dorado, the secret city of Gold. They win through creating. Therefore Tulio and Miguel devise an improvised escape leading them to hiding in barrels boarding a ship. When the captain discovers the stowaways he is not happy-but at nightfall the friends escape from captivity once again. This is when they become accustomed to their new friend, a horse. As the three pondering souls drift about the massive sea, they begin to lose hope. Just when everything seems hopeless, however, Tulio and Miguel hit the shore, which just so happens to be the island inheriting the road to El Dorado.
"Road To El Dorado" certainly has an action packed, fast paced opening, which works well. We do lose character development, however. The filmmakers obviously presume audiences will relate to Tulio and Miguel through assumptions of lifestyles and cultures. The main characters are believable, colorful, and provoke some interesting and funny moments.
Miguel and Tulio stumble upon the city of gold after meeting a seductive and mysterious young woman named Chel. At El Dorado, the two drifters are mistaken for all powerful gods by the town's sadistic sorcerer, Tzekel-Kan, who convinces the high Chief they are truly miraculous immortals. Miguel and Tulio dream of riches, so play along with the city's hypothesis. With money on their mind and danger lurking beneath every motive, Tulio and Miguel must figure out a way to inherit the riches before the townspeople discover their real identity.
Throughout the production, the story moves along quite steadily. All the events are connected with a strong narrative drive. The movie never explains a few crucial plot nuggets, however, like why the natives presume Tulio and Miguel to be all powerful gods, or El Dorado's reason for existence. The second act stumbles slightly due to the lack of impact of several unnecessary scenes. The sequences do propel the story forward, but do not serve a real dramatic purpose.
"Road To El Dorado" has an effective villain, a character who is muscular and demonic in appearance and gradual in his development of evil. He contains hidden powers and mighty strength, all elements we come to expect modern day bad guys to occupy.
DreamWorks' animation is very impressive in "Road to El Dorado." The landscapes are detailed and visually enticing. The ocean's vast appearance is overwhelming. Previous achievements in DreamWorks' animation include "The Prince of Egypt," and "Antz." Although "Road To El Dorado" is not as mature as "The Prince of Egypt," it still offers an acceptable variety of humorous moments and entertaining characters.
The musical numbers performed in this feature are not memorable nor very involving. But the film as a whole contains a lot of energy and wit. I did not the like the ending, which felt rushed and inconclusive. Still, "Road to El Dorado" is a movie with enough effective material to be worth watching, not purchasing.