The Bob Hope-Bing Crosby “Road” movies. Quite the change from epic, Biblical musicals. And that’s the way DreamWorks wanted it.
As a follow-up to The Prince of Egypt, DreamWorks turned to those classic movie comedies as inspiration. Their second traditionally animated feature, The Road to El Dorado, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this spring, was a decidedly different change of pace for the then-still-new studio.
In an interview in early 2000, the film’s co-director Don Paul said, “Part of the reason that the ‘Road’ movies were used as inspiration is that we’re trying to break the mold of animation storytelling.”
Set in 1519, the film opens in Spain and centers on two con men, Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) and Tulio (Kevin Kline), who win a map to the City of Gold, El Dorado, when they run a rigged dice game. When discovered, the two escape as stowaways aboard a ship that belongs to the famed explorer Cortéz (Jim Cummings).
The two are discovered and thrown overboard (along with Cortéz’s horse, Altivo) but eventually make it to land, where they discover El Dorado. Here, they’re mistaken for Gods, while Tulio falls for Chel (Rosie Perez), who is wise to their con, and Miguel falls in love with the city.
The two also wind up facing off against the villain, Tzekel-Khan (Armand Assante) and thwart an overthrow of the city and Chief Tannabok (Edward James Olmos).
The Road to El Dorado was initially to be more of a straightforward historical adventure, based on the book Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas. The film’s tone changed when Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted the studio’s next animated feature to be a departure from The Prince of Egypt.
El Dorado also underwent production changes, with original directors Will Finn and David Silverman leaving the project. Don Paul and Eric “Bibo” Bergeron then stepped in as co-directors.
In addition to a lighter tone, new sensibilities were brought to the film. “One of the unusual things about this film is that we have a really fast pace to the cutting,” said Paul in 2000. “There’s overlapping dialogue in the film and a lot of bantering back and forth.”
Much of this bantering came from Branagh and Kline. “They recorded a sword fight scene together,” said Bergeron in a 2000 interview. “They were actually doing their lines with swords in their hands. They were dueling and shouting and yelling. We kept most of it in.”
These performances were coupled with impressive character animation by such artists as the immensely talented James Baxter, who supervised Tulio. “I drew a line somewhere between Nicholas Cage and John Cleese,” said Baxter of crafting the character’s performance in an interview just before the film’s release. “I wanted him to be someone who is a little too tall for their own good.”
The film had a Burger King “Kids Meal” tie-in
All of this allows for impressive set pieces, such as a comedic and well-staged chase scene through the streets of Spain in the film’s opening, a dynamic action sequence where a giant stone jaguar is brought to life and tromps Godzilla-like through El Dorado, and a surreal, colorful musical number, “It’s Tough to Be a God,” where Miguel and Tulio suddenly realize their newfound good fortune.
It was just one of the songs written for The Road to El Dorado by Elton John and Tim Rice, Oscar winners for Disney’s iconic songs in The Lion King, returning here again to animation.
Opening on March 31, 2000, The Road to El Dorado was a box-office disappointment. Still, in the twenty-five years since its release, the film has found a devoted following among many who have come to appreciate its uniqueness.
Just before the film bowed in theaters, co-director Paul noted how distinctive The Road to El Dorado is, saying, “Initially, a lot of us thought, ‘How do we do a follow-up [to The Prince of Egypt]? But the more we became involved with El Dorado, the more that we saw that it was a huge departure. It’s a completely different film, and from that standpoint, I feel it stands alone.”
