A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The Road to El Dorado

Date Viewed: 4/14/00

Details:

Voice talent: Kenneth Branagh (Miguel)

Kevin Kline (Tulio)

Rosie Perez (Chel)

Edward James Olmos (The Chief)

Armand Assante (Tzekel-Kan)

Directors: Bibo Bergeron, Will Finn, et al.

Score: 0

The Review: An animated (as in cartoon, not as in engaging) caper plot, crossed with a few elements from The Man Who Would Be King, situated in 1500's Central America. A pair of scheming con artists accidentally stow away on one of Cortez's voyages to the New World, escape, and follow a map in search of the famed golden city of El Dorado.

This is neither an inspired, nor inspiring, work. Barring the occasional ominous insertion of the Dies Irae theme (familiar to classical music buffs, or from Kubrick's The Shining), the music (by the much ballyhooed Elton John) is blah. The only animated sequence of any interest is the ball-game, in which a major role is handed to a cute armadillo. The closing credits are accompanied by a series of quite amusing pseudo- Mayan glyphs, one of the cleverest pieces of humor in the whole work.

The cultural anthropology is, however, marginally interesting. The inhabitants of the city seem poised on the cusp of deciding between a "family values" mode of life (exemplified by the ingratiating and rotund Chief) and a "terror and sacrifice" mode (exemplified by the blood-thirsty priest Tzekel-Kan). The two newcomers -- understood to be visiting gods -- are enlisted as judges in this competition. Considering the myths surrounding the downfall of the Northern Mayan cities and their alliance, this dichotomy may contain a kernel of truth.

The characters look and act Mayan, and this is reflected in the architecture, natural history (jaguars), and geology (cenotes and severe karst topography), but this view of history seems a bit off (or an intentional pastiche). Mayan monumental civilization had been in decline since the 1200's, and although Cortez appears to have landed once on Yucatan, his primary encounters were with the Aztecs in Northern Mexico.

Disney has nothing to worry about from Dreamworks animation. In El Dorado, there's none of the awe and wonder that accompanied the opening few minutes of Tarzan, The Lion King. or Beauty and the Beast. Nor is there Tarzan's fabulous animation, nor Beauty's tight musical leitmotifs. And it's not just the Disney studios: The Iron Giant stands head and shoulders above El Dorado in content, humor, power and mood. Even Anastasia was more interesting. The story (such as it is) just does not have much carrying power or complexity, and the animation is not outstanding, offering no compensation. Much has been made of the first animated feature film with Hispanic themes and stars, but with two Brits cast in major voice roles, this is hard to credence. A waste of good voice talent.

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