I have yet to see any evidence to indicate that Dreamworks makes animated films for any reason other than, "Nyah nyah, Walt Disney! I can do it too!" (This, incidentally, is the same reason Don Bluth made animated films, until he realized that children were scared by them) "Shrek," "Antz" and the upcoming "Shark Tale" in particular seem direct attacks on the Mouse.
But this movie is different. Inspired seemingly equally by "The Man Who Would Be King" and the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" pictures, "The Road to El Dorado" is a thoroughly enjoyable and original motion picture. Witty, gritty, pretty, and even adjectives that don't rhyme. Granted, the Elton John/Tim Rice songs are really, really, really, really, insert preferred number of reallys here BAD, and the love story between Rosie Perez and Kevin Kline is hardly believable, and Cortez sounds like a bad Orson Welles impression...but let's not quibble! Wanna hear about its strengths? Electric chemistry between the classically trained actors Brannagh and Kline (who, in an unusual turn for animation, recorded much of their dialogue together [see also "The Lion King" and "Monsters, Inc."]), the surprising historical accuracy in terms of the culture and look of the period, and the open-ended, optimistic ending.
Now, I for one still think that Disney consistently makes the best animated films you could ever hope to watch (I don't care what anyone says; I thought "Treasure Planet" and "Atlantis" were groovy) but if you insist on pursuing Dreamworks entertainment, this and "Chicken Run" are the only acceptable ones.
But this movie is different. Inspired seemingly equally by "The Man Who Would Be King" and the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" pictures, "The Road to El Dorado" is a thoroughly enjoyable and original motion picture. Witty, gritty, pretty, and even adjectives that don't rhyme. Granted, the Elton John/Tim Rice songs are really, really, really, really, insert preferred number of reallys here BAD, and the love story between Rosie Perez and Kevin Kline is hardly believable, and Cortez sounds like a bad Orson Welles impression...but let's not quibble! Wanna hear about its strengths? Electric chemistry between the classically trained actors Brannagh and Kline (who, in an unusual turn for animation, recorded much of their dialogue together [see also "The Lion King" and "Monsters, Inc."]), the surprising historical accuracy in terms of the culture and look of the period, and the open-ended, optimistic ending.
Now, I for one still think that Disney consistently makes the best animated films you could ever hope to watch (I don't care what anyone says; I thought "Treasure Planet" and "Atlantis" were groovy) but if you insist on pursuing Dreamworks entertainment, this and "Chicken Run" are the only acceptable ones.