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The Road To El Dorado
Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG
Studio: Dreamworks
Running Time: 89 minutes
With the voices of: Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh,
Rosie Perez, Armand Assante, Edward James Olmos
Written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
Directed by Eric Bergeron and Don Paul
Retail Price: $26.99
Features: Audio Commentary with Eric Bergeron and Don
Paul, Featurette, Color Script Feature, Read-Along, Elton
John Music Video, Theatrical Trailer, Cast and Crew Bios,
Production Notes, DVD-ROM: Games, Screen Saver
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, English Dolby Surround,
English Subtitles, Chapter Search (28 Chapters)
Dreamworks is becoming a influential force in the movie
industry, and are proving they are a force not to be
reckoned with. Not only have they had a good number of smash
hits, but their animation studio is a clear rival to the
almighty Disney empire. Other studios have tried to compete,
but Warner's attempts have been duds and Fox Animation is
now out of business. For one thing, Dreamworks doesn't have
it bad off... Jeffrey Katzenberg, once responsible for such
Disney hits as "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little
Mermaid", is their leader (and co-founder of the studio as
well). Still, Dreamworks first animated outing (which was
also PG) was the nice Bible musical "The Prince of Egypt",
which did gross a little over 100 million dollars and became
an instant favorite. About 15 months after the film,
Dreamworks released their second animated outing, "The Road
to El Dorado". The film gathered some mixed reviews, and did
not make as much money as one would think or hope. I thought
the film was pretty good with gorgeous visuals, however,
what brought it down was the weak script and lack of
character development.
Tulio and Miguel are two con artists in Spain, circa
1519. They are the best of friends, scamming locals in bets
with tricks and performing fake confrontations with one
another to distract their audience. Yet one day, in a dice
game, they win a map to "El Dorado", the lost city of gold.
It just so happens they escape a local escapade and
accidentally get trapped on Cortes's ship, and found on
board and sentenced to punishment. However, thanks to
Cortes's horse, the duo with the horse escape the ship and
soon get washed ashore. However, it turns out this is island
of El Dorado, and that map comes in handy and they find the
city of gold. While it all seems like paradise, they are
then mistaken as the almighty Lords of the city. A girl in
their city knows their secret however, and a respected
priest is vying to bring the duo down, but wackiness bounded
with values about friendship come together in predictable
family fare.
I must admit there were some parts of the movie which
made me chuckle, but I did often find the story slow and
pretty formulatic. Not that is such a bad thing, but jokes
often fell flat and you feel the lines and happenings could
be a lot better, what is presented sometimes is average.
Don't get me wrong, I found some parts pretty good, but a
lot did not live up to their full potential. If a little
more time was spent giving characters more dimensions and if
they improved the story arc as well as the script, this
could have been a beloved classic.
"The Road To El Dorado" does have a lot of things going
for it, however. The voice acting is well done. Kevin Kline,
who is usually excellent in everything, is good here, but
his performance really doesn't seem to bring the character
of Tulio to life. It's not that he's so bad or anything... I
was kind of hoping his performance would be better than his
lines to make them better, but instead of going above and
beyond, it just sorta evens out (which isn't terrible when
you think about it). Armand Assante and Edward James Olmos
however do shine in their smaller performances, and I wish
there was more of them and that The Chief was developed a
bit more. Rosie Perez is her usual self and Kenneth Branagh
is fine, but my biggest problem was that I felt there was no
chemistry really between him and Kline.
The animation in "The Road To El Dorado" is simply
breathtaking, and easily rivals Disney. The opening titles
are splendid with much artistic style, and El Dorado itself
looks so real and heavenly. I have to say that during the
first twenty minutes some parts are just a little jerky and
could have been cleaned up, but I doubt so many people will
notice. Also, there are computer animated props against the
2-D animation at points, and while some fit perfectly, some
don't look so good. Take toward the beginning where Tulio
and Miguel get trapped in the barrels, and the barrels are
transported onto the ship. It just doesn't look natural,
like the barrels are against a piece of cardboard. Still,
vibrant colors and wonderful designs bring the sluggish
story to life. And wait until you see the action sequences,
where the animation moves so perfect, it is really a treat
to watch and will delight any age.
Last time Dreamworks got Stephen Schwartz (of Disney
fame) to do lyrics and music for "Prince of Egypt" (and was
rewarded with an Oscar® for "When You Believe" from the
film), this time they got an award winning duo to do the
music. Elton John and Tim Rice, who did the songs for "The
Lion King". Of course it's impossible to create the same
success twice, but the music really did grow on me, and I
enjoyed it a lot. I don't think it is as good as "The Lion
King", but still very nice with catchy tunes and well
written lyrics. I felt the songs were memorable, but I'm
sure others will mainly disagree. Keep in mind though that
the songs are of a much different flavor. What disappointed
me though was that from listening to the soundtrack album,
songs are cut a lot to fit in the movie, while in the
soundtrack you hear it to the fullest. What also
disappointed me was that it did not flow as well "Tarzan"'s
music. Elton John serves as a narrator with the songs, just
like Phil Collins and "Tarzan", who was like a narrator
there. Also, while talking about the soundtrack, the
soundtrack has songs not included in the film, which are
good, but you can clearly see why they were not put into the
film, because, they really have no place there. Another nice
thing about the music was that the score is really grand and
fits perfectly with the movie, and is catchy. Compliments of
Hans Zimmer (another award winner, he did "Lion King" too)
and John Powell.
It may seem like I really bashed "The Road to El Dorado",
but it is a nice family movie with flaws, but in the end, it
is still enjoyable. While adults may be bored, kids should
enjoy this lighthearted tale about friendship. The music may
not be what you expected, but still very good. I still can't
get over those visuals and animated sequences... oh yeah,
try to look for "Jaws" and something left over from "The
Prince of Egypt".
I was really, really happy the way this transfer turned
out. When I saw the film in the theater, I thought to myself
"Will all the visual majesty look as beautiful on DVD?". The
answer is "Beyond beautiful". As I mentioned in my review of
the movie, "The Road To El Dorado" has some jaw-dropping
animation and wonderful designs. The sparkling golds as well
as the vibrant and bright colors are presented in 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen, without any oversaturation. The extra
resolution makes it look even more spectacular. The detail
is excellent too, and great for freeze frame shots. The city
of "El Dorado" looks so real it is scary, and I didn't
notice any grain or blemishes. The film simply looks
fantastic, as it should be. Check out a little bit after
thirteen minutes into the film, and the trio in the boat.
The ocean looks so crisp, and looks really nice. As the film
goes on, it is sort of like a moving painting with all the
exotic settings and blended colors. This is a top notch
transfer with everything in pure digital glory.
Dreamworks has included a DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1
track for "The Road To El Dorado", and I feel each track is
incredible with great surrounds, but I prefer the DTS a
little more than the Dolby Digital.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital is a wonderful track to choose.
Each speaker is made to good use as well as the subwoofer.
Dialogue is crisp and easy to understand, and surrounds can
be powerful, sometimes overwhelming, especially during these
action sequences I keep mentioning (such as the rock monster
and the climax of the film). The song and score sound
absolutley wonderful. I'm glad the film sounds so good.
I like the DTS 5.1 more because I think it's a bit more
aggressive and tighter around the edges, and brings the
movie to life even more. The dynamic range, like the Dolby
Digital, is excellent, but I felt the directional fields and
range were captured in closer. I felt the music had more
depth to it, and the surrounds packed a little more punch,
but not as much more than the Dolby Digital. Dialogue was
easy to hear and understand as well. And the big finale
simply blew me away.
It doesn't matter which track you listen too, you may
feel like you're actually in the film with either. Each
boasts with so much richness to create a great audio
experience that everyone should be happy with making it
reference quality. Also included is a Dolby Surround track
and English subtitles.
Though not a huge "Signature Selection", and not a
standard release either, "The Road To El Dorado" is a
"Special Edition", similar in vein to
Chicken
Run. I can only assume that this is Dreamworks way of
having a good amount of bonus materials but not enough as
one would come to expect in a "Signature Selection".
Anyhow, what we have in this package is quite good, and
is sure to please any fan of the movie. First off we have a
Audio Commentary with Eric Bergeron and Don Paul, the
directors of the film. The two discuss their thoughts and
inspirations for the film, and the process they went through
to get it made. They recall challenges they faced and talk a
lot about colors, though some of this info is in the Color
Scheme part of the disc. They point out some sound design
aspects, the music and how it was developed as well as parts
of the voice acting. Bergeron's accent is a bit thick at
times. I found some of the comments a tad bit dull here and
there, but this commentary is well done filled with good
information. There is also some gaps here and there, but the
directors praise their cast and crew. I felt this was worth
a listen and lasts right through the credits.
The Making Of "The Road To El Dorado" is a nice
featurette about the film. It features interviews with the
voice actors, Jeffrey Katzenberg, producer Bonne Radford and
some creative forces behind the film such as director Eric
Bergeron and the sequence director. There is some footage
from the film as well as behind the scenes work, footage
from a trip with the design team, such animators drawing and
the voice actors recording. There are also storyreels as
well. I really enjoyed the part which focused on the
computer animated portions. The origins of the film are
explained and some inspirations too, and a nice portion
focuses on the music with interviews from the likes of Elton
John and Tim Rice. Also there's a tiny bit on the making of
the music video. All this lasts 26 minutes, and while it
seems on the promo side, I did learn a good deal about the
making of the film, I highly suggest you watch it.
The Read-Along is strictly for kiddies, and is
sure to please them. It features stills from the film as
well as music and sound effects, plus some clips to further
advance the story.
Color Script is an interesting program narrated by
directors Don Paul and Eric Bergeron, as well as Raymond
Zibach. This basically shows concept art and various stills
from many key scenes of the film and how they were
established and put together. I thought this would be a bit
boring, but I was really surprised how interesting and
insightful it was. It shows how the slightest choices can
effect the film, check out the uses of color when Spain is
introduced to us, and the colors in the jungle itself. If
you are into animation at all and the whole process, this is
a must watch. It lasts a good length of time too, about
forty minutes.
A music video for Someday Out Of The Blue is
included, in widescreen as is well put together. I really
like this song, and the music video features animation and
clips from the film, plus a fully animated Elton John. This
is the kind of song that wins Oscar®s, and despite the
mixed reception the music got, I feel this is the strongest
song from the film and is really well put together with
lovely lyrics and a good tune.
The Theatrical Trailer is included in widescreen
as well as Dolby Digital 5.1. You got your extensive Cast
and Crew Bios (for a good amount of people if I may
add), as well as some detailed Production Notes and a
nice insert in the package with notes about the film. Also
included inside is three dollars off the video game (for
Playstation, PC or Game Boy) and on the outside there's an
instant win ticket where you can win one million dollars,
stickers or one of 5000 Golden Razor Scooters to tie in with
the release. I want a gold one, however I'm stuck with the
blue one I got a few months ago :(
There are some great DVD-ROM features for younger
ones to enjoy. There's a screen saver, a demo of the PC
game, a trivia game, downloadable mazes, coloring pages and
some learning activities.
The menus are wonderful animated with GREAT sound and
great animation, and really fit into the theme with the
film. Some of the best menus I've experienced.
While I felt the movie was a bit underwhelming, it's a
good family movie and kids should enjoy it. The DVD is great
though, with a dazzling anamorphic widescreen presentation
and some booming audio. The features, though not really
plentiful, are in a good amount and they all fit it all
perfectly. If you enjoy the film, this is a great DVD for
your collection. If you never seen it, I urge you to rent it
before you buy, just to make sure it appeals to you.
 (3.5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (5/5)
(5/5)
(3.5/5)
 (4/5,
NOT an average)
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