The Road to Eldorado
TM & © 2000 Dreamworks LLC
Photo courtesy of Dreamworks TM Pictures
Distributed by United International Pictures BV
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It may be Spain in 1519, but the best buddies who manage to blaze their trail through
the City of Gold are a lot like two nice, regular guys from next door who have just
pulled off a not-so-nice loaded-dice scam and are (once again?) on the run. (Is this
supposed to fall under the motto: "Boys will be boys"?) Caught by their pursuers
after escaping the thorny horns of a raging bull, they are confined to a ship and
placed in the clutches of the frightful explorer Cortes, who intends to enslave them for
life in Cuba. Luckily for them, they manage to escape overboard and wind up on an
island with their (now) trusty and companionable horse, Altivo. Surviving hunger and
thirst, naturally, they wind up on the very island that holds the magical kingdom of El
Dorado, with all its magnificent treasures, hidden behind a magnificent waterfall.
Much of this story, although accredited to Philip Lezebnik, derives, it would seem,
from Rudyard Kipling's short story "The Man Who Would Be King" (directed as a film
in 1975 by John Huston, starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine): 1) Two
adventurers travel abroad in search of a golden treasure, 2) These men are readily
accepted as gods by the inhabitants of a hidden city, 3) A beautiful maiden becomes
concubine to one of these men, 4) Lust for wealth becomes subordinate (for one of
the men) when replaced by the overwhelming desire to maintain power as a god or,
at least, a king, and 5) Accidentally shed blood becomes the revealing factor in
exposing the mortality of these "humans,". All in all, there is a powerfully dark, yet
hidden aspect to the morality dealt out within this seemingly frolicking animation film.
Perhaps all that glitters is not golden.
The Road to Eldorado
TM & © 2000 Dreamworks LLC
Photo courtesy of Dreamworks TM Pictures
Distributed by United International Pictures BV
|
There are numerous questionable issues cast repeatedly to the wind during
apparently cheerful (and frivolous?) exchanges that take place between the two lead
characters and their newly found female accomplice. With some reflection, one
might possibly ask: 1) Is gold the ultimate reward toward which everyone should aim
their sites? 2) Are deception and deviousness acceptable practices in pursuing one's
goal? 3) Is it honorable to renounce undeserved riches solely in order to replace
them with the lust for power and the pretension to godliness? and 4) Is the end
worth any means?
Yes, all of these questions are buried (more deeply than the gold) inside this
seemingly simple story. When Tulio (Kevin Kline) and Miguel (Kenneth Branagh)
argue about the difference in their methodologies, it is not with regard to their ethics,
but to their efficiency. When Tulio continually negotiates with Chel (Rosie Perez)
about percentages, they are both more concerned with riches than with their
intimacies (until their final barter). When the two male scoundrels use their godly
devices to banish the evil Tzekel-Kan (Armand Assante), it is not with thoughts of
magnanimity and brotherhood toward the villagers, but with thoughts of achieving
ultimate success in their feverish venture. Etcetera, etcetera.
The Road to Eldorado
TM & © 2000 Dreamworks LLC
Photo courtesy of Dreamworks TM Pictures
Distributed by United International Pictures BV
|
The constant villain Tzekel-Kan, embodiment of evil and worshipper of the impending
god of destruction (according to their ancient doctrines), desperately seeks sacrificial
victims, only to be repeatedly rebuffed in his efforts by the false gods' imperatives.
He exists, on the whole, more as a humorous front man oddly allied with the
newcomers for a comedy routine than as a forceful opponent to them (except when
finally assisted by his great rock-Jaguar beast). Even the amiable Chief (Edward
James Olmos) eventually reveals himself as an associate in the two scoundrels'
conquest of the Golden City. Only the minor (and undeveloped) characters are truly
saved from all elements of avariciousness.
Cortes may arrive to the notes of "Dies Irae," while Tulio and Miguel rebound to the
lyrics of Elton John and Tim Rice (scored by Hans Zimmer), but the music, whether
ominous or joyful, hides a multitude of sins within the characters. Cortes may step on
a skull and smash it to bits, but the two so-called heroes have disrupted the primitive
beauty of Paradise. The deep sacrificial pool is not the only dangerous hole spiraling
around on this island.
The Road to Eldorado
TM & © 2000 Dreamworks LLC
Photo courtesy of Dreamworks TM Pictures
Distributed by United International Pictures BV
|
Most of the elements found in this animated tale are not as humorous as they might
appear when taken at face value. Of course, every coin has two sides. Even when
all the evil manipulations are happily resolved at the end, one is left wondering if
these two cheerful chums and their thieving femme fatale sidekick are really
acceptable as roll models for the children of a new age.
Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh are as solid as the rest of the cast in interpreting
their characters, but the only immediately recognizable voice (without a program list)
is that of the delightful Rosie Perez as Chel. Fine FX and fun animation. Enjoyable
entertainment, but take a close and careful look behind those symbolic stone
carvings.
"And so dawns the Age of the Jaguar. Happy New Year!"
Tzekel-Kan in "The Road to El Dorado."
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
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