The Road to El Dorado (2000)
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Two con artists find themselves in a legendary city of gold where they are mistaken for gods.
The story
In 1519 Spain, con-artists Tulio and Miguel win a map to the legendary City of Gold, El Dorado, in a rigged dice gamble. After their con is exposed, they evade guards and stow away on a ship to the New World. While at sea, they are captured and condemned to slavery, but they manage to break free and steal a rowboat. They eventually reach land and follow the map's landmarks to a totem marker. When they are joined by a woman named Chel, they are escorted to the city of El Dorado, where the inhabitants mistake the two men for gods.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After arriving in El Dorado, Tulio and Miguel are treated as gods by Chief Tannabok, while the villainous Tzekel-Kan seeks to use them for his own ends. They discover that a woman named Chel is also a spy who wants to escape with them. While they enjoy the luxury of the city, a conquistador named Hernán Cortés and his men are approaching. To protect the city from being discovered and destroyed by the Spanish, Tulio and Miguel decide to seal the entrance. They ultimately sacrifice their gold and the chance to stay in the city to ensure its safety. They end up escaping with Chel, while Tzekel-Kan is captured by Cortés. The film ends with the duo and Chel heading toward a new adventure, while the city remains hidden.
- First release year
- 2000
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Eric "Bibo" Bergeron; Don Paul
- Writers
- Ted Elliott · screenplay; Terry Rossio · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Kline · Tulio; Kenneth Branagh · Miguel; Rosie Perez · Chel; Armand Assante · Tzekel-Kan; Edward James Olmos · Chief Tannabok; Jim Cummings · Hernán Cortés; Frank Welker · Altivo
- Genres
- animated; musical; comedy; adventure
- Themes
- friendship; adventure
- Tone and mood
- comedy; adventure
- Setting
- 1519 Spain and the mythical city of El Dorado in the New World.
- Premise and plot tags
- con-artists; lost city; mythology
- Source material / true-story basis
- Hugh Thomas's 1993 book Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés and the Fall of Old Mexico
- Content notes
- sexist and racist themes
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, but it has since become a cult classic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 50% · scale: percentage · review count: 107; Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 29
- Production trivia
- The film was the third animated feature produced by DreamWorks Animation.; The film's popularity grew as an internet meme in the 2010s.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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