Dreamworks, 2000
Voices of Kevin Branagh, Kevin Kline, Rosie Perez, and Armande Assante
Directed by Eric "Bibo" Bergeron and Don Paul
Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Tim Rice
Uh, remember I said back in April that The Prince of Egypt was Dreamworks' only traditionally animated theatrical animated musical? Well...I was wrong. In my defense, this is far less traditional take on the genre. In 1995, Jeffery Katzenburg read a book on Hernan Cortes ransacking old Mexico and thought the Age of Discovery would be a great setting for a musical. By the late 90's, the darker, more adult story took a turn to the goofy as it was transformed into a comic adventure in the style of the Bob Hope-Bing Crosby Road To... movies of the 1940's and 50's. It was a huge flop in 2000, but how does the tale of two con-artists who discover a lost city in the Mexican jungle look today? To find out, let's head to Spain, where Cortes (Jim Cummings) is recruiting men to join him on a quest to the New World, and find out...
The Story: While Cortes calls sailors to his ships, con men Tulio (Kline) and Miguel (Branagh) use rigged dice to win money off sailors...though ironically, they win a map to hidden treasure off one fairly. The guards (and an angry bull) chase them to the dock, where they hide in pickle barrels that are loaded onto Cortes' ship. They manage to escape, thanks to the horse Altivo (Frank Welker), and eventually make their way to shore.
Excited about the possibility of unlimited gold, Miguel convinces Tulio and Altivo to follow the map with him. After many mishaps, Tulio is about ready to give up when they run across a native woman (Perez) running from guards. When they notice how similar the two men and horse are to their totem, they bring them through the falls and into the sprawling city of El Dorado. The Chief (Edward James Olmos) believes them, but his blood-obsessed high priest Tzekel-Kan is more skeptical until the two seemingly stop a volcano from erupting. As Tulio gets to know opportunistic Chel better, Miguel gets to know the city. He's in love with the culture, and doesn't appreciate his partner chasing after the lady...but it'll take both of them to evade not only Tzekel-Kan's magic, but Cortes as well.
The Animation: Gorgeous enough to make you wish Dreamworks hadn't fully embraced computer animation after this bombed. The colors are brilliant and warm, the backdrops lush and extraordinarily detailed, especially in El Dorado. While some of the 3D computer effects haven't dated well, others still look good to this day - particularly the work they do to make the gold at the end look like real gold, rather than just yellow.
The Song and Dance: This is one of the funniest animated musicals out there. Branagh and Kline recorded together, even having mock fights in the studio with plastic swords, and you can hear their delight in throwing off ad-libs. (Many of which were so witty, they made it into the finished film.) Perez more than matches them as the smart girl who sees the guys as her ticket out of El Dorado. The action is genuinely rousing and well-done, and Elton John's music is probably his second-best from a film after The Lion King. Hans Zimmer contributed a delightful Spanish-tinged background score as well. Armande Assante has a grand time chewing the jungle to ribbons as the priest who thinks sacrifices and fear are the way to govern the people of El Dorado.
Favorite Number: "The Trails We Blaze" shows mishap after mishap (mostly happening to Tulio) as the grifters and the horse follow the map through the jungles. "It's Tough to Be a God" gives us Tulio and Miguel's early views on their newfound status among the people of El Dorado, and it gets wilder and wilder and more psychedelic as the two grow more inebriated. "Without Question" is the lovely ballad that accompanies Miguel exploring the city and learning to appreciate its inhabitants. The heartbreaking "Friends Never Say Goodbye" accompanies the montage showing how Tulio and Miguel's relationship fractures, even as Tulio prepares to leave for Spain. The lilting "Someday Out of the Blue" on the end credits is one of John's finest ballads (and is my personal favorite John single).
What I Don't Like: A lot of critics at the time complained loudly about the cliched plot...and yeah, they have a point. This is nothing many people haven't seen in movies ranging from the afore-mentioned Road to... series to the more dramatic Man Who Would Be King. There's also times I wonder what audience Dreamworks intended this for. Kid-oriented gags like them suddenly stopping the volcano and some of the jokes with the horse and armadillo mix a little awkwardly with scarier sequences like the chase with the magical jaguar, some near-swears, and Tulio and Chel's obvious attraction.
The Big Finale: I think audiences - and critics - at the time were still conditioned to think all animated musicals had to be Disney princess extravaganzas. This has long picked up a cult following that enjoys the action and finds the dialogue endlessly quotable, and it more than deserves it. If you're a fan of jungle adventures or either of the leading men, or are looking for a good animated movie for older elementary and pre-teen boys, you'll want to hit the road and take a look at this.
Home Media: That cult following assures that it's easily found on all major formats, often for under five dollars.
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