The Road to El Dorado (PG, 2000)

common sense media says

Outstanding family movie, with a lackluster score.


parents & educators say
  • 80% say language is an issue
  • 80% say sexual content is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this isn't a Disney movie. It's rated PG for a couple of mild words, some brief nudity and suggestiveness, and some tense moments. Some families may object to Cortes' reference to the disciples or to his calling Tzekel-Kan a "lying heathen."

Violence & scariness: Bad guy kills someone. Some tense moments, main characters in peril.
Sexy stuff: More suggestive than most animated family features.
Language: A couple of mild words.
Consumerism: Not applicable.

More on The Road to El Dorado

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about how the characters decide what is important to them and how they decide what to do. When Miguel and Tulio think they are dying, they thank each other for their friendship and talk about what they most wanted in life –- adventure, gold, being remembered. How do their actions later on reflect these goals? Tulio says, "You know that voice that tells people to quit when they're ahead? Miguel, you don't have one." What does that mean? Why does Miguel take risks that Tulio thinks are not wise? Talk about Tzekel-Kan's view of people as disgusting and his statement that "people will not respect you unless they fear you." Why does he think that? How does thinking that make him behave differently? Keep in mind that Tulio and Miguel are small-time con men, and ask kids if they think the end was fair, and whether Tulio and Miguel will continue to cheat people in the future.

What's the story?

What's the story?
THE ROAD TO EL DORADO is set in 1519, as Cortes is planning "to conquer the new world for Spain, for glory and for gold." Miguel (voiced by Kenneth Branaugh) and Tulio (voiced by Kevin Kline) accidentally stow away, along with their one possession, a map to El Dorado, the legendary land of gold. They escape in a rowboat and land on a coast that looks just like the one in their map. They follow the map to the city of gold, to be welcomed as gods by the friendly chief (voice of Edward James Olmos) and his less friendly priest Tzekel-Kan (voice of Armand Assante). They are also welcomed by Chell (voice of Rosie Perez), who knows they are con men, but promises to help them if they will take her with them when they go. As they struggle to behave like gods, Miguel and Tulio begin to care about what happens to the people of El Dorado as Tzekel-Kan and Cortes try to grab what they want. Friendly rivalry turns hostile as Miguel thinks of staying behind and Tulio and Chell fall in love. The final conflict forces them to find out what their priorities really are.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Dreamworks SKG steps up to the Disney gold standard with this sensationally entertaining animated adventure. Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branaugh were in the same room when recording their dialogue, and it paid off. Kline and Branaugh, both classically trained and both masters of improvisation, brought humor and spontaneity to the relationship of the two characters that adds life and electricity to a medium that can often seem too staid. Think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid crossed with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

It is no coincidence that the "Road to" title and one of the best gags in the movie pay loving tribute to the Hope/Crosby series. The animation is terrific. The biggest challenge -- making the character's faces expressive without being caricatures -- is especially well done. El Dorado itself is suitably magical, and the scenes with humor and tension are expertly handled, especially a high stakes basketball-style game and the climactic escape. Aside from the lackluster Elton John/Tim Rice score, this is an outstanding family movie.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: DreamWorks
Director: Eric Bibo Bergeron
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, Rosie Perez
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 89 minutes
Theatrical release: March 31, 2000
DVD release: December 12, 2000
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: mild thematic material and language

This review was written by Nell Minow
 
 

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What parents & educators say

11
Based on 5 parent & educator reviews:
  • 80% say language is an issue
  • 80% say sexual content is an issue
  • 40% say violence is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

Nick the movie ...
kid, 12 years old
 
Good for 10+
This movie is very great, just a little bit sexual sometimes.

bad luck all ...
teen, 17 years old
 
the best movie ever!!!

trollbabyfeet
parent of 8 and 11 year old
 
Totally inappropriate movie for children
I was stunned by the blatant sensuality and the language in this film. I couldn't get past either of these issues, and we turned the movie off and threw it away (it had been a gift).

chesschamp
kid, 13 years old
 
An OK Movie
It was OK. We saw this in school because we learned about how the Spanish conquered the Aztecs in Mexico and this movie was about that. it's a bit boring, but it's good.

gamerkid660
kid, 12 years old
 
Ouch!
I remember seeing this on the flicks on cartoon network. Some outfits were skimpy, in one scene, a ball hits a guy in the face with blood, kind of like when I got hit in the face with a dodgeball.

Sammy Keyes
kid, 11 years old
 
Good for ages 8+
Hi, I'm ten years old and I think this is a great film! Some parts may be a little scary to kids that aren't used to dramatic illustrations, in some parts there is a little flirting but over all a great and funny family film!

 
Erk
I think this one is a misfire by Common Sense. It's not so terrible, though, so I give it a pause. But this movie is rife with risque behavior. It includes using deceit to get ahead, a sex scene that's not graphic but you get the point, butt shot nudity, and nudge-wink allusions to swear words. However the villains aren't all terribly scary, and at the end, the heroes learn good lessons. It's just not all terribly funny even when you don't consider all these messages.

She-WolfAlpha
teen, 14 years old
 
Family movie, for 8 or 9+
I LOVED this movie so much!!! But I think little kids shouldn't watch it or if things pass over their heads, then let them. In two clips, a male and female make out for only a second. Two, it's "mild sex" though they never say it, and it's never seen and they do it with clothes on. A child would think they're just rolling on the floor and wonder why you can't see them. A teen would not. There is two h-ll words used. Viloence isn't a big issue. The role models an really good and the humor is great, too. Very good family movie!!

SilverSnake
teen, 15 years old
 
I'm listening to "Its tough to be a God" right now!
We watched it in Social Studies, I was laughing so hard, it was embrarressing! Everyone was complaining "its just a stupid kids movie" (YOUR a stupid kids movie!-jk) Anyway, I LOVED it, always had, always will. They are funny as a team, they are con people, but its meant for comedy, and its usually to those that deserve it. They con an intire city into thinking they're Gods so they can get gold, but it was funny seeing them 'attempted' that. It can be scary to younger kids with the voodo dude. There IS bad words, I definetly remember that, but they would usually slip through your ears, the sex scene, I don't think it was EXACTLY that, but it would appear that way, but no clothes were taken off, and it wasn't long, like five seconds until it was interupted. One nudity scene was when the monkeys stole their clothes, but that was funny, and nothing really grafic was shown, maybe a butt, I can't remember. And by the way, it IS NOT a Disney movie, sorry, its a Dreamworks, it is said at the bottom of the movie, and its on the list of Dreamwork animations. Plus, the songs are AWESOME. They get you dancing sooner or later, you will see.

YoungWonder
kid, 10 years old
 
El Dorado
There is profanity sometimes. There is a part that could have been left out and woudve made the movie alot better and that's when 2 main characters keep massaging each other and stuff you know what I mean there is violence like people being whipped and sacrificed but it's a good movie if your at least 6 7

 
Excellent animated adventure with an outstanding music score
Lackluster music score? Come on, commonsense! Use your common sense! I loved this movie. It stands up there with all of the great animated flicks, such as Toy Story or Shrek. Excellent all around. Parents: There is a surprising amount of sex, violence, and language in this movie. Nothing graphic, but sometimes explicit. Bottom Line: Excellent and a must-own for the entire family. Thanks for reading! - Movie Man

Natasha2
teen, 17 years old
 
Really good movie, Suspenseful, funny and exciting!
I liked El Dorado because it was very funny at parts, yet scary at others. I couldn't wait to see what Tulio and Miguel, the stars of the movie, would do next. I thought Cortez was a really good bad guy and very scary. I liked the beginning of the movie especially, becuase I found it really funny. I thought that Miguel had an English accent and Tulio had an American one. One part I thought was cool was the whirpool. This was a great movie!

childsplaylvr
teen, 13 years old
 
Well, one of the main characters (Tulio) gets seduced by the irrestable and seductive Chel, and are having sex behind the couch . . . children may not realize it, but you kinda get the idea once you get older. Overall, its a great movie! We watched it last week in History. But, you should totally watch it, because its pretty much worth it. Just be careful if your kids have any questions . . .

kidsrock135
kid, 11 years old
 
e.g. Perfect for children 11 but not for tweens

 
It was okay story and music wise but it was a bit edgy as far as family movies go. Violence: A giant stone jaguar can be scary to little kids. Blood is seen (nothing too graphic). Talk about sacrafices. Sex: Chel is scantly clad. Also implied making out. Language: One "crappy", two "hell"'s and several "Oh my God"'s. Drugs: During a song it is implied that they were drunk and tripping on something. Little kids probably wouldn't get it.

LECkitty
kid, 11 years old
 
one of Dreamworks' best.
This has always been one of my favorite movies! The plot is very well written. There are some scenes that might scare younger kids, and there's some sexy stuff (kisses, Chel and Tulio make out) but it's one of Dreamworks' best.

 
Horrible ethics, sexual innuendos and suggestive of poor language. I was mortified when I first saw this and couldnt believe they were marketing this crap to young kids. Thankfully I prescreened it. Will never allow any child to see this horrendous movie that is more suitable for teens.

arthur16morgana
teen, 16 years old
 
haha i loved the movie! i thought it was amazing!!!!its funny

poppy101
kid, 11 years old
 
Some things were good , some thingd were bad, but overall great movie!!
Hello! I am 11 years old and i saw this movie in my classroom when my teacher played it for us to teach us about Europeans. I thought it was a really good movie except for a few seans were the word H*ll was used(2 times). My other classmates and my teacher were shocked when they heared this they thought this was a rated PG movie. Just to let you know, there was a little sexuality with the chatacter chel because she kept flirting with Tulio and hinting that she wanted to kiss him or more sierus stuff then that. A little bit of brief nudity; Tulio and Migeul are seen taking a bath(nothing to sexual). My teacher said that the character Chel was a bad and inapropeate character. But in my oppinion, Chel is just an anoying person who wants love a little too much. My teacher skipped the part when Tulio and chel kinda "did it." Although it was not shown and they were whereing clothes i know what was going on, although little kids might not. Now let me say somthing a little more positive about this movie, even though tulio and miguel are con men, they are great friends and i think that that shows that this movie has positive messages about frienship and never giving up even when thing are tough. Great Movie, even though some parents might not like it( in my oppinion, parents do like the movie, they are just don't want their kids to be exposed to sexuality foul language and i bet you that if they were watching the movie alone they would laf their heads of!) thanks for the oppertunidy to review this movie! Sorry about the mispellings, i am only in 5th grade.Thanx!!

Naomysan
teen, 14 years old
 
Unclean
It was ok but I couldn't get past the drinking, make-out scene, and the language (mild but not for kids to hear and see). I was angry at the two characters, Tulio and Chel, trough the rest of the movie. Miguel and Tulio should have never even met that perverted witch, she just messed up the movie. She didn't even make the movie move further or even that great. Dreamworks just added her because there "absolutely" has to be a female falling in love with one of the characters, making the other jealous/mad. They just did it for their own immature satisfaction. I even know that, yet I'm 14. Although I did enjoy the comedy that they added into the movie... I can't believe I let my little brother watch that.

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