The Road to El Dorado facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Road to El Dorado
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bibo Bergeron Don Paul
Produced by	Bonne Radford Brook Breton
Screenplay by	Ted Elliott Terry Rossio
Story by	Philip LaZebnik
Narrated by	Elton John
Starring	Kevin Kline Kenneth Branagh Rosie Perez Armand Assante Edward James Olmos Jim Cummings
Music by	Hans Zimmer John Powell
Editing by	Vicki Hiatt
Studio	DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by	DreamWorks Pictures
Release date(s)	March 31, 2000 (2000-03-31)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$95 million
Money made	$76.4 million

The Road to El Dorado is an exciting animated adventure movie from 2000. It was made by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Bibo Bergeron and Don Paul.

The story follows two friends, Miguel and Tulio, who are con artists. They accidentally find a map to a legendary City of Gold called El Dorado. After a wild escape from Spain, they end up in the New World. There, the people of El Dorado mistake them for gods!

The movie features songs by the famous singer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice. Composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell created the music score. Elton John also helps tell the story through songs. Even though the movie didn't make a lot of money at first, it has become a popular cult film over time. Many people enjoy it now!

The Story of El Dorado

A Map to Adventure

The movie begins in Spain in 1519. Two clever con artists, Miguel and Tulio, win a map to the legendary City of Gold, El Dorado. They win it in a rigged dice game, but ironically, the win was actually fair!

When their trick is found out, they run from the guards. They hide in barrels that are loaded onto a ship. This ship belongs to a famous explorer, Hernán Cortés, who is sailing to the New World.

Escape and Discovery

During the journey, Miguel and Tulio are caught as stowaways. But they manage to escape! They take a small rowboat with the help of Cortés's horse, Altivo.

Their boat reaches land, and Miguel starts to recognize places from the map. They find a special totem near a waterfall. Tulio thinks it's a dead end, but they are wrong.

Meeting Chel and the City of Gold

As they are about to leave, they meet a local woman named Chel. She is being chased by guards. When the guards see Tulio and Miguel riding Altivo, just like the totem shows, they lead them and Chel to a secret entrance. This entrance is hidden behind the waterfall and leads into El Dorado!

Inside the city, they meet the leaders: Chief Tannabok, who is kind, and Tzekel-Kan, the high priest. The people of El Dorado believe Miguel and Tulio are gods. They are given fancy rooms and Chel is assigned to help them.

A Secret Deal

Chel quickly figures out that Miguel and Tulio are not gods. They are just tricksters! But she promises to keep their secret. In return, they must take her with them when they leave the city.

Chief Tannabok gives them many gifts of gold. However, Miguel and Tulio don't like Tzekel-Kan's plan. He wants to sacrifice a person during a ritual for the "gods."

Building a Boat and Growing Apart

Tulio and Miguel tell Chief Tannabok to build them a boat. They pretend they need it to return to the "other world" with their gifts. The boat will take three days to build.

During this time, Miguel explores the city. He starts to love the peaceful life of the people. He even thinks about staying. Meanwhile, Chel and Tulio become very close. Miguel overhears Tulio telling Chel he wants her to come with him to Spain, and to forget Miguel. This makes Miguel and Tulio's friendship strained.

The Ball Game and a Big Mistake

Tzekel-Kan sees Miguel playing a ball game with children. He insists the "gods" play against the city's best players. Tulio and Miguel are not very good, but Chel helps them win. She secretly swaps the ball with an armadillo!

Miguel stops Tzekel-Kan from sacrificing the losing team. He tells Tzekel-Kan off, and the crowd cheers. Tzekel-Kan then notices Miguel has a small cut. He realizes the two are not gods because gods do not bleed!

Cortés Arrives

Later, Miguel and Tulio argue about their friendship and Miguel's wish to stay. But before they can finish, Tzekel-Kan creates a giant stone jaguar. It chases them through the city!

Tulio and Miguel outsmart the jaguar. It falls into a giant whirlpool with Tzekel-Kan. The natives believe this whirlpool leads to the spirit world. Tzekel-Kan, however, surfaces in the jungle. There, he finds Cortés and his soldiers. Tzekel-Kan thinks Cortés is the real god and offers to lead him to El Dorado.

Saving El Dorado

The boat is finished, and Miguel decides to stay in the city. But as Tulio and Chel get on the boat, they see smoke. Cortés is close! They know what will happen if Cortés finds the city.

Tulio suggests using the boat to crash into the rock pillars under the waterfall. This will block the main entrance to the city. The people of El Dorado help by pulling a statue to give the boat more speed.

As the statue falls too fast, Tulio struggles with the boat's sail. Miguel, changing his mind about staying, jumps onto the boat with Altivo. They help unfurl the sails, making sure the boat clears the statue in time.

The group successfully crashes into the pillars, causing a cave-in. They lose all their gold gifts in the process. They hide near the totem just as Cortés and Tzekel-Kan arrive. When Cortés sees the blocked entrance, he calls Tzekel-Kan a liar and takes him prisoner.

Even though they lost the gold, Tulio and Miguel are ready for a new adventure with Chel. They don't even realize that Altivo is still wearing the golden horseshoes from El Dorado!

Characters and Voices

• Kenneth Branagh is the voice of Miguel. He is one of the con artists. Miguel is more relaxed and easygoing than his partner, Tulio.
• Kevin Kline is the voice of Tulio. He is the other con artist. Tulio is the planner and often worries a lot.
• Rosie Perez is the voice of Chel. She is a smart woman from El Dorado. She finds out Miguel and Tulio are faking it but helps them to escape the city.
• Armand Assante is the voice of Tzekel-Kan. He is the high priest who loves human sacrifices. He first believes Miguel and Tulio are gods.
• Edward James Olmos is the voice of Chief Tannabok. He is the kind chief of El Dorado. He is a bit doubtful at first but welcomes Miguel and Tulio.
• Jim Cummings is the voice of Hernán Cortés. He is the tough leader of the Spanish explorers. Jim Cummings also voices the cook, a warrior, and a native who warns the Chief.
• Frank Welker is the voice of Altivo. He is Cortés's horse who becomes friends with Tulio and Miguel. Welker also voices the bull at the start of the movie.
• Tobin Bell is the voice of Zaragoza. He is a sailor who loses the map to El Dorado to Miguel and Tulio.
• Elton John is the voice of The Singing Narrator.
• Anne Lockhart is the voice of the Girl in Barcelona.
• Bob Bergen is the voice of the Jaguar.

Music and Soundtrack

Creating the Music

The music for The Road to El Dorado was planned to have a "world music" feel. In 1996, the famous singer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice were asked to write seven songs for the movie. They had worked together before on Disney's The Lion King.

Tim Rice would write the words first, and then Elton John would create the music. John would record a demo, which helped the animators plan the scenes. The filmmakers decided that the characters would not sing the songs themselves. Instead, the songs would help tell the story and move it along.

The Official Soundtrack Album

The official soundtrack album for The Road to El Dorado was released by Elton John. It includes songs written by John and Tim Rice, along with music from Hans Zimmer and John Powell.

Some songs on the album are a bit different from how they sound in the movie. For example, "It's Tough to be a God" is sung by Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh in the movie, but a different version is on the album. The Backstreet Boys sang backup vocals on "Friends Never Say Goodbye," and members of Eagles, Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit, sang on "Without Question."

Song List

Internet Popularity

Even 20 years after it was released, The Road to El Dorado became very popular online. Many scenes and characters from the movie turned into funny Internet memes that people share.

See also

In Spanish: The Road to El Dorado para niños