Home About Us About Fencing Links Photo Gallery Image Bank Reviews     Book Reviews     Movie Reviews Fencing Fun Contact Us

UCFC Movie Reviews The Road to El Dorado Year: 2000 Director: Stephen Sommers Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, Rosie Perez, Armande Assante Review by V. Bjerreskov The Road to El Dorado is being billed as a children's movie, as most animations are, but many parts of it would be difficult to explain to a younger child. First of all, there is the almost sexual relationship between Tulio and Chel. Chel also has no qualms about using her good looks and loose morals to get what she wants. Second, much has been made of the ambiguous relationship between Tulio and Miguel. Public outcry and support for the film as being 'gay-friendly' are probably not what Dreamworks Studios were looking for when they made this film. To be perfectly honest, I didn't see this aspect of the film on my first viewing. I was looking more for story and animation. In terms of that, it wasn't bad. I have to say I didn't like Chel at all, and it's not because Rosie Perez did her voice. Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline pulled off their characters well, though the residents of El Dorado, with the exception of the ones with names, were very static and unimaginative. The background animation was also good. Honestly, though, my favourite character in the whole movie was the horse, Altivo. The expressions on that animal were wonderful! In terms of story, there were two major conflicts, and both were solved almost anticlimatically. The music from Elton John and Tim Rice was completely forgettable. Oh well. The fencing scene appeared at the beginning of the movie, and was handled decently. Some members of the club noticed that the blades they were fighting with changed from a triangular cross-section to a rectangular cross-section from scene to scene. Overall, the duel reminded me of Guybrush Threepwood learning swordplay in the LucasArts game The Curse of Monkey Island, with the insults and playfulness. There was no fencing for the rest of the movie. Disney Studios still has the monopoly on animated films, but The Road to El Dorado is a decent second foray into a tightly controlled arena for Dreamworks. More time should be spent on story and character, of course, but it wasn't bad. Back to Movie Reviews Home  |  About Us   |  About Fencing   |  Links  |  Photo Gallery Image Bank  |  Reviews   |  Fencing Fun  |  Contact Us