Road to El Dorado

This is an animated film following the adventures of two con-artists, Miguel and Tulio, who are always searching for the big score. On one of their cons they stumble on a map to the legendary city of El Dorado aka City of Gold.   They end up on Cortez's  ship to the new world and  ba-da-bing  they find El Dorado and, with the help of a native con artist (Chel), a gluttonous horse and an armadillo thing, they convince the locals that they are gods, which coincides nicely with the locals' New Years.  Unfortunately they didn't realize the South American love for human sacrifice, spear-headed by the evil priest Tzekel-Kan.

While Tulio is trying to get all their gold, and Chel, back to Spain, Miguel is falling in love with the city and doesn't want to leave. They have a falling out right about the time Kan discovers they aren't gods. He decides to bring in the new year himself by animating a large jaguar statue and killing the heroes. He loses and yet Tulio and Miguel are still at odds with each other. With Tulio and Chel preparing to leave, who shows up but Cortez. Sacrificing their gold and Miguel's wish to live in El Dorado, they save the city and are once again poor and on the search for the next great adventure.

Now I might be a giant child, but I absolutely loved this movie. I adored Miguel and Tulio, and the friendship they shared. The first time I watched it I nearly cried when Tulio was leaving while there was heartbreaking music in the background. ( I told you I was a giant child.) It was fast paced and funny, adventurous and touching.  I know it is not at the same level as some Disney films, especially when it comes to songs, but it still has qualities that make it a great movie. It has romance, adventure, comedy, friendship, evil people getting the crap kicked out of them by the heroes and even a moral to the story. A few hundreds years too late for the actual native people but what can you do?

I suggest popping some popcorn and watching this movie.

Grade: 8.5/10