The Road to El Dorado: From Failure to Cult Classic 20 Years Later

The year is 1994. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the head of animated film production at DreamWorks studios, hands the screenwriting duo responsible for Alladin Ted Elliot and Terry Rassio a 1,000-page textbook titled “Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico.” Inspired by the Age of Exploration, the two craft a witty and fast-paced screenplay, set to music from Elton John and Tim Rice (yes, the duo that brought you The Lion King soundtrack), for the adventure film that would become what I lovingly refer to today, 20 years since its initial release, as the Worst Best Movie of All Time; The Road to El Dorado. 

Directed by Eric Bergeron and Don Paul, the 2000 animated feature film The Road to El Dorado is a combination of an adventure, comedy, and (sort of) musical that follows two con artists, Tulio and Miguel, who, after winning the map to the lost city of El Dorado, escape from Spain to the New World in search of the lost city of gold. Upon washing ashore, they are led to the city of El Dorado, whose inhabitants mistake the duo for gods. Out of sheer luck and coincidence, the two go along with this, clumsily fumbling their way through their charade to orchestrate their plan of stealing as much gold as they possibly can before their true identities are discovered. 

If you’ve never heard of this film before, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Upon its release in late March of 2000, the film was both a critical and financial nightmare for DreamWorks, losing the studio millions of dollars and sparking outrage over the historical inaccuracies of the period. As a result, DreamWorks largely ignores that this film is a part of their collection, seemingly sweeping much evidence of its existence under the metaphorical rug. 

This begs the question of how a movie so destined to succeed in theory ended up failing so miserably. And not only fail, but fade almost into obscurity so immediately after its release. As time has gone on and the film has faded out of its original media controversy, The Road to El Dorado has amassed a new reputation as a cult classic for those who return to it, reminded of a nostalgic time of 2D, hand-drawn animation of which this film is one of the last. However, this population remains small and is certainly much smaller than the fanbase of other animated films of the same time (think of now-classic Disney Renaissance films such as Hercules, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid). For the sake of this piece, I shall take off my fairly fogged up nostalgia goggles to examine the aspects of what went wrong with this film - and also what went right. 

To begin this journey, it’s important to understand the context in which this film was created. DreamWorks Animation originated as a division of DreamWorks SKG, a company founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. Katzenberg, who had formerly been the head of film and television production of the Walt Disney Company, took charge of the animation department, vowing to make the studio braver and bolder than Disney in all aspects. He felt that many other studios attempted to copy the Disney formula, and so instead, he created something entirely different at DreamWorks, which can be seen in the first two films released by the studio, Antz and The Prince of Egypt, the latter of which is still considered to be one of the best-animated films of all time. Katzenberg spun traditional Disney storylines and used source material Disney would have deemed as too dark or mature, such as the explicit depictions of slavery in The Prince of Egypt. This made DreamWorks different. 

Originally, Katzenberg’s imagined The Road to Eldorado as a serious adventure film centered around the historical events of Cortez and conquest; however, while working on the much more serious The Prince of Egypt, he decided this next film should instead depart from the more adult tone and therefore transitioned it into a comedy. Jokingly referred to as El Dorado: The Lost City on Hold by cast and crew due to many rewrites and revisions, the film instead drew from the 1940’s Bing Crosby and Bob Hope “Road To” film series. These films satirized popular film tropes of the time, with the men going on adventures to far off lands and surviving off of their dumb luck. The 7 “Road To” films were eventually condensed into what became the final script of The Road to El Dorado, the final product of which being an anti-hero led adventure-musical-comedy vastly different from what had originally been conceptualized by the film’s crew, but unique and entertaining in its own right. 

This is where the first issue with the film’s production comes into play. The constant rewriting and reworking of the project as a whole by Katzenberg created a somewhat confusing final product; upon its release, critics constantly asked the same question, “Who is this film for?” Originally intended to be released under a PG-13 rating, Katzenberg hoped to create an animated movie that mirrored that of live-action. However, in hopes that the film would be seen by more (and thus make more money), the film was forced to adapt to a PG rating late into production, creating a final result that is very much so an adult film forced to become kid-friendly at the very last minute. The content of the film and the animation were at odds, as well; the humor and dynamics proved to be much too dry and sarcastic for children, while the hand-drawn animation was much too cartoony to attract adults, thus leaving the film to struggle to find an audience after its initial release. Conservative parents were also appalled by the implied sexual references in certain scenes and Chel’s suggestive costume design, which prompts many to still wonder today how DreamWorks secured a PG rating. 

The film continued to struggle to reach an audience as a result of the marketing, which many point to as the main reason for the film’s flop. The press that they drummed up around El Dorado could not have been more out of sync with what the film actually was; a simple, witty, comedy. However, most of the marketing consisted of videos of animators studying Aztec ruins and landscape, leading audiences and critics to believe that what they were going to watch would be on par with The Prince of Egypt in terms of content, accuracy, and tone. Until the final version of the trailer was released, there was no mention of comedy, and when it did find its way into the trailer, it was aimed at young children instead of the older teenage demographic the film was probably better suited for. Perhaps if the team advertised the movie as a light-hearted, witty comedy instead of a historical homage, the audiences and critics would not have been so surprised upon viewing. This harmed the critical reception, as Callum Petch explains in his analysis. “It’s not trying to be deep, it’s not trying to be weighty, it’s just trying to be fun. Of course, DreamWorks had proven themselves to be more ambitious than this, so critics were going to see this as a step back. No wonder they were so hard on it … no wonder most people stayed away.” 

And yet, regardless of these failures, I like this movie. I would even say I love this movie. I unironically love the dialogue and the characters, the animation, the soundtrack … honestly everything about it. While I would typically be quick to explain that I may simply hold a nostalgic attachment to this film because of how often I watched it in the back of my mom’s minivan growing up, I have found myself gravitating back to it still to this day. Just a few months ago, I saw and clicked on the movie as I browsed Hulu, when I was reminded of why I loved it. Since then, I’ve continued to revisit the movie any time I need a bit of a pick me up, something light and easy to watch to help ease my stress. This is why I earlier referred to The Road to El Dorado as the Worst Best Movie of all time; while it failed financially and is often cast to the wayside of DreamWorks history, there are a lot of things that make this movie special. 

First off, The Road to El Dorado is funny. Really funny. I still find myself laughing at the dynamics and dialogue between Tulio and Miguel, and find myself entertained for the entirety of the film as soon as they are introduced. This is perhaps due to what failed the film in the first place; the more mature tone of the humor and exchanges appeals much more to 19 year old me than other animated films of the same time. The duo never misses a beat, perfectly complimenting each other; Tulio is adventurous and kind-spirited, while Miguel is more calculated and pragmatic. The two are truly representative of authentic emotion and while originally defined as selfish and greedy, are developed throughout the story to be endearing and human; I (and think that most people) can see parts of myself reflected in both Tulio and Miguel. Their animal sidekick, a warhorse named Altivo, acts as a way for the film to break the fourth wall, rolling its eyes and tilting its head as if expressing the emotion of the viewer, working perfectly with the comedic nature of the film. The blend of 2D animation and early CGI is beautiful and colorful, with both the actions and feelings exploding off the screen. All of this, set to an original soundtrack of Elton John from the duo that won an Oscar for The Lion King works together to create a fun and witty adventure story that I enjoy today just as much as I did over 10 years ago. 

Despite everything that went wrong behind the scenes of this film, it's hard to overlook the legacy that supersedes The Road to El Dorado. Like many films initially unappreciated by critics, The Road to El Dorado has become a cult classic 20 years later to those who, like me, yearn for the fun simplicity of early 00s animation, humor, and music. In many ways, The Road to El Dorado painted the way for DreamWorks as a studio and what they have aesthetically become known for; Shrek and Madagascar are two that borrow from this initial formula of a comedic anti-hero lead, complete with flamboyant celebrity castings, pop culture-based humor, and non-diegetic soundtracks packed with beloved music. The Road to El Dorado allowed DreamWorks to experiment with a new film formula that differentiated themselves from Disney; and it worked. This formula has come to define DreamWorks animation as a studio, and it's hard to believe it would have without the creation of The Road to El Dorado.