The Road to El Dorado

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The Road to El Dorado ★★½ 2000 (PG)

Spanish con men Tulio (Kline) and Miguel (Branagh) search for the legendary Lost City of Gold in this animated mix of the Crosby-Hope “Road” pictures and Kipling's “Man Who Would Be King.” The duo hitch a ride with Cortes's expedition to South America, land among the natives, and are mistaken for gods. They also run into a beautiful local (Perez) who's onto their game and agrees to help them, and run afoul of the local priest, who's fond of human sacrifice and wants to overthrow the kindly chief (Olmos). As usual, the animation is superb, and there are enjoyable moments throughout, but a weak plot and nondescript characters add up to a somewhat disappointing outing. 90m/C VHS, DVD. D: Eric Bergeron, Don Paul; W: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio; M: Elton John, Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Tim Rice; V: Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Armand Assante, Edward James Olmos; Nar: Elton John.