Movie Comparisons:

KC sent me this in an e-mail:
I don't know if this is way off, but the movies Pocahontas 1 and 2 remind me of this. John Smith is like the blonde and adventurous Miguel. John Rolfe is like the more cynicl and uptight Tulio. Plus they both have adorable long hair that is always tied in a ponytail. Then, there is a girl of the native land in both. They both go for Miguel/Smith in the beginning, but then they fall in love with Tulio/Rolfe. The reason this may be off is because the Pocahontas story is actually real. But, I am basing this off the movies, not the real life. Thanks for reading this. I just thought of the possibility today at lunch. (I am weird!)
Thanx,
KC

This gave me an idea.  I want to see how many other movies are comparable to The Road to El Dorado.  Just E-mail me of why this movie reminds you so much of The Road to El Dorado and if they're good I'll post them on here. We already have Pocahontas 1 & 2 and when I see more of  the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" movies I will have a long comparison for that.

Eomer, Miguel's Lord if the Rings look-alike?
Molly sent me these pics of Eomer from Lord of the Rings... He does look like Miguel doesn't he?
Miguel pics taken from this site

When I first saw the poster for DreamWorks' new Movie "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" I couldn't help but notice how much Sinbad here looks like Miguel... JJ and Jenna broth brought up the subject in a recent conversation. Jenna sent me pics of Sinbad and I compared a few to Miguel...How can you say they don't look alike!


Click pictures to enlarge

Online Articles about The Road to El Dorado from March and April 2000 Issues of
Possible Character Origins:
Yes we Know Chel is from El Dorado and Miguel and Tulio are (as from what we can tell) from Spain but a fan named CeCe (who is also very knowledgeable in Spanish Culture) e-mailed me and told me of parts of Spain Tulio and Miguel are probably from! Below the pictures of our heros is exactly what she told me in the e-mail. (Blue letters are my own little add-ins)
The actual origins of the characters may never be known since I'm too much of a Chicken to ask a certain ex-Dreamworks animator about anything but atleast we have something to think about!
Oh and if Anyone has anything else to add feel free to email me!
If you are looking for the early production pictures of Chel they have been moved here.
Just a crazy idea I got from surfing the net. I found a few El Dorado movie posters from around the world. Some can be enlarged some can't, but I though it would be an interesting thing to put up so enjoy! If you have a pic of one from a country I don't have or a larger version of the ones that can't be enlarged by all means send in!
Got a question about RtED and you're itching to know the answer but you don't know who to ask! {{wavs Arms in Air}} I am the El Dorado Guru! If anyone knows the answer to your RtED question it is I! I have documents and other fun stuff from DreamWorks that only the animators were suppose to have! So what are you waiting for I don't bite (everyone) Go ahead Email me!!!!! the only rule is to subject the email "Rted Questions" or the email won't be opened Muchas Gracias!
Yes People, cartoons and who knows what else we will come up with in the the months to come. But  the things that I will be putting below are People, places, objects and whatever else that reminds us of RtED. And For all you fans out there this one is gonna be tough I am just looking for RtED related things no matter how far fetched. Pictures are required in most cases but not all. For example I am planning to take a little trip to Providence to get a picture of a Law office building that looks like a 16th century Spanish Villa That should be coming soon. Just Email me with things like that if you come across them! Please subject the email "RtED Look-Alikes" or the email will not even be opened Thanks!
Meet Henri a little French Orphan from the PBS show Liberty kids that takes place during the American Revolution. My sister first told me about him and at first I didn't believe her until I saw him myself. He is here because he looks like Tulio but that's obvious. This is the other info PBS gave me:  Henri is an eight-year-old street urchin, who has been semi-adopted by Moses and James who rescued him from a ship. Henri sleeps in the barn behind the Print Shop and helps out with errands to pay for his keep. Henri is curious, fearless and always ready for some good food. Although he sometimes gets them into trouble, more times than not, Henri's small size is an asset to James and Sarah. He has a knack for squeezing into small places. Finding out information and spying on the British Troops.
Go to www.pbskids.org/libertykids/ for the full scoop on the show

Animation Magazine's Road To El Dorado Article by Debra Kaufman:
There is 3 pages to this but it's filled with awsome behind the scenes info from the directors and animation team. Aslo if you have a problem getting this Email me and i'll send it to you ASAP! Because the third page is especially small in print and it might be hard to read.
This article has alot of behind the scenes info on the Road To El Dorado Music Video: Someday out of the Blue. Unfortuantely to make the entire article fit on one page and so you can actually read it I turned the pic sideways. So You might want to print it. If you have any problems reading because of lack of printer or monitor resolution (when it's too small and squished to read) Email me and I'll send it to you thorough email ASAP! Also I do not keep email addresses so once it's sent it will not be stored on my computer or anywhere or redistributed to anyone else.
Some Articles about RtED from the April 2000 issue of Animation Magazine....
An Article from "Time Magazine" (June 24, 2002 page 67) claims that if Lilo and Stitch don't bring in a bundle for Disney, Hollywood could see the end of traditional hand-drawn animation. That means all cartoons may become 3D computer animated like Toy Story 1 and 2, Monster Inc, and Shrek. Would anyone really like to see the end of great traditional cartoons like Mulan, Tarzan. The Prince of Egypt and of course our own The Road to El Dorado? Click here to see full article.
Cool Movie and Production Facts:
(Some of the information came from
The Schemer and the Dreamer Fan site but most of it came from the DreamWorks company)
Special Thanks to Kelsey aka fan_of_miggie for supplying Did You Know #42-56
According to a recent article in the Providence Visitor Newspaper (March 7, 2002 pg 9) El Dorado might have actually existed. That an Italian Archeologist claimed to have found centuries-old Jesuit documents that proves that El Dorado existed in the South American kingdom. Click here to see full article.
Here You can find my own reviews on the movie and other RtED stuff, some sound clips, some music,  links, Historical facts and anything I couldn't find a place for but deemed worthy to go on my site.
My Review on the movie: I am a Cartoonist myself so I really know my animation and well that movie blew me away! During the Trail we blaze the backgrounds were absolutely magnificent! The Music, I loved. Hey Sir Elton John has been around since the 70's and the man still can't write a bad melody It's impossible! The animations were top of the line tra-digital techniques. The expressions were so funny I almost died when Tulio yelled "Stop that!" in Spain and Miguel gave the cutest "oops"-look. One thing most people had a problem with was Chel. Ok she wasn't the best heroine nor did she dress accordingly. But please this is a DreamWorks movie Steven Spielberg gets away with a lot! This movie definitely proved that Disney is not the only company that can make great animated films.
Reviews
My Review on the Game-boy Color game "Gold and Glory the Road to El Dorado": The game was adorable it's fun to see little Miguel and Tulio's jumping around. You also get to pick who you play except for the boss levels then Miguel usually plays. The music was better then most games. Most games have a continuous sound over and over again. The last level with Cortes I have not defeated yet so I can't tell you about the end of the game. Sorry
Eldorado
      -by Edgar Allan Poe

Gaily bedlight,
a gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old-
This knight so bold
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow-
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be-
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down  the Valley of Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride."
The shade replied,-
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

My Review on the PC Game "Gold and Glory the Road to El Dorado" Ok, I played. it's about 7 hrs of game play it took me two days. It's not their voices as I said before isn't the same but you get used to it. The ending was definitely a surprise and what better way to see our heroes in 3D and see Tulio in a dress! You will need to have a DVD applicable video drive to play, Windows 95/98/ME,PII 223, 100% Direct X7 Sound Card, 32mb RAM, 466Mb Hard Disc Space 4xCD ROM Drive
Edited parts
Here were some of the things that were changed in the Original version (AKA big screen movie) and were different in the video.
1. During "The Trail we Blaze" on the map there is a symbol of  a skull. In the video the skull was on the map but they didn't show that our heroes went there. This was one of the scenes that were cut out of the original movie (see screen capture below).  I noticed this when Suction Cup Man and I was watching the movie (It was his first time seeing it) He wanted to see the copy of the map I made, a while ago, so he could follow the symbols and we noticed that they didn't show the Skull!
2. I can't prove this without confirmation from DreamWorks but I am positive about it. In the video when the Jaguar and Tzekel-kan is falling down the well, you see Tzekel-kan swirling underwater then it blacks out, then you see Tzekel-kan gasping for air at the crying woman waterfall where he meets Cortes. Then it goes to Miguel and Tulio hanging from the vines. My accusation is that those two scenes were switched in the original version. After Tzekel-kan swirls under water and then the black out (also known as a fade out) takes you right to Miguel and Tulio hanging on the vines. Now you're wondering so where did Tzekel-kan meet Cortes? I believe it was right after Miguel gets carried off by the village people ( don't say " was the fireman and Indian there?" Get it? The Village People? Ya know "In The Navy" aw forget it!) and Tulio says to Chel "Everything's....fine."
3. Something similar to number two but again I can't prove it as I could with number One .I'm not to sure about this one. I Think that after the Trail we Blaze there was a longer black out. When Miguel and Tulio were knocked out In the video Tulio didn't get knocked out but I'm sure he did too in the original movie. There was just something different in that scene I can't put my finger on it. E-mail me If you think you know what I'm talking about.
Feature of the Week? More like the feature Everyday!!!!
"Maybe They Should call this place..."
Just a stupid thing Lolita and I thought of.

Other Ancient Pre-Columbian Cities that never made it into the history books:
This city was never sick and the people worshiped water containers.
"Maybe they should call this palce 'Well Dorado'."
This oceananic village collected fossils from dead sea creatures in honor of the water goddess.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Shell Dorado'."
This city was noisy  all the time because of it's people's love of chimes.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Bell Dorado'."
This city was the talk of the Americas! No secret was safe.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Tell Dorado'."
This city was a living nightmare! Everyday the High Priests would set fire to the city in honor of an evil god
"Maybe they should call this place 'Hell Dorado'."
"This city stinks!" said the local aroma theripist merchant who left this city in a hurry.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Smell Dorado'."
This city couldn't get it straight. They were the clumsiest people around!
"Maybe they should call this place 'Fell Dorado'."
The People of this city founded the science of Micro-biology.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Cell Dorado'."
This city was the first people to make a computer in the honor of the small god Chip.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Dell Dorado'."
This city had nothing but market places. Everyone was a merchant.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Sell Dorado'."
Those people never shut up! Said a shamen of a nearby village. They cold bring down the walls of Jerico.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Yell Dorado'."
This city was devoted to a King, The King, Elvis Presly to be exact. This city also defined the teenage style of the 50's.
"Maybe they should call this palce 'Gel Dorado'."
This city had very intelligent people winnig every spelling bee in the Central and South American nationals. This city was also home to hundreds of whiches, worlocks, magicians, and wizards.
"Maybe they should call this place 'Spell Dorado'."

MY SIMS
I am a fan of the game The Sims and I've been playing it for about 3 years. Do you think I could live with myself if I didn't have El Dorado sims?
I couldn't get Tulio's goatee quite right with what they gave me but maybe one day I'll go through all the pain and agony of getting them all exact but not yet.
Miguel's Sim wasn't bad Infact it was probably the most similar to the real character (and I liked the idea of giving both guys big muscles so I did)
Come on! Does this not look like Chel with short hair or what? Even her clothes I picked out went with what I wanted her to wear. I agree her hips aren't big enough.
Tulio                                      Miguel                                    Chel
"My Review of Elton John's The Road to El Dorado Soundtrack"
The entire Album is great and is a must for any Road to El Dorado fan. A special edition 16 track CD was sold at Best Buy stores for a limited time. I have both so here is a list of songs on the Standard Gold CD and Special Edition Green CD and a review of each:
On the Gold CD:
1."El Dorado" : This song was great it was the extended (or should I say the original song) that wasn't in the movie. It kept an upbeat tempo too.
2."Someday out of the Blue" My favorite song and it had an awesome Music video!
3. "Without Question" This is the song during the movie where Miguel was walking around El Dorado. It was very sweet I like this one a lot too.
4. "Friends Never say Goodbye" When I heard this song in the movie for the first time I was getting a little teary and I still do every now and then. My little sister sang this song to her teacher who was retiring. It is a very emotional song.
5. "The Trail we Blaze." The songs before this track get slower from 2 to 4 and now we get a little more Jumpy and excited. This song is just fun! I sing it when I'm hiking with my friends sometimes.
6. "16th Century Man" This song is the coolest! Its got a really fast rhythm and with the electric guitar ya got to move to this track.
7. "The Panic in Me." We get back to the slower stuff now. This has a slower beat and it's a nice decline from the exciting previous songs.
8. "It's tough to be a God" I'm sorry Elton. You and Randy Newman do NOT go together! You sound absolutely horrid together and it actually wants us to beg Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh to sing an encore!
9."Trust Me" An awesome villains song that would have been great in the movie.
10. "My Heart Dances" Nothing very interesting about this song. So there's not much I can say except there is an awesome Acoustic Guitar solo in it.
11."Queen of Cities" I love this song! I'm not sure why but I do it's just so pretty.
12 "Cheldorado" (instrumental) Ugh Chel has her own song! This is the song that plays when she enters a scene listen for it. It's there.
13. "The Brig."(instrumental) Goes perfectly with Tulio's head banging in him trying to concoct an adequate plan.
14."Wonders of the New World"(instrumental) This ones fun. It's the background music for when they first enter El Dorado, Xibalba, and The Ball Game scenes.
On The Green CD: (Only sold for a limited time exclusively at Best Buy)
1. "Perfect Love": A strong Gospel sound with an upbeat tempo. Some how this reminded me a lot of the songs from the Lion King.
2. "Hey Armadillo": Great Bass Guitar and Electric Organ in this. Also has a nice Gospel sound but not as strong as the previous track. I also though it was cute that even little Bibo has his own song.
Commonly asked Questions about "The Road to El Dorado"

1.Why does Miguel have a British accent if he's suppose to be Spanish?

Well for one no said that either Miguel or Tulio were actually Spanish. Two asking why does Miguel have a British accent, is like asking why does Captain Jean-Luk Picard (Star Trek the Next Generation) have a British accent if he's suppose to be French or Why does Chel have a Brooklyn accent if Brooklyn wasn't discovered yet. The answer is simple Kenneth Branagh is a shakespearian actor which means you gotta have the accent, granted Mr. Branagh is Irish but being in England so long has rubbed off.

2. Were there any pacific reason that Dreamworks picked the names Miguel and Tulio for their stars?

Yes. Miguel means who is like god or like sun god Tulio means God of rain in Spanish I believe. My Mom told me Tulio in Portugese means "Foolish Man". Chel comes from the name of the Mayan goddess Ix Chel (pronounced eesh chel) who is the goddess of Childbirth. and my Character Guadalupe del Oceano means in Aztec "my Image will crush the serpent god" and in Spanish del Oceano  means "of the Ocean"

3. What happened to Cortes in real life?

Hernan Cortes discovered and conquered the Aztec empire by 1522. Since he was outnumbered 1000 to 1 he basically defeated them by bringing the sicknesses from Spain to the New World. Most of the Aztec population died of smallpox

4. What was Chel's reason for leaving El Dorado?

I got messages about this and I too watched The Directors Commentary I keep forgetting to post it. But on the Directors Commentary the reason for Chel wanting to leave El Dorado was due to a scene cut out of the movie, (but not the books). Where Tzekel-kan was going to sacrifice her but a solar eclipse prevented him seeing it as a sign of the gods.

5. What is the Instrument that Miguel played through out the Movie?

All of the El Dorado books (except RtED Altivo's adventure who was the only one correct) say it's a guitar but it's Not it's a mandolin. I own two mandolins Trust me I'm pretty sure guitars are not that small.

6. What do you call a person who plays a mandolin anyway?

Oddly enough a Commando!

7. Which tribe were the people of El Dorado? The Aztec? The Maya?The Inca?

They were not Inca. The Incas didn't have a form of writing they are actually a combination of the Aztec and the Maya. Alot of the background art was a combination of both. The gods they had were based on the Maya. The architecture was a little of both. The ball game was Mayan. It was more Mayan in some places Aztec in others. I have too look further into the two tribes.

8. Which gods were Miguel and Tulio suppose to be?

Miguel was Kinich Ahau (keen eech ah AHW) the sun god, and Itzamna (eets ahm NAH) and the god of all They were concidered a combined god. Tulio was the Rain god Tlaloc (pronounced "chalk")He was also the god of (ironically) fertility!

9. Is the script in the background of the movie real text?

Actually No. I'm taking back my previous answer for this one. The text is Mayan and Aztec Styled and maybe a few are real. Whem Dreamworks made "The Prince of Egypt" they had unlimited time and money to create one heck of a film, when "The Road to El Dorado" came around they had a time limit and budget so they didn't stick to the same details as "The Prince of Egypt" had.

10. What are Miguel and Tulio's last names?

They don't have any at least none that we know of. I mean if you were a wanted criminal wouldn't you just want your first name to be known? There was this one fan fic I read where they were given last names. The story was called "The Tears of the Sun God" but it was never finished to my knowledge. They were given the names Tulio Anteveros and Miguel Bolivar. In my Fan Fic Miguel's Last name is Cervantes. (Named after the Author Miguel de Cervantes who wrote the book "Don Quixote") I really liked these names, but as I said since it was written by a fan it's unofficial so to answer your question we do not know their last names. So if you're writing a fan fic and you wanted to know their names, make it up! :)

11. Was Chel concidered a goddess?

No. In the movie she was not a goddess, but Dreamworks got the name Chel from the mayan goddess Ix Chel who was the goddess of child birth. Ix Chel according to Mayan religon was the wife of the sun god (ie Miguel) and when he was the son god she would be the goddess of the moon. But most of the time (I love this one) she was concidered the goddess of destruction! Bringing pain and pesstilance to all. She is picture with claw-like fingers and toes wears human bones as jewelry and wears a live serpent on her head. So basically if you concider the movie she was the evil goddess who cheated on her husband, the sun god, and had an affair with the rain god!

12. Why is the Armadillio named Bibo?

Bibo is the Nickname of one of the Director Eric "Bibo" Bergeron. What is not widely know is that they choose to dub the armadillio Bibo because Mr. Bergeron did the original animation for the Armadillo.

13. Why did it take so long to make The Road to El Dorado (4-5 years?)

I have heard rumors from CNN that they kept changing the plot throughout the course of the production which got rather confusing.

14. Are Miguel and Tulio gay?

Originally yes. But Dreamworks decided to change that before the movie was released. Kenneth Branagh (the Voice of Miguel) was quoted in an interview saying that In the script He Referred to Tulio as 'Darling' in many scenes but it was cut out of the film.

El Dorado: Not a Myth?
According to a recent article in the Providence Visitor Newspaper (March 7, 2002 pg 9) El Dorado might have actually existed. That an Italian Archeologist claimed to have found centuries-old Jesuit documents that proves that El Dorado existed in the South American kingdom. Click here to see full article.
Do you also have the game "The Sims?" Do you chat it up on the sims website? If so ask around or look for Just_call_me_Squinky or Miguel_the_Spainard. Those are my two user names. Ask around most Sims fans and Simmasters know me.
Cool Movie and Production Facts:
(Some of the information came from
The Schemer and the Dreamer Fan site but most of it came from the DreamWorks company)
Special Thanks to Kelsey aka fan_of_miggie for supplying Did You Know #42-56
1. Did you know: that the place where Tulio was bitten by a piranha in the movie is officially called "Bite Me Rapids" I have two sources directly from The DreamWorks  to prove it! See capture below it was taken from a DreamWorks official movie poster.....

2. Did you know: That approximately 40,000 storyboard panels were drawn for the film. The film consists of 40 sequences with 1,518 scenes, and 7,500 feet of animation The longest drawing created by the layout department for the scene in "The Trek" sequence measured 17 feet high in length.

3. Did you know: The layout department used Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" as reference for designing the cinematic of a scene in which Miguel and Tulio are looking down into the ceynote well where tributes to the gods are offered.

4.Did you know: When Jim Cummings came in to record a temporary track for the character Cortes, he was asked to read a part in an Orson Welles voice, just for fun. Later, when the directors cut in the dialogue they realized that it had the right feel for the character and left it as it was originally recorded.

5. Did you know: Tzekel-kan's book of magic spells is a 3D object with actual artwork created on every page. A close-up of the book would reveal pages with a version of the DreamWorks logo and a Mayan-style animator hard at work. Below is the picture of the DremWorks Logo from Tzek's Codex...




















6. Did you know: There were two research trips taken to the Yucatan Peninsula, one for the writers of the film and one for the key members of the creative team. Nearly 1,000 photos were taken during these trips, which were used as visual reference in designing the film.

7. Did you know: An Artist and expert on Mayan culture, John Pohl spent a year and a half on the film helping artists to create the Mayan influenced architecture seen in "The Road to El Dorado"

8. Did you know: Rather then compromise on his physical performance while recording the dialogue of the character Tzekel-kan, Emmy winner Armand Assante went shirtless for half of the recording session because the fabric of his shirt kept rustling audibly on his microphone.

9. Did you know: Kevin Kline (Tulio) and Rosie Perez (Chel) spontaneously broke out into singing "Tonight, Tonight" from "West Side Story" during the recording session of their love scene.

10. Did you know: The film " The River Wild" was used as reference by layout and effects artists to approximate the speed the boat might travel as it crashed through the entrance gate of the city of El Dorado.

11. Did you know: Approximately 87,957 pencils and 37,806 erasers were used during the course of the production.

12. Did you know: A team of layout artists built a model out of Lego's before designing the alleyway set in the Bull Chase sequence.

13. Did you know: Character models for the three main characters were sculpted in clay, then lit and photographed to help effects artists understand how light was cast on the characters. Then an additional ten character models were used in constructing crowd sequences.


14. Did You know: Over 485 artists from more than 30 different countries worked together for 4 and a half years to create "The Road to El Dorado"

15. Did you know: Elton John's "Friends Never say Goodbye" features the vocals of the Backstreet Boys.

16. Did you know: To get realistic splashing effects of water, DreamWorks developed a program called "spryticles," which allows hand-drawn animation to be multiplied 1,000 fold onto a particle system and thus creates the illusion of splashing.

17. Did you know: Tzekel-kan, the name of the high priest in the city of El Dorado, was made up by writers, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who looked at various phrases from Mayan, Aztec and Incan languages. A translation of the name would be "snake skull"

18. Did you know: The Ballgame sequence where Miguel and Tulio play against the natives of El Dorado is based on the Mayan game "Ulama" where two teams try to get a heavy rubber ball through the ring in the court using only their elbows, hips, and knees.

19. Did you know: Kevin Kline was in the process of getting over a cold when "It's Tough to be a God" was recorded.

20. Did you know: The directors had a choice of three different endings to "The Road to El Dorado" They went with the simplest one. (See Did You Know # 56 for details on this one)

21. Did you know: The scene where Miguel and Tulio were entering El Dorado through the caves was suppose to be twice as long as it was in the film.

22. Did you know: "The Road to El Dorado" is the first animated movie to have two secondary characters (Or sidekick type aka the comic relief) instead of two main heroes.

23. Did you know: Tulio's quote, "Holy Ship" was thought up by one of the story board writers.

24 Did you know: "The Road to El Dorado" took four and a half years to make.

25. Did you know: Kenneth Branagh was caught on tape trying to sing the "Trail we Blaze" like Elton John.

26. Did you know: Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh did their voice recording sessions together. A very rare thing in animated films.

27. Did you know: The very important line in the plot, "Forget Miguel" was not in the script. It was an add-lib by Kevin Kline as was the line "Tzek, you've lost me."

28. Did you know: There was suppose to be a villain song (possibly "Trust Me" from the movie album) in the scene where Tzekel-kan conjured the stone jaguar to life.

29. Did you know: Kenneth Branagh drank Diet Coke and Kline and Branagh both drank water while recording the sword fighting scene during their voice sessions.

30. Did you know: The Teaser Trailer from "The Road to El Dorado" is the only piece of film that contains part of the first scene of the movie that was originally deleted. Director Eric "Bibo" Bergeron also mentions this scene in the DVD's Director Commentary. (The first scene I speak of is the one where Tzekel-kan is making a orb over the ceynote well and the solar eclipse is occurring at the same time he is proclaiming the coming of the gods. This may also explain why Tzekel-kan is holding a glowing orb on the RtED toy from Burger King.) See capture below...

STOP THE PRESSES!
Lilo and Stitch: The Messiahs of Traditional Animation?
An Article from "Time Magazine" (June 24, 2002 page 67) claims that if Lilo and Stitch don't bring in a bundle for Disney, Hollywood could see the end of traditional hand-drawn animation. That means all cartoons may become 3D computer animated like Toy Story 1 and 2, Monster Inc, and Shrek. Would anyone really like to see the end of great traditional cartoons like Mulan, Tarzan. The Prince of Egypt and of course our own The Road to El Dorado? Click here to see full article.
SEE! SEE! There's Tzekel-kan and his magic Orb!!!!! PROOF! I HAVE PROOF! THAT THE SCENE ACTUALLY EXISTED!!!
Some Articles about RtED from the April 2000 issue of Animation Magazine....
This article has alot of behind the scenes info on the Road To El Dorado Music Video: Someday out of the Blue. Unfortuantely to make the entire article fit on one page and so you can actually read it I turned the pic sideways. So You might want to print it. If you have any problems reading because of lack of printer or monitor resolution (when it's too small and squished to read) Email me and I'll send it to you thorough email ASAP! Also I do not keep email addresses so once it's sent it will not be stored on my computer or anywhere or redistributed to anyone else.
Animation Magazine's Road To El Dorado Article by Debra Kaufman:
There is 3 pages to this but it's filled with awsome behind the scenes info from the directors and animation team. Aslo if you have a problem getting this Email me and i'll send it to you ASAP! Because the third page is especially small in print and it might be hard to read.
El Dorado Look alikes?
Meet Henri a little French Orphan from the PBS show Liberty kids that takes place during the American Revolution. My sister first told me about him and at first I didn't believe her until I saw him myself. He is here because he looks like Tulio but that's obvious. This is the other info PBS gave me:  Henri is an eight-year-old street urchin, who has been semi-adopted by Moses and James who rescued him from a ship. Henri sleeps in the barn behind the Print Shop and helps out with errands to pay for his keep. Henri is curious, fearless and always ready for some good food. Although he sometimes gets them into trouble, more times than not, Henri's small size is an asset to James and Sarah. He has a knack for squeezing into small places. Finding out information and spying on the British Troops.
Go to www.pbskids.org/libertykids/ for the full scoop on the show

Got more look alikes either cartoon, human, Anime/Manga, or do you, a friend, or co-worker look like an RtED Character? Whatever send me their pic asap!!! We can keep their real names anoymous if they wish!
Henri the PBS Tulio look-alike
Yes People, cartoons and who knows what else we will come up with in the the months to come. But  the things that I will be putting below are People, places, objects and whatever else that reminds us of RtED. And For all you fans out there this one is gonna be tough I am just looking for RtED related things no matter how far fetched. Pictures are required in most cases but not all. For example I am planning to take a little trip to Providence to get a picture of a Law office building that looks like a 16th century Spanish Villa That should be coming soon. Just Email me with things like that if you come across them! Please subject the email "RtED Look-Alikes" or the email will not even be opened Thanks!
Got a question about RtED and you're itching to know the answer but you don't know who to ask! {{wavs Arms in Air}} I am the El Dorado Guru! If anyone knows the answer to your RtED question it is I! I have documents and other fun stuff from DreamWorks that only the animators were suppose to have! So what are you waiting for I don't bite (everyone) Go ahead Email me!!!!! the only rule is to subject the email "Rted Questions" or the email won't be opened Muchas Gracias!
Our good buddy JJ. She wasn't afraid to admit she resembles Chel. She sent me the second pic right after I posted this Look-alikes section. JJ also once told me that she is a relative of Sacagewea. So with some native american background you can see how she does look like Chel. JJ has also been a fan of RtED and a Fan Lit contributer to this site over the last year. The top pic is older and is the first one she sent and the bottom is more recent.
JJ the Chel Look-alike in Michigan!
Traveling "The Road" Around the world!
From Japan
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Two from Hong Kong
From Russia
From Taiwan
From Brazil (Portugese)
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Just a crazy idea I got from surfing the net. I found a few El Dorado movie posters from around the world. Some can be enlarged some can't, but I though it would be an interesting thing to put up so enjoy! If you have a pic of one from a country I don't have or a larger version of the ones that can't be enlarged by all means send in!
31. Did you know: That the original name of the movie was "El Dorado City of Gold"

32. Did you know: That everytime Bibo the Armadillo came onto the screen an instrument called a churango was played. Ironically a churango is made of the hardened shell of an armadillo.

33. Did you know: A scene in the "Ceynote Tribute" sequence has 2,013 3D characters in the crowd. A total of 156 3D characters were created for the film, by varying the hair, skin tone and clothing of the thirteen original models.

34. Did you know: The first sequence of the film, "Creation" which tells the story of how the legendary city of El Dorado came to life, is a computer-generated sequence and was animated at DreamWorks' Pacific Data Images (PDI) in Palo Alto, California.

35. Did you know: The "Crashing the Gate" sequence has seventy 3D shots, which took six artists a year to complete.

36. Did you know: Approximately 3 million sheets of paper were used throughout the course of the production, along with more than 8 million paper reinforcements.

37. Did you know: The master of animated voices, Jim Cummings, didn't only do the voice of Cortez in the Road to El Dorado. He did atleast 3 additional one liner voices  including the cook with the apples on Cortez' galleon, the eagle warrior that supposedly got squashed by the stone jaguar "I'm still ok!", and the out of breath villiager "But sire, he is being led by Tzekel-kan!"

38. Did you know: That the jaguar warrior who told Miguel the city was being cleansed was actually played by a character animator. The directors liked his voice so much for the character they decided to keep him. But in the french version of the Road to El Dorado it's co-director Bibo Bergeron who played that character.

39. Did you know: In a tribute to the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" movies that inspired the film, the animators added little caricatures of them in the "It's Tough to Be a God" sequence. If this one isn't true it's quite a coincidence. (See screen captures below)

Miguel's Resemblence to a singer from the past?
Katie made this Collage of Miguel and Kurt Cobain the late member of the band Nirvana they do look alike don't they?
If you are looking for the early production pictures of Chel they have been moved here.
Possible Character Origins:
Yes we Know Chel is from El Dorado and Miguel and Tulio are (as from what we can tell) from Spain but a fan named CeCe (who is also very knowledgeable in Spanish Culture) e-mailed me and told me of parts of Spain Tulio and Miguel are probably from! Below the pictures of our heros is exactly what she told me in the e-mail. (Blue letters are my own little add-ins)
The actual origins of the characters may never be known since I'm too much of a Chicken to ask a certain ex-Dreamworks animator about anything but atleast we have something to think about!
Oh and if Anyone has anything else to add feel free to email me!
Judging from his looks Tulio is clearly from the south of Spain. There they have the gypsies descendant from the Arabs or moors. Tulio's appearance tells us this because of his wavy dark hair. Also if you noticed (Which I am sure you did) right before the scene where he gives Chel the flower that turns into birds he does a flamenco dance moves, he was clapping his hands and stamping his feet quickly. This is from the Spanish dance (I'm sure you have heard) flamenco. I have gone to see it before and that is exactly how the males dance it, and interestingly enough it is a dance created by the gypsies. At that time (1519) gypsies were feared and discriminated against and so flamenco was not widely practiced. Also the fact that Tulio (looks to me anyways) like a southern Spaniard descendant (or he could actually be) of gypsies could explain why the ladies don't really like him much. Of course they prefer Miguel, the ideal blonde", but I'll get to that in a bit. Anyhow I am positive that Tulio is from the south of Spain and descendent from the gypsies not only because of his looks but also because he clearly knows flamenco, a dance that during that time was shunned and done in secret because of the hatred and fear of gypsies.  She also adds later that he might be from Andalucia most likely because they are very famous for their flamenco and gypsies
Tulio a Gypsie Decendant?
Now as for Miguel, his "story"  is a-lot simpler. My mother told me that blond blue eyed Spaniard typically come from the northern part of Spain (Perhaps the Basque of Gallega (I don't know how it is in English regions) Anyhow in these regions blond and blue eyes is common among Spaniards.

Of course because he still has the cute little English accent (and you people know how I feel about guys with accents ....)  Miguel's actual Origin is hard to determine. Fans only assume they're Spanish so let's keep it simple folks!
Miguel, The Typical Northern Spaniard?
Spanish Poster.... from a Spanish speaking country...
This is an advertisement for an arcade game that you have to admit, any closer to the movie and they would be liable to be sued by Dreamworks... The advertisement is copywriten in 2002  but there is no way to tell the exact year this game was actually manufactured. Even the artwork in the background of the ad like the two temples certainly remind me of a certain animated movie... click the pic to enlarge.
Click pictures to enlarge

Online Articles about The Road to El Dorado from March and April 2000 Issues of


When I first saw the poster for DreamWorks' new Movie "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas" I couldn't help but notice how much Sinbad here looks like Miguel... JJ and Jenna broth brought up the subject in a recent conversation. Jenna sent me pics of Sinbad and I compared a few to Miguel...How can you say they don't look alike!
Eomer, Miguel's Lord if the Rings look-alike?
Molly sent me these pics of Eomer from Lord of the Rings... He does look like Miguel doesn't he?
Miguel pics taken from this site

From Germany
(This one I own. I got this off Ebay. Look closely and you'll see the following Autographs: Elton John, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, Edward James Olmos, Rosie Perez) Cool eh?
Movie Comparisons:

KC sent me this in an e-mail:
I don't know if this is way off, but the movies Pocahontas 1 and 2 remind me of this. John Smith is like the blonde and adventurous Miguel. John Rolfe is like the more cynicl and uptight Tulio. Plus they both have adorable long hair that is always tied in a ponytail. Then, there is a girl of the native land in both. They both go for Miguel/Smith in the beginning, but then they fall in love with Tulio/Rolfe. The reason this may be off is because the Pocahontas story is actually real. But, I am basing this off the movies, not the real life. Thanks for reading this. I just thought of the possibility today at lunch. (I am weird!)
Thanx,
KC

This gave me an idea.  I want to see how many other movies are comparable to The Road to El Dorado.  Just E-mail me of why this movie reminds you so much of The Road to El Dorado and if they're good I'll post them on here. We already have Pocahontas 1 & 2 and when I see more of  the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" movies I will have a long comparison for that.

A Pop-up Book from Iran in Farsi Language. I wished they made these in English.
(Click to Enlarge)
40. Did you know: When Tulio and Miguel are throwing rocks at the stone jaguar, Miguel attains an extra hand on his right arm!  Now I've known about this one and I'm not 100% sure but it could just be an animation trick to speed up the movement of something. But anyway screen cap below.
Miguel (who looks like Bing with his big ears) and Tulio's (who looks like Bob with large forehead) refelection during the "It's Tough to be a God" sequence.
Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour (Who played the girl in all "The Road" movies) and Bing Crosby in: The Road to Singapore. Taken in 1940.
Tzekel-kan is coaching
the New York Jets!
Well I always thought Herman Edwards the head coach for the New York Jets looked like Tzekel-kan. If you can't tell from this pic just catch a game while flipping channels...you'll see what I mean. (Go Patriots!)
41. Did you know: That when Tzekel-kan squishes the spider in the meeting he has with Tulio. You can for split second see a tattoed arm and the spider in his hand and then see Tzek's skeleton arm. The animation below is taken from the movie frame by frame without any frame cut out in between but is slowed down.
El Dorado...A superhero?

Apparently there was a forgotten member of The Super Friends. (Superman's group before the Justice League.) Named El Dorado. From what I've read on the internet he was the sterotypical Mexican who didn't speak english very well and had pretty much useless powers. El Dorado was created for the show (and was never in the comics) to create a diverse super group. His unclear powers ranged from mind reading, casting illusions, teleporation (by wrapping himself up in his cape), and the ability to fire lasers from his eyes. What's stranger is that I've read he even has his own Action figure but I haven't seen a picture of one yet.
Miguel may be just a little LOST
Jenna sent me this picture of Sawyer from the TV show
Lost. I've heard the show was good although I never watched it. But Yeah I see a wicked sexy Miguel...don't you?
42. Did you know: The brig scene took half a year for the animators to make. (They started it in July and finished it in December.)

43. Did you know: There were at least twenty different instrumental versions of "The Trail We Blaze" that Hans Zimmer experimented with.

44.Did you know: The producers had a lot of different ad-libs for Tzekel-Kan when he's standing at the temple steps with Chief Tannabok..."Happy New Year" was the one they went with.

45. Did you know: At first the producers went over the top with Chel's introduction in the temple. In early visual development, she used to get out of a pool, naked--but she was always covered by props from the background.

46. Did you know: Rosie Perez reacted to her first viewing of Chel's character design with, "My ankles are too big." The directors resoponded with, "Rosie, trust us: no one's going to be looking at your ankles."

47. Did you know: The word "the" in Chel's line "See you at the execution" had previously been replaced with the word "your"...the producers went back and forth between the two words, but finally decided that "the" sounded better.

48. Did you know: The producers had to extend the scene in which Miguel says, "Where was she keeping them?" because people kept laughing during the test screenings, and the line "Call me Chel" couldn't be heard. (Without that line, Miguel's "Chel-dorado" remark wouldn't have been understood.)

49. Did you know: Within the last few months of production, Hans Zimmer added more instruments and vocalizations toward the end of "It's Tough To Be a God" to give the song more musical build-up.
50. Did you know: In early storyboards, Tulio used to ask Chel where they could get a large boat, but cutting off to the Chief saying "A boat?" worked out better for the comedic pacing of the film.

51. Did you know: When the Chief's warriors are running toward Miguel and Tulio at the beginning of the ballgame, the sound effects that are used include the sound of bulls, cows, and trains!

52. Did you know: A lot of cigars and cigarettes were removed during different stages of the film's production for educational reason. (Notice that when the Chief is talking to Miguel on the boat, he's holding a cigar--that's not smoking.)

53. Did you know: Tulio and Miguel's classic "girly screams" were actually done by women rather than Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline.

54. Did you know: In the storyboard, Miguel and Tulio shook hands before Tulio gets on the boat with Chel, but this was taken out because the producers wanted them to have as little contact with each other as possible. (But the final shaking of hands is included in the junior novelization...'They shook hands. For a moment they stood there stiffly, their anger in abeyance, fingers still clenched. Each had a million unfinished thoughts, a sea of unsaid words. But neither spoke up. What was done was done.')

55. Did you know: Kevin Kline's voice was actually digitally sped up for Tulio's "Chief!" whine in order to make it sound more ridiculous and shrill.

56. Did you know: Some of the alternate endings to the movie included...
    a) Tulio and Miguel go on another adventure...they end up being carried upside down on stakes through some Southern American wilderness, while Altivo is the one who's being treated as a god...he even has Bibo on his head to act like a headdress. (The producers actually had drawings and even recordings all set for this scene. It would start out with Miguel and Tulio looking surprised, with their hair straight up...and then the camera would rotate to reveal that they were upside-down.)
    b) Chief Tannabok is reading a book about Miguel and Tulio to a child on his knee. When he's finished, the child says, "Those were wise men." Chief Tannabok replies, "They were more like wise guys."
The producers went with the simplest ending to the movie.
From France