Thanks for mentioning me in this, I do appreciate it. And though the reasons that you gave for me leaving the project are pretty inaccurate, there's of course no way you'd know that. So - I happily can let that pass. One thing I'd like to clear up: As you can see me pitching a board to Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh (at 13:45) it's clear they were cast very early on. In fact I worked with just about every actor before leaving for Pixar in 1998. Of more interest - Barry Sonnenfeld came over at Jeffery's request to consult with me and Will, chatting with us about comic staging. He also went to recording session or two with Kevin & Kennith performing together - and must have liked what he saw. Because that is what led to their casting in Wild Wild West. Another thing to clear up is to give credit where credit is due. Nicolas Marlet was actually the lead character designer, and Carlos Grangel followed up on the designs to make more appealing to Jeffery. They are both two of the more brilliant designers around, and very good friends and collaborators. I had a great experience on the film, met and worked with extraordinarily talented artists across the board. And I was appreciative of the credit Jeffery gave to both me and Will, even though we left the project.

I love that Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh recorded their lines together, which gave them a strong, natural banter.

Chel was the awakening for a lot of young men lmao.

Such an underrated movie. It's more than just the memes that have spawned from it

Don't worry. The Sinbad movie will pull DreamWorks out of their slump!

I hope “The Making of an Animated Cult Classic” becomes a new series on this channel.

A good example of a film that paid homage while also being its own thing.

During the Tough to be a God segment, when they scoop their goblets into wine, Meguiel and Tulio's reflections warp into caricatures of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Its brief but its there.

"Before DreamWorks found their voice"... Should be "before DreamWorks sold its soul" the prince of Egypt and road to El Dorado were amazing

Who else remembers watching the trailer on The Prince of Egypt VHS? (Sighs) Where does the time go?

“Road to El Dorado” is one of those movies that I’d LEAST expect to see discussed on your channel… And I really DIG IT either way!

Film Fact: A series of sequels featuring Miguel, Tulio, Chel, Altivo, and even the armadillo going after other legends about gold was planned, similar to the Shrek franchise, but following the disappointing box-office results, they were immediately cancelled.

Imagine pitching a character like Chel for an animated movie today? I can hear the "yikes!".

I actually consider The Road to El Dorado one of my favorite animated movies. Great writing, voice acting, timing of things.

It's really rich that Katzenburg came up with the "original" idea to do an animated movie inspired by the Hope&Crosby Road movie. He infamously gutted the original version of Aladdin when during a rough cut screening he spent the whole time on his phone planning an anniversary party and then at the end said "yeah, kill the mother, Aladdin's friends, give more time to the genie and the princess". If you've seen the Broadway version (which restores much of the original plot and songs) it has a definite Hope&Crosby feel- particularly in the songs. The one good thing about The Road to El Dorado is that it completely shattered the myth (perpetuated by Katzenburg himself) that Katzenburg was responsible for the Disney renaissance instead of an obstacle that had to be overcome constantly. Road was 100% his baby and it shows he just knew how to check off boxes, but had no real sense for the genre (he famously tried to cut Part of Your World from the Little Mermaid until most of the animation department and Howard Ashman threatened to quit over it).

El Dorado is a very popular film here in Brazil and I watched so many times during my childhood the brazilian voice actin is impecable. A perfect movie for a acid trip

awww well done for talking about this. I hope you one day talk about 'The Sweatbox' documentary and 'The Emperors new groove' as that has a lot of history. All the best

The 2D-3D hybrid style makes it look like it was made recently

I saw this in the theater when I was a kid. I enjoyed it quite a bit then. Haven’t watched it in years, but might see it again sometime soon.

The animated spiritual successor to the road to franchise

In a lot of ways The Road to El Dorado was ahead of its time so it is interesting to hear that it was heavily inspired by films from the 40's and 50's with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. I did not know that so this was pretty interesting for me to hear about. El Dorado was rated PG, but with Chel's heavy sexualization, and Tulio cursing a few times it does not feel like a kids movie really. People don't mention this so much now, but in the more conservative early 2000's where more people at least acted like they were Christian that more adult feel actually derailed the films box office success to a heavy degree as well. As time has passed the humor from the film has created quite a few memes from the generation that grew up with the movie even without seeing it in a movie theater. Myself included. When it came out I had not even been to a movie theater yet. Definitely a movie that Disney would not have made, and I just wish we had more movies like this. The 2D animation mixed with 3D era was starting to really get better in the early 2000's and then it just was stopped for American studios. Damn you Michael Eisner.

Great video and I would love to see more of "The Making of an Animated Cult Classic" videos in the near future.

the fact that it could have been even more risque with Chel makes me weep for what was taken from us

It genuinely shocks me that Antz of all movies beat this much more well remembered movie. Granted it mostly lives on through memes and Chel lewds but still. Anyway I first saw this in theaters as a seven year old and it holds up way better than a lot of other stuff I liked at the time. I miss 2D theatrical animation.

I love this movie, I first saw it when I was 8. My class and I went to go see it on a school field trip. It was disappear from my mind for awhile until it returned to me in 2008 or 2009.

I've always loved this movie. I even showed it to my younger brother years later and he loves it as well. I'm shocked to hear that it was received poorly when it came out.

I loved the road to El Dorado. I still have the DVD. I thought the cast had a lot of chemistry and the comedy was very quick-witted which was my jam.

This is, very literally, my favourite movie of all time. I am so glad its finally finding love.

Oh man I love this channel. The Road to El Dorado is my favourite animated film of all time, second being the best Disney animation ever, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Took me two decades at least to notice I seem to favour a theme 😅

I still remember seeing this with my classmates for a field trip to a theater nearby back in 8th grade and we had a blast watching it. Glad to see people giving this film a second chance.

The early reviews kept me from seeing this when it was new. It's not a perfect film, true, but I'm oh so glad to have corrected that mistake.

The Road To El Dorado is my favorite hand drawn animated DreamWorks film it’s an underrated animated film and an underrated DreamWorks film. The vocal performances are good with Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline and Rosie Perez being the best as Miguel and Tulio and Chel

Not even exaggerating when I say this movie was a foundational part of my life and I feel like it's the piece of media that had the biggest impact on my sense of humour. I watched this on repeat as a kid when I needed something to make me smile, so it will always hold a special place in my heart as one of my favourite films of all time (yes, in spite of its flaws).

I saw this in the theater when it first came out, haven gone a happy meal without a road to El Dorado toy earlier that day, it’s a very cherished childhood memory

Anyone who know who buckaroo banzai is is cool with me

Terrific video as always, Joe. Would love to see you take a look at more underrated animated features, like Cats Don’t Dance or another DreamWorks movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

I find it a bit ironic that the film may have been compromised partially because of Emperor's New Groove, a film that had been plagued by an even messier production. Either way I love The Road to El Dorado for what it is, but I still wish I could see a version where Cortes would have been the main villain.

I was just listening to "its tough to be a god," and then this dropped. This movie is an underated gym with beautiful music and possibly the best chemistry ive ever seen in an animated film.

In these behind the scenes videos, every time I hear them talking about how two characters recorded their lines together, they're always commenting on how much it enhanced their performances and how much better the scenes are because of it. I get it. It makes perfect sense for an actor to be able to do a better job when they're able to hear the person they're bantering with rather than recording lines in isolation and having it put together later. True, it's probably cheaper and more convenient for the actors' schedules; but even then, when the finished product consistently turns out so much better, and therefore with a higher chance of being successful, I don't get why this method of recording voice actors appears to be the exception rather than the norm.

Isn’t it ironic that Katzenberg tried to alter the movie to be more like Disney and thus compete with Emperor’s New Groove, because that movie was itself heavily re-written to be less of a Disney cliche. New Groove wound up being a deconstructive farce and break from formula, while El Dorado wound up feeling too stuck in convention to really take off.

This is my favorite animated movie of all time, eternally underrated. Thanks for making this video.

It’s nice to see a lot Dreamworks early animated movies getting some appreciation. From 1998 to about 2004, no other animation studio was doing the movies they were attempting.

I am still obsessed with the Elton John soundtrack. One of my favorite movies of all time.

You're so young! I was 20 when this film came out, and I was excited to see it so I actually saw it in the theater. I still love it.

I never realized that this was a homage to a series of films from the 40s. It's something that makes so much sense in retrospect but growing up as a kid I never had the chance to make that connection.

At least it's found a new life through memes. Some things just need to age into being a cult classic

Emporer's New Groove has an even more insane production, so I'd love to see a video on that. Also, great work on (almost) acquiring 200k subscribers!

I remember really liking this movie. It was the first movie we got for our new DVD player when I was 9. Makes me want to go back and watch it

THANK YOU!!! I appreciate you covering this movie because I grew up with it and love it so much! It's definitely in my top 5 favorite animated movies. Super underrated and a hidden gem!

“Tellin the truth can be dangerous business. Honest and popular don’t go hand-in-hand.” “If you admit you can play the accordion no one will hire you in a rock’n’roll band.” A classic song by Rogers & Clarke.

I never noticed the connection to the Hope and Crosby movies. But that's brilliant insight. Great review! 👍

I hope this first animated cult classic episode is the start of a new series on this channel.

Jim Cummings was intimidating as Cortes...whenever he does a deep raspy voice.

I caught the Road to El Dorado on American TV stations when my family had Bell back in 2009. Needless to say, I had a good time with it, from the fluid animation to the chemistry between Branagh and Kline to the excellent soundtrack by Elton John! I didn't pick up on the obvious "Road to" homages the film was based upon, but I did have a deeper appreciation for some of DreamWorks Animation's other 2D animated films. Skadoosh!

This movie is probably the most GORGEOUS movie I have ever seen

Thanks for the Bob hope and Bing Crosby inspiration + knowledge behind the movie! Kids like me didn't get that history back when we saw this in theatres. Now I know what Im watching after this video 👏🦔🐣 Laughter is the best medicine 🤣

Thank you so much for all your amazing hard work and dedication to putting these videos out. You deserve so much more praise, sir. I always anticipate your uploads. Such an underrated film. It was such a beautiful movie that offered a mix of old/new school animation mixed together.

They used to show it a lot on tv here, in Easter Europe, so much so that my mom grew to despise it simply for how often it was shown. But i loved it. My friend had it on vhs and i would borrow it often (i think i actually still have it). Then his dad burnt it to cd for me. Love this film: beautifully animated, vibrant colours and CG gold effects, great music, fun story, believable characters, and the humour was hilarious.

I love this movie as a kid. But I also loved the old 'Road To...' movies as well so it was probably a given that I'd love this one too. 🎶On the trail we blaze!🎶

Anyone who grew up with this movie absolutely loves it. I personally think it's a masterpiece

Another Gem I had the pleasure of seeing in the movie theater as a kid, probably with a school friend. Saw A lot of great movies with my middle school/high school friends

I beg to differ. This is easily one of the most underrated movies of all time and definitely one of the most pivotal movies of my childhood. I think the lack of perfection in production isnt a factor that holds value to a story sych as this

Haven't seen this since it was released in theaters. I remember enjoying it.

Amazing video. I always loved this movie, even as a kid. Surprised the find out there was so much discourse behind the scenes.

I'm so glad you're finally talking about an animated movie!

This movie is criminally under rated

Love this film so much! A big favourite in my family ❤

Love this retrospective! I’m so happy the movie got more appreciation over the past 24 years.

Another amazing video!! You always do such a great job with deep cuts. And this is one of my favorite animated movies that has gone under the radar. Always in for more Dreamworks lore too 😊

Fantastic video mate. Hope you cover more underrated animated movies 🎬 ❤

I’ve recently started binging this channel . Great content.

Out of the countless animated movies I saw with my young daughters in the mid 90's, I enjoyed it and the girls seemed to also.

This movie has special place in my hearth. This was the first movie ever I've seen in movie theather.

I remember when the movie came out but I never went to watch it, most likely the references to old comedies flew over my parents' heads, but I've seen growing in popularity recently, might watch it, or not. But great video as always!

This movie was not dismissed by anyone I knew. Everyone I know loves and loved it in it's time.

Recall seeing this in theaters, loved it then. Only saw it once though.

Okay this is a video I’m gonna watch

I fell in love with it during its theatrical debut. I bought the soundtrack immediately

I've always loved this movie, I had no idea it was a flop.

We are probably about the same age. This was a movie I always enjoyed as a child, I like the adventure here but also the retelling of history, a universe where Cortes never finds the Aztecs.

I did like this movie. There's only one thing that annoyed me but it's not like I haven't seen it before. This was a fun film. It's a shame that DreamWorks no longer does 2D style.

Awesome video, really informative! I created a meme group on Facebook for this movie a few years back, so it’s kinda been a part of my life every day since. And even I learned some new things from watching this! Also, I really liked the behind the scenes footage, anywhere I could watch more of that?

The best creative decision the filmmakers made with this movie was have Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline record their dialog together. It allowed them to play off each other and gave their repartee a different feel from most other animated movies.

I'll have to wait to see this. Never saw this movie, but just bought a copy a few months ago.

grew up watching this daily loved this movie so much!

Hilarious. Because I had no idea about those earlier films. And I LOVED this.

Kenneth Branagh has a history of being exactly right for a role to the point that he doesn't stand out and get the praise he deserves.

Miguel: I am Miguel. Tulio: And I am Tulio. Miguel: And they call us Miguel and Tulio!

Loved this as a kid, but haven’t watched it in ages. Ignited my fascination in ancient Mexican and South American cultures

Always wondered if you liked Ishtar

Me and my mates still reference this gem every time we get together.

Man. I watched this at the cinema when I was a kid. We chose this because the movie we were supposed to watch was sold out (I can't remember what movie that was). I was probably a bit too young to see it, cause I remember it being super scary, and left an impression on me for years. Now, 24 years later, maybe it's time to watch it again. I mean, I should be old enough now, right?

Question: what happened to the cabin boy video? It was one of my favorites

It’s funny that Road to El Dorado and Emperor’s New Groove are two movies that I can watch pretty much any time I just want something to laugh at while I’m working. They never get old, despite their flaws.

I feel like Kipling doesn't get enough credit for this movie. It really is an adaptation of The Man Who Would Be King even if modified. Rossio even said so, yet it not credited as a "Based on" in any material.

One of my childhood favourites, had it on vhs!

Would love to see you cover more animated projects.

Now I'm kinda interested in what the movie more in line with the soundtrack was like. It's a great soundtrack with a good mix of different songs. I think I'm gonna grab it out of my old CDs and give it a listen again!

One of those movies I sadly never saw as a kid. I do have faint memories of Spirit though. But yeah this looks like so much fun and I have seen some of the Road To pictures Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were in!

My grandpa love Bob Hope and I am sure he would love this animated movie if was still alive when it was released because of the reference.