But the real jewel in The Road to El Dorado’s crown is the city of gold itself. A magnificent, tiered metropolis rising out of the jungle, it was scrupulously researched on trips to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, with UCLA-based authority on American-Indian civilisations, Dr John Pohl, as the filmmakers’ guide. Making the trips to Yucatan provided production designer Christian Schellewald with the key to the film’s look. “Standing on top of a pyramid in the middle of a rainforest,” he says, “you see this eternal jungle, this enormous green ocean. It was breathtaking. That’s something you can’t see in pictures, and can’t understand unless you’ve seen it for yourself. That’s why we went.”

Using the lush green of the jungle as a backdrop, Schellewald went on to create a riotous colour scheme, using the jungle birds and the Indians’ costumes to contrast with the muted colours of the Old World that Miguel and Tulio have left behind.

Miguel, Tulio and trusty steed Altivo discover how the rainforest got its name.

“We wanted Spain to be almost monochromatic,” explains Biberon. “Then, as Tulio and Miguel find their way through the jungle, we integrated more colour as the characters discover a new world. Finally, when they come to El Dorado, we see every colour of the rainbow.”

“One of the most important things for me in making an animated movie is to take the audience some place they’ve never been before,” adds Katzenberg. “The inspiration for this story is a magnificent culture of which only the tip of the iceberg still exists. It’s a world that once was. But maybe, if we could find that waterfall and make our way through it, we’d find El Dorado is still there and waiting for us...”

Chel. “I love her,” says Rosie Perez, who supplies her voice. “She’s smart and sexy, does all the planning and looks great doing it.”