Was Chel DreamWorks’ most inappropriate female character design?

As we mark International Women’s Day with its focus attention on women’s rights and gender equality, its inevitable that questions arise around the continued sexualisation of female characters. While the portrayal of women in films has changed over the years, there are still some questionable portrayals, even in children’s animated films.

Voiced by Rosie Perez, Chel was the true star of DreamWorks’ 2000 film The Road to El Dorado. A native Mesoamerican woman of exaggerated proportions, Tulio’s love interest in the film is shown sporting the traditional 16th century pre-colonial dress of… er… a boob tube and a strip of cloth. And it turns out that the original concept for the character design was even more revealing.