The Brief: This meme format uses a scene from The Road To El Dorado to illustrate someone explaining something strange to a skeptical audience.
DEEP DIVE
The 2000 animated DreamWorks movie The Road To El Dorado has inspired another variation of “me explaining” memes. In this version, the characters Tulio and Miguel are shown explaining something to Chief Tannabok. While Tulio and Miguel look enthusiastic and like they’re trying to be convincing, Chief Tannabok sits stoically in his throne.
According to Know Your Meme, this “me explaining” Road To El Dorado format first appeared on the Facebook group El Dorado Goldposting in July 2020 where it became popular in that group and then spread to the Dank Memes Subreddit. El Dorado Goldposting is responsible for other well-known formats based on The Road To El Dorado including Chief Tannabok gets the news memes.
Similar to “me explaining” Twitter memes and Monsters Inc. explaining memes, this format shows someone animatedly explaining something to a skeptical audience. These formats are often used to depict children telling elaborate stories to their parents or teachers.
The Road To El Dorado explaining format is also used to show people sharing an outlandish conspiracy theory like the idea that Harambe’s death is the reason for devastating world events.
A flat earth conspiracy theory:
A reference to the YouTube channel HowToBasic, which is known for strange content including forcefully cracking eggs: