The Emperor's New Groove

Movie, 2000, G

Premise - A conceited, dismissive Incan emperor wishes to turn a poor man's village into his summer resort. When he fires his advisor Yzma, she decides to get her revenge. Plotting to murder the emperor, she accidentally turns him into a llama. Now the only way for the emperor to get home and return to his human form is to entrust the poor villager whom he just told he would destroy his home for his own luxuries.

Review - This is a bizarre movie, even by the standards of children's films. I don't think it really struck me how bizarre it was when it first came out, because I was probably four years old. But I was old enough to distinctively remember watching all of the previews on the Disney Channel and waiting anxiously for its release. The good news that its bizarre nature means it's way funnier than most Disney films. Not that Disney films aren't funny to begin with, but this movie takes a completely different tone than our typical Disney Renaissance film that was so typical of the 90's before this. There's no romance, and no princess, only Kuzco - who I suppose is the "princess" in that he's effeminate, a diva, and often the damsel in distress.

I remember reading this film's Wikipedia page a few years ago and the story behind its development has stuck with me. Allegedly, this was originally supposed to be a more serious, classic Disney musical epic that failed to come together. The original concept was reminiscent of films like The Lion King or Pocahontas, that were much sadder and darker. So when the film seemed to fail at living up to that level of drama, the creators said, "Screw it, we're making a film about llamas."

Despite all the ridiculous comedy, there is still a lot of sentimentality and moral lessons in the film. This film taught me what llamas were. I don't think I had a concept of the animal at that age until I saw the film, so that alone is a valuable lesson. But more importantly, this is a film about mutual respect. It's about the sins of classism and turning a blind eye from problems that are not one's own.

I don't know if Disney had ever created a character like Kuzco before, or ever has again. He is so over-the-top vain, flamboyant, and materialistic that he's a bit of an... anti-hero? That's not the right term, but he's definitely not our typical protagonist. He doesn't care about the poor dying off as long as he has everything he ever wanted. His character alone serves as a complete lesson about humility. I've also seen him recently compared to Deadpool for breaking the fourth wall so often. And speaking of revolutionary characters, Yzma as a villain was brilliant! I recently saw a thread on the internet about how all of Disney's female characters look the same, with round faces and small noses. Having just watched this film, my first thought was "NOT YZMA!" She's a female villain who is so upfront about how ugly of a character she is. What a revolutionary villain. And our most important character, Pacha, is the true hero of this story. I don't think anybody, including myself, could have had the patience to deal with someone like Kuzco for as long as he did, and he did it willingly. He could have turned away, like Kuzco did to him, but he didn't because he wanted to follow through on his morals.

It's quite a dark, absurd comedy and I appreciate that about the film. It inverts a lot of expectations we would have about a Disney adventure. (86/100)

Quote - "I got turned into a cow... can I go home?"

What to watch for - Well, more to listen for, but Kronk has such a classic voice. Patrick Warburton will always be Kronk to me. Also, this isn't something to watch, but I have so much nostalgia for old Disney games. On the Disney Channel website there used to be this game for The Emperor's New School (a spinoff show from the movie) called "The Emperor's Mad Dash" and it is still one of the most FUN GAMES EVER if I can find it on some sketchy website.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Shrek! I was watching parts of Shrek on TV the other day and was also noticing how it inverts a lot of expectations of a Disney film/fairy tale - even more than this film does! They also came out around the same time, which I think was reactionary to the Disney Renaissance.


Directed by Mark Dindal
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
A Walt Disney Film