The Emperor's New Groove (2001)

It was my eighth birthday when I went to the cinema to see The Emperor’s New Groove with my two best friends, which is probably why it has a special, happy place in my heart. I believe it is one of the more underrated Disney films.

WARNING: unapologetic gushing ahead...

The Emperor's New Groove poster: It's brightly coloured with Emperor Kuzco in the centre. He is a smirking llama wearing a gold crown. His hair, neck fur, and tail is black. His body is red fur. (Right) Pacha smiles, wearing a green poncho and brown hat. (Left) Yzma beams, wearing a black dress with an elaborate purple ruff to match her bauble earrings and curling head-dress. She's scrawny and a little scary. In contrast, Kronk is massive, built like a tank with a kind, oblivious smile. He has a cute little hat to match his yellow shirt, forearm bands, and blue dungarees. There's a little house on a hill behind them.

The Director: Mark Dindal

The Cast:

David Spade – Emperor Kuzco

John Goodman – Pacha

Eartha Kitt – Yzma

Patrick Warburton – Kronk

Wendie Malick – Chicha

Kellyann Kelso – Chaca

Eli Russell Linnetz – Tipo

Bob Bergen – Bucky the Squirrel

John Fiedler – Old Man

Miriam Flynn - Waitress

Certificate: U

Released in UK cinemas: 21^st February 2001

The Plot:

Kuzco (Spade, Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation) is a spoilt, selfish emperor, planning to demolish the local village to make way for his summer palace – complete with water slide. Village leader, Pacha (Goodman, Monsters University) is horrified, but powerless to stop him – so it’s probably lucky that Kuzco just fired his advisor, Yzma (Kitt, Holes). She has been after his throne for years, and has the perfect plan to get her revenge, hidden away in her secret lab. Her goofy assistant, Kronk (Warburton, A Series of Unfortunate Events) spikes Kuzco’s drink with one of her mysterious potions. Instead of killing Kuzco, the potion transforms him into a llama!

The Review:


With an animation-style similar to Disney’s Hercules (think swirly elbows and knee-joints, and you’re pretty much there), The Emperor’s New Groove is unashamedly kooky. I could argue that it was ahead of its time, using fourth wall-breaks – where Kuzco talks directly to his audience, and himself at one point - which eight-year-old me considered as a stroke of genius long before I even knew what a fourth wall-break was. 

The cast are top-notch: Spade’s voice is suitably obnoxious, and Goodman remains the perfect choice for a warm-hearted father-figure to show Kuzco the error of his ways. In contrast, Kitt’s incredible ability to purr and squawk in a single sentence is what makes Yzma one of the more underrated villains in Disney’s catalogue. As for her character design, you already know what she’s going to be like before she even opens her mouth, which makes her relationship with Kronk (the brilliant Patrick Warburton) all the more hilarious. 

When the voice-actors are just right…₁

(Description: Village-leader Pacha wears a poncho and headscarf. He holds his left hand in an OK/perfect sign, and his right is raised as if to enjoy the moment. His eyes are closed in bliss. A worthy meme₂, indeed.)

Personally, the humour style is what keeps me coming back to The Emperor’s New Groove. Is it a shame Kronk is such a lovable idiot, or is he the best thing that happens in this film? He may be Yzma’s assistant, but he has a good heart, even as he argues out loud with his shoulder angel and devil (I adore this idea) and scats a theme tune as he carries the unconscious Emperor in a sack. Watching Kuzco get his comeuppance at the paws of Bucky, the squirrel surrounded by a pack of panthers is surreal, watching Kronk get directions from Bucky on where Kuzco went is even weirder but gives Kronk more depth. I can see now why he got his film₃. Maybe one day, I shall review it? Oh, wait, I did.

Pacha and his family help to ground the story and give us people to root for in the wake of Kuzco’s initial selfishness. Chicha is fierce, and their children, Chaca and Tipo, are adorable, and I will forever stay intrigued by their very accurate dreams about their father kissing a llama. What I would have liked to see was more of the other villagers, which could have been achieved on Pacha’s sad journey home after Kuzco revealed his summer palace.

In a time where familiar, talented artists were writing songs for Disney films, Sting wrote the song at the start of The Emperor’s New Groove. I remain dubious about his oddly solemn song, “My Funny Friend and Me,” at the end credits. Still, Tom Jones’s vocals for the first song, “Perfect World,” which plays a big part in introducing Kuzco’s character, are as shameless and extravagant as you would expect. Within the film, Jones’s voice belongs to a little singer, dressed strangely like Elvis Presley, apparently offers a running playlist for Kuzco’s life. Upon researching the film’s soundtrack, I was surprised to learn that Yzma has a song called “Snuff Out the Light.” Eartha Kitt even recorded vocals for it, and it explains a lot about her motives within the story. While it didn’t make the final cut of The Emperor’s New Groove, you can listen to it here₄, because something this marvellous deserves to be acknowledged.   

In conclusion, The Emperor’s New Groove is underrated because of its bizarre premise, quirky sense of humour, and intriguing character design. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’d quite happily go for another cup any day.

The Verdict: 4 STARS OUT OF 5




Sources:

The Emperor’s New Groove film poster

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120917/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0


₁The Pacha – “When the sun hits that ridge just right…” meme

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pacha-edits-when-the-sun-hits-that-ridge-just-right


₂What is a meme? - “While an outright definition of a meme is hard to nail down, the term is most often associated with an image or video that portrays a particular concept or idea and is spread through social platforms on the internet.”

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-a-meme/


₃Kronk’s New Groove (2005) – The Emperor’s New Groove direct-to-video sequel (never a good sign)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401398/


₄Yzma’s deleted original song, “Snuff Out the Lights” (lyrics in the video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=374xW4zZbZA