The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Apparently there was this thing that happened in 1994 called "The Disney Renaissance". The Lion King brought back "Classic Disney" or some such nonsense. The implication is that mega-hits like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin were not good enough. Nope, it was the Lion King which restored dignity to the studio. Dignity which they then squandered on garbage like Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules. On top of this Dreamworks Animation was gearing up to be a serious competitor while Pixar was hogging all of the glory.

Such was the success of the Lion King that director Roger Allers was given permission to indulge himself in a vanity piece called Kingdom of the Sun. It was to be an epic, mystical spin on the Prince and the Pauper set in Peru during the time of the Incas as well as a romantic comedy musical with serious weight to the mythology.

Honestly, this sounds like the kind of movie that I would have hated. The Disney suits felt the same way, though were even less kind when it came to communicating that opinion to the creative team. The development and production of Kingdom of the Sun dragged on for years with innumerable clashes, arguments, and differences between Allers and Disney. None of the moneymen liked where the film was going. A half-finished version was screened and rejected. Production was shut down. Allers was off the project and Mark Dindal was brought in to replace him. In the process Dinal completely overhauled the movie and changed it into something quite different. And thus Kingdom of the Sun gave birth to The Emperor's New Groove. A serious, mystical epic became an archaic slapstick comedy more in the vein of Looney Tunes than Lion King. And it's all the better for it.

Throughout this shambolic development only three people remained constant: David Spade as the spoiled emperor Kuzco, Eartha Kitt as the conniving Yzma, and Sting, who would provide the soundtrack. The latter ended up only doing a single song "My Funny Friend and Me", but it did get an Academy Award nomination (which it lost to Bob Dylan). Sting's wife Trudi Styler was even commissioned to make a documentary on the production of Kingdom of the Sun and covered every torturous twist during those terrible times. What was supposed to be just an ordinary "making-of" became a rather notorious stand-alone documentary called "The Sweatbox" which was such a damning and difficult portrait of the House of Mouse that they have never allowed it to be officially released (and barely acknowledge its existence).

Make no mistake, The Emperor's New Groove did not have an easy journey from concept to screen. Far, far from it.

When the trailer screened in early 2001 in the UK I was immediately dismissive. I had become tired and jaded of the setting and tone. With The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado in the recent past I was not in the mood for more of the same. I was loudly vocal about how awful the trailer looked. But then something very odd happened...Kuzco turned into a Llama and it became surreal and hyper. I remember squinting and saying "Uh...what IS this?" I'd much rather take a chance on an odd curiosity than a self-proclaimed epic.

The final story sees Emperor Kuzco betrayed by his assistant Yzma who plots to kill him in revenge for being fired. Her lunkhead servant Kronk (perfectly voiced by Patrick Warburton) mixes up the poison potion and instead transforms Kuzco into a Llama. Discarded into the n

Fmovies: "The Emperor's New Groove" is, simply, one of the most underrated movies in cinema history. It is certainly the most underrated Disney 'toon, and I find that impossible to understand; it's bright, colourful, witty and, most importantly, completely hilarious!

The story is a kind of demented fairytale: spoilt young emperor is accidentally turned into a llama by his bitter advisor and teams up with a local peasant to undo this crime and return him to his human form. What that summary completely fails to convey is the sheer brilliance of this tale; not only is it blessed with simple but great animation, a cracking pace, a witty script, original jokes and quirky asides, but the whole thing seems to be a lot greater than the sum of its parts. The characters are wonderfully drawn and are some of the most memorable in Disney history; Kronk is hilariously naive and simple (Patrick Warburton does a brilliant voice-job here), David Spade is on top form as the cruelly sarcastic Kuzco (Disney's most despicable "hero") and Eartha Kitt's Yzma is a gloriously over-the-top riot - a Disney villainess who tries so hard to be bad and scary that she ends up simply looking a fool who can't even impress a squirrel (if you watch the movie, you'll know what I mean).

While the awful - and, crucially, unfunny - "Shrek" wowed the masses and got labelled one of the best comedies ever made, "The Emperor's New Groove", despite glowing reviews, only has something of a cult following, and anyone who didn't ignore it upon its release is glad of it. If you're looking for something to make you laugh out loud, join that tiny cult now and give "The Emperor's New Groove" the chance it deserves to give you an immensely entertaining night in.

RATING: ***** (out of five)

Being in development hell for a very long time and released to not much hype "The Emperor's New Groove" is often, unjustifiably, overlooked as one of the Disney masterpieces. It has fast comedic timing. a sharp script and All Star cast, where Patrick Warburton's performance especially stands out. The animation is top notch, like we expect from Disney, with very colorful and vibrant visuals that leap of the screen. One of those flicks that gets better with each viewing, so a must to check out.

The Emperor's New Groove fmovies. In all of it's 77 minutes this was still worth renting. (and buying in my opinion) Simply the best Disney film in recent memory. And no reason a 25 year old like me shouldn't see it. If you like laughing, this will serve a treat that will last for a very long time. (cute cat....) 10/10

I'm reviewing this 2019 and since it came out it has been my favorite film m. I'm 25. It just gets funnier the more I watch it. I have literally grown into Yzma.

Disney has done it again with a FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY (how many funnies is that? 4?...not enough) FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY (you get the point) movie.

Picture this. 2 friends and I walk into a local movie rental shop and start arguing over the NEW releases. Horror movie? No. Slasher flick? No. Drama? No. Etc, Etc, Etc. Finally, as if it were fate, we all walk into the Disney/Children section of the shop. One suggest "Emperors New Grove". The rest automatically agree... and we weren't disapointed.

David Spade is brilliant as the voice of the Emperor in this movie. His humour was definatly evident throughout the entirity. Speaking of the humour... it was funny. Ha, ha. Ain't I a kidder? Seriously though, I have to say that this is the funniest Disney movie that I've ever seen... and it's definaly because of the cast... who were brilliant in all their roles. There was a lot of adult humour in this one though. Nothing gross or sexually oriented or anything, but just grown up... intelligent... making it a fabulous watch.

If you haven't seen this, then I suggest you do... and soon.