The Emperor's New Groove... Groovy Baby! ~ Written on 15th Mar 2001
Category Disney Cartoon
Date
of Release 8th Mar
Length 1 hr 30 mins
Overall 90%
Picture from DVD cover. From left: Yzma, Kronk, Kuzco (as llama) & Pacha
The DVD cover of the Collector's edition.
PLOT
The Emperor (Kuzco) is an arrogant selfish brat who insists that everything is done his way. He plans to build a summer palace named "Kuzcotopia" atop a sun-touched hill currently occupied by Pacha, a humble peasant, and his village. His advisor, Yzma, plots to kill him and take over the empire but changes him into a llama by mistake. She then orders her 'himbo', Kronk to kill Kuzco but the llama ends up with Pacha instead. Pacha agrees to restore Kuzco provided he promises not to destroy his village. On the way back to the palace, they have to avoid Yzma who is out to kill Kuzco.
CREW
Director: Mark Dindal
Story: Mark Dindal, Roger Allers, Matthew Jacobs, Chris Williams
Producer: Randy Fullmer
Songs composed by: David Hartley, Sting
Lyrics: Sting
CAST
Kuzco: David Spade
Pacha: John Goodman
Yzma: Eartha Kitt
Kronk: Patrick Warburton
ChiCha: Wendie Malick
DID YOU KNOW?
1. The movie took eight years to produce and there have been many changes to both the animation and the story. Warner Bros participated in this project which explains part of the corny jokes in the movie.
2. The Emperor's New Groove was originally named Kingdom of the Sun but was then changed to Kingdom in the Sun and to the current name only early last year. The plot was intended to be something like Prince and the Pauper but has since changed to its current story.
3. Out of the main leads, two of them used to work together on the comedy, Just Shoot Me, namely Wendie Malick and David Spade. They played Nina Van Horn (a washed-out fashion model) and Dennis Finch (a sarcastic secretary) respectively, working for a fashion magazine.
4. John Goodman, best known as Dan Conner in Roseanne, was last seen as Fred Flintstone in The Flinstones on TCS 5 while David Spade was last seen in Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag also on TCS 5. They have both been hosts of Saturday Night Live. In addition, Wendie Malick was also in the movie Trojan Wars shown not too long ago on local TV.
5. Patrick Warburton starred as David Puddy, Elaine's boyfriend, in Seinfield from 1995 to 1998. He is currently voicing as Buzz Lightyear in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (TV series) and also acting as the Tick in The Tick (also TV series).
6. Eartha Kitt was known as the original Material Girl and has 23 albums and 11 compilation albums under her belt. She even appeared as Catwoman in the 1960s Batman TV series. She has also made numerous TV appearances as herself, including The Nanny.
7. This is not the first time Eartha and Patrick has worked together in a movie. Their first collaboration was in 1987 for a movie named Dragonard. Unfortunately, this B-grade movie was a big flop but Eartha did participate in the sequel, Master of Dragonard Hill.
8. One of the writers, Roger Allers, co-wrote several Disney hit animations like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.
9. Sting wrote about 7 songs for this movie of which only two, "Perfect World" and "My Funny Friend and Me" were used. "Perfect World" and its reprise were both performed by Tom Jones and he was labeled as the Theme Song Guy in the movie. (See below for pic) "My Funny Friend and Me" was sung by Sting. This song is currently nominated in the Oscars 2001. (It didn't win though)
10. The Emperor's New Groove was actually released on 15th Dec 2000 in the US and as such, should be considered as 2000's yearly offering. The 2001 animation should be the upcoming Atlantis: The Lost Empire but it'll probably hit our shores late this year or early next year... sigh...
Tom Jones as he appears in the movie as the Theme Song Guy. (with red hair :)
COMMENTS
I managed to catch this gem of a movie on the day it opened in Singapore (8th Mar) and was so impressed that I caught the movie three times within a week! (a first for me. Did watch Titanic, Hunchback, Mummy, Crouching Tiger and Matrix twice though :)
Disney has managed to depart from it's usual dialogue and humour to produce an animated feature that seems more like something out of Looney Tunes than Walt Disney. Several of the scenes reminded me of those Road-Runner-vs-Coyote and Tom & Jerry classic chases. The humour might be considered too adult-like for the kids but there are more than enough sight gags to make up for this.
I regret to say that the animation has suffered as compared to other hits like Hunchback of Notre Dame and Lion King. The characters looked very cartoonish (no pun intended) and seem almost dehumanised, especially Yzma. For once, there were no weepy boy-meets-girl thingie, no songs sung by the characters and no stunning scenery so typical of Disney.
Kuzco starts out as a heartless selfish brat without a conscience, though being a llama seems to have changed his habits a little. He is not a hero in any sense but learns that being nice does have its rewards. Personally I still prefer him as the yuppish brat as he's more entertaining when he's nasty. He does remind a little of the anti-hero, the Grinch.
On the other hand, Yzma is not necessary evil or darker than Kuzco but her badness stems from her age and gender. She becomes the butt of many of the jokes, particularly on account of her visual offensiveness. In one scene, we see her without her outrageous hair and eyelashes and she was compared to a dinosaur by Kuzco. Seems that when a beauty ages, she becomes the beast instead, at least in Disney movies.
Pacha is the goody two shoes sidekick that is everything Kuzco is not. He, like many plump sidekicks, has a jolly disposition that offsets Kuzco's blistering attitude. Together they make a formidable comic duo like Laurel and Hardy or in local context, Wang Sha and Ye Feng. Even his wife, Chicha, is a formidable force, handling Yzma in a way that has to be seen to be believed.
The top of the crop is Kronk, however. This sidekick is the best Disney has to offer and is not so much bad as he is dumb. His self-mocking manliness is fun to watch and brings new meaning to the terms 'boy-toy' and 'empty-headed hunk'. Kronk is more concerned with his cooking and chit-chatting with squirrels than he is with killing Kuzco. Surprisingly, it's not only Kuzco that changes for the better but Kronk does too.
At least this time round there are no talking animal comedy relief sidekicks, which are so popular with Disney animations. Discounting Kuzco as a human-transformed, hence, talking llama and the several animals changed by Yzma's potions towards the end, there was only one 'talking' squirrel. However, only Kronk was able to understand Bucky (the squirrel) so he didn't really count.
However, the jokes, spoofs and gags more than make up for what I consider to be a weak plot, non-existent and non-hummable songs. If you think what you see in the trailers are the only gags you get just like in What Women Want, you're totally wrong as those are more or less finished by the first 45 minutes. It's the last 50 minutes or so when the movie takes you on a roller-coaster ride of laughs. The Emperor's New Groove is a must-see for young and old!