The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder.

Director:

Mark Dindal

Writers:

Chris Williams (story), Mark Dindal (story),

Stars:

David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Spade	...	Emperor Kuzco / Narrator (voice)
John Goodman	...	Pacha (voice)
Eartha Kitt	...	Yzma (voice)
Patrick Warburton	...	Kronk, Yzma's Sidekick (voice)
Wendie Malick	...	Chicha, Pacha's Wife (voice)
Kellyann Kelso	...	Chaca, Pacha's Daughter (voice)
Stephen J. Anderson	...	(voice)
Eli Russell Linnetz	...	Tipo, Pacha's Son (voice)
Bob Bergen	...	Bucky the Squirrel (voice)
Rodger Bumpass	...	(voice)
Tom Jones	...	Theme Song Guy (voice)
Robert Clotworthy	...	(voice)
Jennifer Darling	...	(voice)
Patti Deutsch	...	Waitress (voice)
John Fiedler	...	Old Man (voice)

Storyline

In this animated comedy from the folks at Disney, the vain and cocky Emperor Kuzco is a very busy man. Besides maintaining his "groove", and firing his suspicious administrator, Yzma; he's also planning to build a new waterpark just for himself for his birthday. However, this means destroying one of the villages in his kingdom. Meanwhile, Yzma is hatching a plan to get revenge and usurp the throne. But, in a botched assassination courtesy of Yzma's right-hand man, Kronk, Kuzco is magically transformed into a llama. Now, Kuzco finds himself the property of Pacha, a lowly llama herder whose home is ground zero for the water park. Upon discovering the llama's true self, Pacha offers to help resolve the Emperor's problem and regain his throne, only if he promises to move his water park.

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Plot Keywords:

llama | emperor | potion | jumprope | old man | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about standing on your own four feet

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kingdom in the Sun

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,235,883 (UK) (16 February 2001)

Gross:

ESP 250,669,396 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Playwright David Mamet has said he considers the script for this film to be one of the most brilliantly innovative which Hollywood has produced in recent years.

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Goofs

The mark Chicha makes on the doorway when Tipo asks to be measured again disappears soon afterward.

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Quotes

[Kuzco considers seven potential brides who all look remarkably alike]
Kuzco: Let's take a look-see. Hate your hair. Not likely. Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. And, let me guess, you have a great personality.

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Connections

Spin-off The Emperor's New School (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Perfect World / Perfect World Reprise"
Lyrics by Sting
Music by Sting & Dave Hartley
Performed by Tom Jones
Produced by Sting and Dave Hartley
Arranged, Orchestrated and Conducted by Dave Hartley
Recorded and Mixed by Frank Wolf

User Reviews

Fun with llamas!

Although my affection for other Disney movies of the 1990s has decidedly waned, my love for "The Emperor's New Groove" is still as strong as ever. In fact, I'm now beginning to think it's a work of genius. It's clever, unpretentious, fast-paced, and- like "Lilo and Stitch"- you don't feel that the vision of the film was muddled up by the suits. The characters are not constantly breaking into song, and there is a welcome lack of cloying sentiment. No cutesy talking teacups here! The lightning- fast comic timing, sharp writing and constant loony non sequiturs (i.e. "For the last time, we did not order a giant trampoline!") improves upon each viewing, and the voice work is uniformly excellent, from David Spade's hilariously bratty emperor to Patrick Warburton's dim boy-toy Kronk to Eartha Kitt's Yzma (an over-the-top screeching Erte-style villainess with an alleged "secret lab" who is also "scary beyond all reason"). You get the impression that everyone involved had lots of fun making this. The art direction, with its whirling cartoon Inca motifs, is simultaneously goofy and gorgeous- and it shows what marvels can be done with nary a pixel in sight. I even love all the local L.A. humor, with even Bob's Big Boy making an appearance. Although I was initially dismayed when I heard that the project, originally entitled, "The Kingdom of the the Sun," was to be changed to "The Emperor's New Groove," I think in the end the changes were a good thing. Did the world really need yet another bombastic Disney musical?

No, I didn't think so either.