The Emperor's New Groove

My co-workers had been bugging me to watch 2000's THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE for a few years.  They would quote it almost daily, sharing in that sort of exclusionary glee people exhibit when they get the joke and no one else does.  I've certainly done that with numerous films, songs, books, T.V. shows, etc.  This movie didn't look all that distinguished.  I was a faithful Disney fan up until about the time of this film's release.  It looked spirited enough,  but by that time I'd had enough of animated films familiar vocal casts and songs from big pop stars.

One Saturday night in 2019, I finally caught it.  I figured the short running time would at least make it palatable.  Yes, several sitcom stars do the voices.  Sting contributes some songs. Was it fun? Absolutely.  Groundbreaking? Hardly.  As an homage to earlier animators like Chuck Jones and buddy road movies, it succeeds fairly well.  When it began, the patented caustic David Spade voice filled the soundtrack and the dread set in. He narrates the entire film, in fact.  But the actor reigns it in nicely.  Even allowing co-stars John Goodman and Patrick Warburton to shine more than once.  Oh yes, and also Eartha Kitt.

The story: Kuzco (Spade) is a bratty and narcissitic emperor who finds himself transformed into a llama and dumped onto the cart of a peasant.  Thank his evil advisor Yzma (Kitt) and her dimbulb henchman Kronk (Warburton), who seek his throne.  The selfish boy kinda deserves it, as he is planning to build a summer resort right where the said peasant named Pacha (Goodman) and his family live.   But we feel sorry for him anyway, don't we?

Eventually, the good hearted Pacha agrees to transport Kuzco/llama back to the palace. Where the serum to turn him back surely must be.  The jungle provides many challenges, and many opportunities for Kuzco to prove he's not such a bad, er, guy after all.  But then he does something naughty, then atones for it.  And then... well, you get the point.

THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE gets off to a rousing start, with snarky humor that was a bit surprising, but there's always a follow up scene to reveal the film's big heart.  The film maintains a certain, yes, groove that for me really kicked in when the characters converge at a jungle diner.  Kronk becomes the cook and his character's eccentricities, already well established, get to fluorish.  You could say that Kronk steals the show.  He even got his own (direct to video) sequel a few years later.

The film had a tumultuous history.  With major script changes and departing directors.  I guess that's nothing new in Hollywood.  Sting's wife Trudie Styler even made a documentary about it all.  Would love to see it sometime.