The Emperor’s New Groove Review: Disney Marathon

Spoilers

The Emperor’s New Groove was ahead of its time. It’s a movie that wasn’t appreciated when it came out. Critics and audiences thought it was just alright and it didn’t sell too well. That isn’t where the story ends however. With the rise of the internet, there was a new appreciation for this movie. It rose through the ranks to join the likes of Shrek and SpongeBob as a piece of media beloved by the entire internet. It was also a great place to mine for memes apparently with us getting classics like the “just right” meme.

The “No, no. He’s got a point” meme.

And who could forget “Oh, yeah. It’s all coming together”.

So yeah, the internet loves this movie. And so do I. It masters every type of comedy to become one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. That alone would be great, but it’s also got the best character arc of any Disney movie and a lot of heart.

The Emperor’s New Grooves main type of humour is actual good random humour, which explains why the internet loves it so much. Random humour is probably the hardest type of comedy to get right, when done wrong it’s the cringiest shit you’ll ever see. But when done right it can be hilarious without you even knowing why you’re laughing. Who could forget the devil doing the handstand which is apparently a good point, coffee being important enough to postpone killing your mortal enemy, and a bunch of trampolines being delivered to the palace for no reason. In fact, The Emperor’s New Groove masters many types of comedy. We have slapstick, insult comedy, physical comedy, parody, character comedy, this movie has it all. It’s hard to describe why something is funny, if you’ve seen the movie you know why it’s hilarious and if you haven’t than why are you reading this, go watch the movie, these reviews spoil everything. I really should call them a retrospective and not a review. Anyway, let’s talk about that plot.

We start with a shot closing in on a sad looking llama. Kuzco the protagonist of the movie explains that the llama was once him and that he’s going to tell us his story so that we can feel bad for him. If I’m being honest this is one of my few problems with the movie. Kuzco interrupting the movie every once in a while to explain why he’s innocent ruins some emotional moments, isn’t that funny, and doesn’t make much sense as during the point of the movie he’s narrating from he’s not really an asshole anymore.

We get a view of Kuzco’s life and find out that he is the emperor of his kingdom and has been spoiled his entire life making him a selfish dictator who only cares about himself. Kuzco at this point in the movie could be the villain, at this point he’s more evil than a lot of other Disney villains. It’s his redemption that makes him such a great protagonist. This movie manages to turn a villain into a hero in a realistic fashion, something rarely done. Media often turns a hero into a villain, just look at Breaking Bad, Joker and Death Note but rarely does it try to do the opposite.

We see Kuzco getting spoiled whilst he’s dancing to the song “Perfect World”. The songs really catchy, I like it. We see him get fed his food, insult numerous potential wives and throw an old man out of a window because he disrupted the emperor’s groove.

We cut to the nicest guy ever, Pacha. Pacha has been called to see the emperor. Kuzco asks him where the sun is best of the hill he lives. Pacha tells him and Kuzco replies that he’s going to destroy Pacha’s village to build Kuzcotopia, a private retreat for Kuzco to give himself for his 18th birthday. I love it how he isn’t even initially being hostile, Kuzco has been so pampered throughout his life that he just assumes that Pacha will be honoured to move out of his home for Kuzco to have a luxury retreat. When Pacha protests Kuzco starts to be malicious because he knows there is nothing Pacha can do about it because of all of Kuzco’s power. A character like Kuzco must have been so hard to make. He does so many evil things but is never uncomfortable to watch. Yeah at this point in the movie you hate him but he’s so much fun to watch that you don’t mind. Pacha leaves Kuzco’s palace upset that his house is going to be destroyed.

Kuzco notices his advisor Yzma trying to run the kingdom for him, and casually fires her. To Kuzco everyone is replaceable even Yzma who has been working for his family for decades. Yzma and her new assistant / best character in the movie, Kronk leave.

Yzma decides to kill Kuzco as only her, Kronk and Kuzco know she’s been fired so if he dies now she’ll still be made the emperor as there’s nobody else who could take up Kuzco’s rule. They go to her secret lab; I love it how everyobody knows she has a secret lab. Kronk pulls the wrong level which never gets old and they ride a rollercoaster to the secret lab. They grab the poison and hatch a plan to kill Kuzco.

This whole scene is perfect. Yzma invited Kuzco over for dinner whilst Kronk poisons one of the drinks. He is reminded of his spinach puffs and goes to grab them before them burn but in the process forgets which drink was poisoned. He mixes the poison into all three drinks and warns Yzma not to drink hers. Kronk being hilarious mixed with the awkward conversion Yzma and Kuzco are having is hilarious. I love it how it is hinted that Yzma is essentially a sugar mommy and just keeps getting new young attractive men to hang out with her and potentially even be more which is a disgusting thought. Kuzco drinks the poison but it turns out it wasn’t poison it was a llama potion. I love it how Yzma just has a bunch of potions lying around that make people different animals. On Yzma’s request Kronk smashes Kuzco on the head with a plate and is ordered to kill him, after coffee of course.

They throw Kuzco in a bag and Kronk stealth’s through town, it’s so funny that everyone is noticing him and he’s even humming a theme which makes it even more obvious where he is. He throws Kuzco in a stream but his conscience kicks in. His angel and devil argue on his shoulders and Kronk rescues Kuzco but accidently drops him onto Pacha’s cart. Pacha accidently takes Kuzco home.

Pacha arrives home and is the sweetest dad ever to his children before being the best husband ever for his wife. I’d marry Pacha. Pacha is too scared to tell his children and pregnant wife that Kuzco wants to destroy their home so goes out to put his llama’s away to clear his mind. This is where Kuzco wakes up and finds out he’s a llama. He believes that Pacha turned him into a llama and kidnapped him. He orders Pacha to take him back to the palace. Pacha says he’ll do it if Kuzco doesn’t build Kuzcotopia. Kuzco refuses and decides to go himself. The way to the palace is really dangerous if you don’t know the way so Pacha is now presented with a choice, let Kuzco die which would solve the problem of Kuzcotopia or take him back to the palace. Whilst Pacha hates Kuzco at this point in time he can’t let someone die so decides to take him to the palace. Kuzco has already walked off on his own though.

I love this scene, Kuzco walking through a scary forest pretending that he isn’t scared to prove a point to Pacha who isn’t even there. He eventually ends up getting chased by a pack of jaguars but is saved last minute by Pacha. Pacha’s rescue doesn’t go to plan as they end up falling in a river. Pacha tries to start a fire which is constantly put out by Kuzco. They do everything at this point to make you dislike Kuzco, Pacha is setting up a fire to keep them both warm but he just keeps putting it out for no reason other than to be spiteful. But again, his entire life has been full of everybody doing everything he wants so you can’t blame him for being this much of an asshole at this point. Kuzco falls asleep and Pacha puts his jacket over Kuzco to keep him warm. Pacha is the nicest character ever, and is a character I aspire to be as amazing as.

Meanwhile at the palace Yzma has taken over, I love it how the people working at the palace don’t really care. Yzma and Kuzco are just as bad as each other, the workers don’t like either of them it’s just one person they reluctantly worked for being replaced by someone just as bad. Kronk accidently reveals that Kuzco is still alive so him and Yzma go out to look for him.

Pacha refuses to take Kuzco home until he agrees to build Kuzcotopia elsewhere. Kuzco lies to Pacha saying that he’ll build it elsewhere. This is where the best scene in the entire movie takes place. They get to a bridge near the palace and Pacha falls through it. He asks Kuzco to help him before he falls but Kuzco refuses, he tells him that he was going to get him imprisoned for life when they got back to the palace and he would have built Kuzcotopia anyway. Kuzco falls through the bridge as well and the pair start to fight. Every attack dealt to Kuzco is so satisfying at this point. You understand how he ended up this way but he still deserves to get the shit beaten out of him. They both fall and end up lodged between two cliff sides, back to back. If they are going to get out alive they’ve got to work together. They end up climbing the mountain and there’s a point where Kuzco needs to extend his neck so Pacha can grab a vine so he can grab Kuzco and get them both up. Kuzco is scared that Pacha will just abandon him but it’s the only way, Kuzco is going to have to trust that Pacha won’t betray him. It’s clearly so difficult for him because Kuzco betrayed Pacha earlier so in his eyes he is starting to realise that Pacha would be justified doing it. Pacha is a better man however and doesn’t abandon Kuzco. They end up getting attacked by scorpions but end up on top of the cliff. This is the best bit and the first time Kuzco does anything selfless in the entire movie. Pacha falls but Kuzco without thinking about it grabs him and pulls him up. Kuzco has actually done something nice. This is the point of the movie where Kuzco goes from being a complete asshole to a nicer person. Kuzco is terrible numerous times up until this point, and the constant kindness Pacha has given him may have just rubbed off on him a bit. There is some good in him after all. That’s the message of the movie, everyone has some good in them. I’ll discuss this later on once I finish this multiple page plot summary.

Yzma and Kronk meet a squirrel that Kuzco met earlier who tells Kronk (who speaks squirrel) which direction Kuzco went, so the pair go in that direction. I love it how Kronk carries Yzma the entire way but she gets tired and starts walking, it makes zero sense but is hilarious. Watching the villains (although I’d struggle to call Kronk a villain) is just as great as watching the heroes. It doesn’t matter who you’re following in this movie, you’re going to have a great time.

Kuzco and Pacha arrive at a diner to eat. So do Yzma and Kronk. A great scene. They serve literal insects which Kuzco isn’t a fan of so goes to talk to the chef. Kronk also asks about the food (neither seeing each other) and the chef ends up quitting and giving the job to Kronk. Kronk cooks for everyone who keep changing their orders and barely missing each other. It’s so funny, it makes no sense, but it’s hilarious.

Pacha hears Yzma talking about killing Kuzco so he warns him. Kuzco believes that Pacha is lying and that he doesn’t want to get him to the palace. He leaves Pacha but hears Yzma talking about killing him so instantly regrets his decision to leave Pacha. This is all a bit forced, I’m not a huge fan. Eventually Kuzco finds Pacha and apologises so the pair head on off to the castle but are followed by Yzma and Kronk. An entertaining scene plays out with Yzma and Kronk chasing the pair. There’s a point where they go to Pacha’s house for supplies whilst Kronk and Yzma pretend to be related to them which is entertaining enough, not much to say about it.

Kuzco and Pacha arrive back at the palace and go to Yzma’s secret lab (after pulling the wrong leaver of course). Yzma and Kronk have already arrived and a fight takes place. Yzma orders the guards to kill Kuzco and Pacha saying that they killed Kuzco (remember Kuzco currently looks like a llama. Everyone turns into numerous different animals with Yzma’s various potions. Kronk betrays Yzma after she insults his spinach puffs. The fight takes them onto the side of the palace. Kuzco has the potion to turn him into a human but it is knocked out of his hand by Yzma. Pacha is knocked down and is grasping at the side of the building. Kuzco has a choice, go for the potion and become human, or rescue his only friend. He rescue’s Pacha ultimately proving that he has changed and gotten a new groove (that’s what the title means). After a joke involving a trampoline which might be my favourite joke in the movie, they get the potion and Kuzco is turned into a human again. Kronk accidently crushes Yzma (who is currently a cat) with a trap door (if you haven’t seen this movie yet you must be so lost at this point in the article).

Everything is back to normal, but Kuzco is now a decent human. He apologises to the old man he threw out the window. It’s so funny that the old man says that it’s fine as apparently he is constantly thrown out of windows. Kuzco tells Pacha that he is building Kuzcotopia on the hill next door to Pacha’s home and it’ll be open for everyone. He does it in the most Kuzco way possible as well, by saying that Pacha’s hill isn’t good enough for it. It’s all great stuff. Everyone enjoys Kuzcotopia when it is built. The end.

If you haven’t worked out yet, I love this movie. It’s one of the movies I can watch over and over again and never get bored of. It’s a movie you can enjoy at any age, and if I’m being honest is my favourite Disney movie at this point in the marathon (I also can’t really see anything overtaking it). Is it the best Disney movie? No, I’d say Mulan and The Lion King are both technically better movies, I just enjoyed this one more. A lot of that comes down to the characters, so let’s discuss the four characters that make this movie what it is.

Kuzco has a genuine arc turning from a villain to a hero. He’s an asshole throughout most of the movie which is much more realistic than if he turned decent after Pacha did one good deed for him. The fact he takes so long to start becoming a decent person is what makes him feel so real. He has the best character arc in any Disney movie. He’s always entertaining to watch. At first it is fun seeing someone be the biggest asshole ever. When he starts to become nicer, he still has a sarcastic charm about him but more in the way that your kind of an ass to friends sometimes but in the nicest way possible.

Pacha is the nicest person ever but isn’t unrealistic. He does get mad at Kuzco. Again, it makes him feel real. It’s hard to make an ultra-nice character that is both realistic and compelling. Pacha manages to succeed in both of these fields. Him and Kuzco’s banter later on in the movie is super entertaining as well.

At first Kuzco and Pacha are the complete opposites. Kuzco has grown up with anything he wanted but is still an asshole. Pacha has very little but is the nicest guy alive. I’d also argue that Kuzco wasn’t truly happy at the beginning of the movie whilst Pacha was. I’d argue the reason that Kuzco kept demanding more things was because he needs objects to try and make him feel whole. It’s also why he takes so long to trust someone else; nobody has really liked him at this point in his life, he’s never had a friend before. Pacha has a loving family and even though he has barely any possessions he doesn’t need them, he has a family who loves him and is happy. Kuzco grows to learn that to be happy, objects aren’t going to be enough, you need to have people who care for you.

Yzma is the villain of the movie yet is in a unique situation where the protagonist is just as bad as her at the beginning of the movie. If does make you wonder, if Yzma met Pacha would she become a decent person? It is kind of strange that she doesn’t get a redemption arc when the entire message of the movie appears to be that anyone can become a good person. That everyone has kindness in them somewhere. This isn’t really a problem just something I think is worth pointing out. Yzma is such an entertaining villain, her more serious nature contrasts beautifully with Kronk, the best character ever.

Kronk is great. Whilst technically he could be seen as a villain, he seems more like someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He’s naive and kind-hearted and you get the sense that he’s only doing the evil things Yzma is asking him to do because he doesn’t understand exactly what’s going on. Whenever he has to do anything directly evil like throw Kuzco down a waterfall, he refuses. He’s also a good guy by the end and the protagonist of the next movie in “The Emperor’s New Groove Cinematic Universe” or TENGCU. I’ll get around to reviewing the sequel, the show, and maybe even the video game tie in at some point. Whenever he is on screen it’s a blast.

The message of the movie is the idea that anyone can be good. This idea genuinely interests me. If you put some evil dictator like I don’t know the President of the United States in a forest with the nicest person alive for long enough, would he become a decent person? According to the movie even the most evil and selfish people can be reformed, everyone has some good in them. I’m not sure if I completely agree with that but it’s a nice thought to have.

What about negatives? A couple of jokes don’t land for me, but comedy is subjective and I wouldn’t even say the jokes that didn’t land for me were bad jokes, just not my kind of humour. The narrating isn’t great. The family stuff isn’t bad but isn’t on the same level as the rest of the movie. Oh, and I guess they have a conflict between Kuzco and Pacha at the end of the second act which is forced and overdone.

I better mention the “Kingdom of the Sun”. The Emperor’s New Groove was initially envisioned as an epic along the lines of The Lion King. This was going to be much more serious with Yzma trying to summon the God of Death. There was going to be a romantic subplot, it was going to be a musical. The documentary The Sweatbox is all about the movie and is an interesting watch if you can track it down. The movie would have been much more like the movies in the Disney Renaissance era, an epic, romantic, musical. But we ended up getting The Emperor’s New Groove instead. Would the Kingdom of the Sun have been a better movie? Maybe, I love The Emperor’s New Groove so I personally doubt it. It is interesting to look at though and it would be cool if Disney were to make the movie sometime in the future.

So that was The Emperor’s New Groove, my favourite Disney movie at this point in the marathon (and probably of all time). I’ll be back on Monday to review Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Thank you for reading.

9 / 10