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|imdb_id = 0120917 |
|imdb_id = 0120917 |
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|title = The Emperor's New Groove |
|title = The Emperor's New Groove |
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| − | |image = |
+ | |image = Emperors_new_groove.jpg |
|tagline = N/A |
|tagline = N/A |
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|director = [[Mark Dindal]] |
|director = [[Mark Dindal]] |
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|country = {{United States}} |
|country = {{United States}} |
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|language = [[English language|English]] |
|language = [[English language|English]] |
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| − | | |
+ | |released = December 15, [[2000]] |
|runtime = 78 minutes |
|runtime = 78 minutes |
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|rating = {{G}} |
|rating = {{G}} |
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|distributor = [[Walt Disney Pictures]] |
|distributor = [[Walt Disney Pictures]] |
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|budget = $100,000,000 (estimated) |
|budget = $100,000,000 (estimated) |
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| + | |gross = $169,327,687}}'''''The Emperor's New Groove''''' is a 2000 American [[Animation|animated]] [[buddy comedy]] film produced by [[Walt Disney Feature Animation]] and distributed by [[Walt Disney Pictures]]. It is the 40th [[List of Walt Disney Animation Studios films|animated Disney feature film]] and was directed by [[Mark Dindal]] from a script written by [[David Reynolds (screenwriter)|David Reynolds]], based on a story by [[Chris Williams (director)|Chris Williams]] and Dindal. The voice cast features [[David Spade]], [[John Goodman]], [[Eartha Kitt]], [[Patrick Warburton]], and [[Wendie Malick]]. ''The Emperor's New Groove'' follows a young and self-centered [[Incan]] emperor, [[Emperor Kuzco|Kuzco]], who is transformed into a [[llama]] by his ex-advisor, [[Yzma]]. In order for the emperor to change back into a human, he trusts a village leader, [[Pacha (character)|Pacha]], who escorts him back to the palace. |
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| − | |gross = $169,327,687}} |
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| − | '''''The Emperor's New Groove''''' is the thirty-ninth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. A wacky comedy having more in common with a Looney Tunes or Tex Avery cartoon than a traditional Disney film, The Emperor's New Groove was produced by Randy Fullmer and directed by Mark Dindal. It was produced by [[Walt Disney Feature Animation]] over a troubled six-year timeline. During that time the film was altered significantly from its original concept as a more traditional Disney musical entitled Kingdom of the Sun, to have been directed by Dindal and Roger Allers (co-director of [[The Lion King]]). The title of the film derives from that of the popular Danish fairy tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. |
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| + | Development began in 1994, when the film was conceived as a [[Musical film|musical]] [[Epic film|epic]] titled ''Kingdom of the Sun''. Following his [[List of directorial debuts|directorial debut]] with ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994), [[Roger Allers]] recruited English musician [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] to compose several songs for the film. Because of the underwhelming box office performances of ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', Dindal was brought in as co-director to make the film more comedic. Because of poor test screenings, creative differences with Dindal and production falling behind schedule, Allers departed, and the film became a lighthearted comedy instead of a dramatic musical. A documentary, ''[[The Sweatbox]]'' (2002), details the production troubles that ''The Emperor's New Groove'' endured during its six years of development. |
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| − | The Emperor's New Groove was released by Walt Disney Feature Animation and Buena Vista Distribution on December 15, 2000. While not a box-office hit, it was successful enough to warrant a direct-to-video sequel, Kronk's New Groove, released December 2005, and an animated television series, The Emperor's New School, in January 2006. |
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| + | |||
| + | ''The Emperor's New Groove'' was released to theaters on December 15, 2000. It performed disappointingly at the box office compared to Disney films released in the 1990s, grossing $169.3 million on a $100 million budget. However, the film found larger success when it was released for home media, and became the bestselling [[DVD]] of 2001. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised it as one of the best films released during Disney's post-[[Disney Renaissance|Renaissance]] era and the most comedic. It was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]] for the song "[[My Funny Friend and Me]]," performed by Sting, but lost to "[[Things Have Changed]]" by [[Bob Dylan]] from ''[[Wonder Boys (film)|Wonder Boys]]''. A [[direct-to-video]] sequel, ''[[Kronk's New Groove]]'', was released in 2005, and an animated spin-off, ''[[The Emperor's New School]]'', aired on [[Disney Channel]] from 2006 to 2008. |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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| + | <!--Per [[WP:FILMPLOT]], plot summaries should be between 400 and 700 words.--> |
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| − | {{spoiler}}The story revolves around a self-centered South American emperor named Kuzco and a humble peasant and family man named Pacha. Teenaged Kuzco is the self-proclaimed "King of the World" at this time. Although he is not an overly cruel tyrant, he does harbor a childish and selfish will to have everything go his way. After firing his ancient and power-hungry advisor, Yzma (pronounced "EEZ-muh"), he reveals to Pacha that Pacha's village is to be destroyed in order to build Kuzco's 18th birthday gift to himself: a gaudy summer-home called Kuzcotopia, complete with pool and waterslide. Pacha starts to protest, and is dismissed from the palace. Before the final construction order can be issued, however, Yzma and her muscular, easily-distracted lackey Kronk launch a poisoning plot against Kuzco. The plot is botched, resulting instead in Kuzco being turned into a llama, and then, unknown to Yzma, accidentally spirited out of the capital. |
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| + | Kuzco is the young, selfish, and overly-pampered emperor of the [[Inca Empire]] who lives the high-life and routinely punishes those who displease him, such as having an elderly man [[Defenestration|defenestrated]] for the crime of "throwing off his groove". One day, Kuzco meets with Pacha, a kind peasant and village leader, and tells him that he plans to demolish his hilltop family home to build himself a lavish summer home called "Kuzcotopia". Pacha protests, but is quickly dismissed. That evening, Kuzco's conniving adviser, Yzma, plots to take over as empress by hosting a dinner (her trick of secretly [[poison]]ing Kuzco as her revenge for him firing her for stealing his job running orders), but due to a mislabeled [[vial]], her muscular but clumsy and oafish henchman Kronk Pepikrankenitz inadvertently spikes Kuzco's [[wine]] with the wrong [[potion]], turning him into a [[llama]]. After knocking Kuzco out, Yzma orders Kronk to dispose of him in a river. However, after doing so, Kronk has a crisis of conscience at the last second and saves Kuzco, but misplaces him on a cart belonging to Pacha. |
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| + | Upon returning home, Pacha does not tell his family about Kuzco's decision. After awakening from the bag on the cart and scaring Pacha, Kuzco blames Pacha for his transformation and orders Pacha to return him to the palace. Pacha agrees, but only if Kuzco agrees to build Kuzcotopia elsewhere. Kuzco refuses the offer and decides to go by himself against Pacha's warnings, but quickly ends up getting chased through the jungle by a pack of [[black jaguar]]s. Pacha arrives to rescue him, and extends his offer a second time, to which Kuzco seemingly accepts. The two survive many ordeals in the jungle, and Pacha finds that Kuzco has a good side to him underneath his selfishness. Meanwhile, Yzma takes the throne, but is angered to learn from Kronk that Kuzco is still alive, so the two set out to find him. |
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| − | Kuzco ends up at Pacha's village and arrogantly orders the peasant to return him to the palace. At first Pacha lets the newcomer wander off into the jungle, but then repents and goes after him, rescuing the llama from a pack of jaguars, an effort which ends with the two of them tied to a dead tree trunk and taking a plunge over an enormous waterfall. Recovering from this, Pacha says that he will take Kuzco home only if the Emperor agrees to build Kuzcotopia somewhere else; Kuzco pretends to agree, and they set out for the palace. The emperor only truly begins to change after the two of them are forced to work together to survive the collapse of a rope bridge, even returning the favor of saving Pacha's life. |
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| + | The next day, the pairs arrive at a jungle [[diner]] at the same time, unaware of each other's presence. While Kuzco complains to the cook, Pacha overhears Yzma's plan and attempts to warn Kuzco when he returns, but he doesn't believe Pacha, thinking he is beloved by his people, and reveals that he intended to renege on his promise to spare Pacha's home. However, Kuzco soon overhears Yzma's and Kronk's plot of attempting to kill him and learns that no one in his kingdom misses him due to his selfishness. Feeling guilty and unwanted, Kuzco leaves the diner on his own, planning on living out the rest of his life as a normal llama. Pacha catches up, still willing to help Kuzco return to normal after knowing his life is in danger. Kuzco reconciles with him before they set off to Pacha's house for supplies. |
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| − | Back at the palace, Yzma has staged Kuzco's funeral and taken over as ruler of the Empire. She only then learns that Kuzco is still alive, and she and Kronk set out to look for him. After a string of near-misses at a roadside diner, they find and chase the heroes, who appear to decisively give them the shake, leaving the lightning-struck pursuers plunging towards the bottom of a chasm. Kuzco and Pacha make it back to Yzma's secret lab beneath the palace, where it turns out that in violation of all laws of physics and common sense (as the movie itself explicitly notes) Yzma and Kronk have somehow gotten there first and now hold the antidote to Kuzco's condition. Yzma demands that Kronk personally kill the heroes. When he gets bogged down in a coversation with the good and bad sides of his conscience, Yzma viciously berates him for his stupidity, and, then in the last straw, insults his beloved cooking. Kronk changes sides, but his attempt to destroy Yzma fails and he is dropped through a trapdoor. |
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| + | Upon arriving, Yzma is already there, searching for the two. Pacha has his family delay Yzma, giving him and Kuzco a head-start back to the palace, intending to enter Yzma's lab and find a potion to reverse the effects of the llama potion. However, they are ambushed by Yzma and Kronk, who somehow made it back ahead of Kuzco and Pacha. Yzma then orders Kronk to kill the duo. When Kronk hesitates, Yzma insults him, prompting him to betray her, but she drops him down a [[trapdoor]]. She then summons the palace guards and claims that Pacha and Kuzco murdered the emperor, forcing them to flee with an armful of vials containing various animal potions (Yzma deliberately knocked them all to the floor so that Kuzco and Pacha could not tell which one is correct), which they use to transform Kuzco during the chase. Pacha also knocks a table of [[Erlenmeyer flask|flasks]] containing other animal potions into the pursuing guards, turning them into various animals. As they are cornered on the ledges of a giant wall structure, they are left with two remaining vials. Yzma and Kuzco struggle over the vials, accidentally crushing one and transforming Yzma into a small [[cat|kitten]]. Pacha and Kuzco use teamwork to reach the other vial. Pacha gives Kuzco the vial, and Kuzco, after expressing his gratitude to Pacha, drinks the potion. |
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| − | Kuzco and Pacha take advantage of this distraction to steal the antidote, but Yzma manages to mix it in with numerous other identical potions and then summon the palace guards. While being chased, the duo tries to find the right potion through trial and error, turning Kuzco into a turtle, a songbird, a whale, and back into a llama again. Finally, they escape the guards and narrow the choice down to two potions, but Yzma catches up with them. In her haste to reclaim the antidote, she accidentally smashes the other vial and turns herself into a kitten. Following a struggle high on the palace's outer walls, she still manages to steal back the final potion, only to be foiled at the last second by the sudden reappearance of Kronk. |
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| + | Some time later, a restored Kuzco, having reflected on the consequences of his selfishness and made amends, takes Pacha's suggestion of moving Kuzcotopia over to a neighboring and unoccupied hill. Kuzco then joins Pacha and his family at his modest and smaller resort. |
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| − | Kuzco returns to human form and sets out repairing the damage done by his arrogant behavior. In the end, he builds a tiny cottage near Pacha's village in lieu of his extravagant summer home, while outdoorsman Kronk becomes a scout leader, with kitten-Yzma as an extremely reluctant member of his troop. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | {{Spoiler-end}} |
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| + | {{Main|List of The Emperor's New Groove characters}} |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[David Spade]] as Emperor Kuzco, the malevolent, [[Narcissism|narcissistic]], and selfish 18-year-old emperor of the Inca Empire who pays no heeds to the needs of others. However, after transforming into a llama, Kuzco begins to realize the error of his ways. |
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| − | <!--[[Image:Emperors-new-groove-02.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Kuzco (voiced by [[David Spade]]), the spoiled teenage monarch, has trouble choosing a bride in this scene from ''The Emperor's New Groove''.]] --> |
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| + | * [[John Goodman]] as Pacha, a kind and caring village leader |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[Eartha Kitt]] as Yzma, Kuzco's elderly advisor who seeks Kuzco's throne for herself |
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| − | ==History== |
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| + | * [[Patrick Warburton]] as Kronk, Yzma's good-natured but dimwitted muscular henchman |
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| − | ===''Kingdom of the Sun''=== |
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| + | * [[Wendie Malick]] as Chicha, Pacha's caring pregnant wife |
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| − | Early in development, the film was titled Kingdom of the Sun, later Kingdom in the Sun, with Roger Allers as the film's director and Randy Fullmer as producer. Among those on Allers' production team were supervising animator Andreas Deja, who was in charge of the witch character of Yzma, and pop musician Sting, who, in the wake of Elton John's success with The Lion King's soundtrack, had been assigned to write several songs for the film. |
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| + | * Kellyann Kelso and Eli Russell Linnetz as Chaca and Tipo respectively, Pacha and Chicha's two young, rambunctious children |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[Bob Bergen]] as Bucky the [[Squirrel]], Kronk's companion, who hates Yzma, and has an unpleasant encounter with Kuzco |
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| − | Kingdom of the Sun was to have been a tale of a greedy, selfish emperor who finds a peasant (voiced by Owen Wilson) who looks just like him; the emperor swaps places with the peasant for fun, much as in author Mark Twain's archetypal novel The Prince and the Pauper. However, the evil witch Yzma has plans to lasso the sun and capture it so that she may retain her youth forever (the sun gives her wrinkles, so she surmises that living in a world of darkness would prevent her from wrinkling). Discovering the switch between the prince and the peasant, Yzma turns the real emperor into a llama and threatens to reveal the pauper's identity unless he obeys her. The emperor-llama learns humility in his new form, and even comes to love a girl llama-herder. Together, the girl and the llama set out to undo the witch's plans. |
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| + | * [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] as the Theme Song Guy, Kuzco's personal theme song conductor |
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| − | <!-- [[Image:Emperors-new-groove-01.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Pull the lever, Kronk!" Yzma (voice of [[Eartha Kitt]]) and Kronk (voice of Patrick Warburton) in ''The Emperor's New Groove.'']] --> austrailan bat clinic uses |
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| + | * [[Patti Deutsch]] as Matta, a waitress at Mudka's Meat Hut |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[John Fiedler]] as Rudy, a kindly old man who is first thrown out a window by Kuzco's guards, then later befriends the emperor |
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| − | fruit bat babies collect these www.australianbatclinic.com this world advenrtures do not world of scary bats presents babies |
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| + | * [[Joe Whyte]] as the Royal Recordkeeper |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[Corey Burton]], [[Jack Angel]], [[Danny Mann]], [[Bill Farmer]], [[Philip Proctor|Phil Proctor]], [[Eddie Korbich]], [[Donald Fullilove]], [[Paul Eiding]], [[Philip L. Clarke]], [[Brian Tochi]], and [[Patrick Pinney]] as Male Villagers |
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| − | ===Troubled production=== |
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| + | * [[Sherry Lynn]], [[Jennifer Darling]], Mickie McGowan, and [[Cathy Cavadini]] as Female Villagers |
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| − | Development suffered from several attempts at trying to make the plot more original, and also from a general lack of direction. Upper management felt the plot was too similar to any number of other "Prince and Pauper" stories, and test screenings of the work-in-progress generated poor feedback. Disney hired [[Mark Dindal]], director of [[Warner Bros.]]'s comedic animated musical ''[[Cats Don't Dance]]'', in hopes that Dindal would be able to punch-up Allers' epic, yet uninvolving, story. The result was that Dindal and Allers essentially began making two separate films, with Dindal pushing his scenes toward comedy and Allers pushing his toward drama. |
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| + | * [[Jess Harnell]] as the Guard who throws Rudy out the window |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[Rodger Bumpass]] as one of the Guards who got turned into a [[Cow]] |
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| − | Disney chief Michael Eisner and his studio executives were not pleased at the uneven story, the lukewarm test-audience response, and the slow pace of production. However, the executives were at first reluctant to intervene because of Allers' success with ''The Lion King'', which had also had a troubled time in production. In addition, most of Allers' crew had complete faith in the director, who was determined to create a sweeping epic on the scale of ''The Lion King''. |
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| + | * [[Steve Susskind]] as an Irate Chef, a former chef at Matta's who quits due to Kuzco and Kronk |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[Miriam Flynn]] as the Piñata Lady |
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| − | By the summer of 1998, it was apparent that ''Kingdom of the Sun'' was not far along enough in production to be released in the summer of 2000 as planned. At this time, one of the Disney executives stormed into Randy Fullmer's office and, placing his thumb and forefinger a quarter-inch apart, angrily remarked that "your film is ''this'' close to being shut down".<ref>Jim Hill, "The Long Story Behind the Emperor's New Groove". Part 1, page 3. [http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID115140-115142.asp]</ref> Fullmer approached Allers, and informed him of the need to finish the film on time for its summer 2000 release (crucial promotional deals with [[McDonalds]], Coca-Cola, and others were already established and depended upon meeting that release date). Allers acknowledged that the production was falling behind, but was confident that, with an extension of between six months to a year, he could complete the film. When Fullmer denied Allers' request for an extension, the director quit the project. |
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| + | * [[Frank Welker]] as Llamas, Jaguars, Fly and Bees |
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| − | |||
| + | * [[Jim Cummings]] and [[Kath Soucie]] as Birthday Singers |
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| − | ===Overhaul=== |
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| + | * [[Andre Stojka]] and [[Robert Clotworthy]] as Topo and Ipi, two of Pacha's villagers |
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| − | Eisner, hearing Allers had quit, became furious, and gave Fullmer two weeks to prove the film could be salvagable or else Eisner would personally shut down production. Fullmer and Dindal halted production for six months to retool ''Kingdom in the Sun'', while their animators were reassigned to work on the ''Rhapsody in Blue'' segment of ''[[Fantasia 2000]]''. In the interim, Dindal, Fullmer, and writers Chris Williams and David Reynolds overhauled the film completely. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | |||
| − | When work on the film resumed, it had a new title and a new story. Gone were the sun-capturing plot, the look-alike peasant, and the llama-herder love interest. Now the film was a buddy movie, with Yzma depicted more as a mad scientist. The co-lead became Pacha, a portly farmer from the countryside. Eisner worried that the new story was too close in tone to Disney's 1997 film ''[[Hercules (1997)|Hercules]]'', which had performed decent but yet below expectations at the American box office. Dindal and Fullmer assured him that ''The Emperor's New Groove'', as the film was now called, would have a much smaller cast, making it easier to involve audiences. |
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| − | |||
| − | <!--[[Image:Emperors-new-groove-03.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Its a good thing you're not a big fat guy or this would be really difficult." When Kuzco becomes a llama and gets lost in the jungle, he must put his selfishness aside and let Pacha (voice of [[John Goodman]]) help him get back to his palace.]] --> |
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| − | Andreas Deja declined to return to the film, and moved to Orlando, Florida to work on ''[[Lilo & Stitch]]'' instead. Sting's songs, related to specific scenes that were now gone, had to be dropped. Sting was bitter about the removal of his songs (which are available on ''The Emperor's New Groove'' soundtrack album). "At first, I was angry and perturbed. Then I wanted some vengeance." <ref>(Dec. 14, 2000). "Studio Briefing: How Sting Spun Out Of The Groove". ''Interet Movie Database''.</ref> |
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| − | |||
| − | The resulting film has a much different feel than most Disney animated features; it is irreverent and self-referential, much more like a [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon or DreamWorks' ''[[Shrek]]''. ''The Emperor's New Groove'' made $89,302,687 at the U.S. box office, and an additional $80,025,000 worldwide; totals lower than those for most of the Disney films released in the 1990s. ''New Groove'' and all but one of the four future traditional Disney Feature Animation films - 2002's ''Lilo and Stitch'' - would sustain losses during their theatrical releases. |
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| − | |||
| − | ==Afterlife== |
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| − | ===''The Sweatbox''=== |
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| − | Sting's wife [[Trudie Styler]], a documentarian, had been allowed to film the production of ''Kingdom of the Sun/The Emperor's New Groove'' as part of the deal that originally brought Sting to the project. As a result, Styler recorded on film much of the struggle, controversy, and troubles that went into making the picture (including the moment when producer Fullmer called Sting to inform the pop star that his songs were being deleted from the film). Styler's completed documentary, ''The Sweatbox'', premiered at the [[Toronto Film Festival]] on September 13, 2002. Disney owns the rights to the documentary and currently has not allowed its release on home video or DVD. |
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| − | |||
| − | ===Derivative works=== |
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| − | A direct-to-DVD [[sequel]] entitled ''[[Kronk's New Groove]]'' was released in December 2005, and a Disney Channel cartoon series, ''[[The Emperor's New School]]'' followed, but without David Spade voicing Kuzco (There is a lot of confusion if David Spade Voiced Kuzco in the sequel, as he states on his comedy central show, he does voice Kuzco in the sequel.). Patrick Warburton and Eartha Kitt reprised their roles for the series. |
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| − | |||
| − | ==Trivia== |
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| − | * The setting and culture of The Emperor's New Groove are based on the Inca Empire that developed in what is now modern-day Peru. Along with the architecture, roads, intricate waterworks, sun worship, and llamas as domestic beasts, Kuzco's name is similar to Cusco, the Peruvian city considered the capital of the Inca Empire, and Pacha's name is drawn from Pachacuti, considered the most important ruler of the Inca Empire, and a historical figure. (Note: Pacha means "earth" in Quechua, but apparently there's no link between this and the character's name). |
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| − | * Storyboard reels of deleted scenes appearing on the DVD release include Pacha's father, a hustling inventor of useless items, and a stoner neighbor, as well as a party with all the villagers and an increasingly beleaguered Kuzco-llama. |
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| − | * The film's ending originally had Kuzco building his Kuzcotopia amusement park on another hill near Pacha's, and inviting Pacha and his family to visit. Sting, an environmentalist, protested against the ending because it appeared that Kuzco had destroyed portions of the rain forest to build his park. The ending was rewritten so that Kuzco changes his mind about destroying more land and simply builds a hut similar to Pacha's and spends his vacation among the villagers. |
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| − | * In the German version of the movie, Kuzco was voiced by star comedian Michael "Bully" Herbig. His involvement has led this film to become a "cult movie". |
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| − | * The Let's Groove song by Earth, Wind, and Fire can be heard in the theatrical trailer. |
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| − | |||
| − | ==Selected credits== |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | *[[Kuzco]]: voice by [[David Spade]], supervising animator: [[Nik Ranieri]] |
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| − | *[[Pacha (The Emperor's New Groove)|Pacha]]: voice by [[John Goodman]], supervising animator: [[Bruce W. Smith]] |
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| − | *[[Yzma]]: voice by [[Eartha Kitt]], supervising animator: [[Dale Baer]] |
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| − | *[[Kronk]]: voice by Patrick Warburton, supervising animator: Tony Bancroft |
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| − | *Chicha: voice by [[Wendie Malick]], animation by Doug Frankel |
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| − | *Theme Song Guy: voice by [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], animation by Sandra Lucio Cleuzo |
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| − | *Old Man: voice by [[John Fiedler]], animation by Sandra Lucio Cleuzo |
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| − | |||
| − | ===Crew=== |
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| − | *Executive Producer: Don Hahn |
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| − | *Produced by [[Randy Fullmer]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
| − | *Screenplay by David Reynolds |
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| − | *Screen story by Chris Williams and Mark Dindal, based upon an original story by Roger Allers and Matthew Jacobs |
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| − | *Score composed by John Debney |
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| − | *Songs "Perfect World" and "My Funny Friend and Me" composed by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] and [[David Hartley]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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*[http://online.tvguide.com/Movies/database/ShowMovie.asp?MI=42699 ''TVGuide''.com/movies: ''The Emperor's New Groove''] |
*[http://online.tvguide.com/Movies/database/ShowMovie.asp?MI=42699 ''TVGuide''.com/movies: ''The Emperor's New Groove''] |
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*[http://www.wahlbrinck.de/englischunterricht/eng-index.htm#emperor Teaching ''The Emperor's New Groove''] |
*[http://www.wahlbrinck.de/englischunterricht/eng-index.htm#emperor Teaching ''The Emperor's New Groove''] |
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{{Disney theatrical animated features}} |
{{Disney theatrical animated features}} |
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[[Category:Animation]] |
[[Category:Animation]] |
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[[Category:THX]] |
[[Category:THX]] |
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[[Category:Box Office Bombs]] |
[[Category:Box Office Bombs]] |
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| + | [[Category:Films with narration]] |
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| + | [[Category:Films starring David Spade]] |
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| + | [[Category:Films starring John Goodman]] |
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Revision as of 23:54, 1 September 2020
The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated buddy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 40th animated Disney feature film and was directed by Mark Dindal from a script written by David Reynolds, based on a story by Chris Williams and Dindal. The voice cast features David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, and Wendie Malick. The Emperor's New Groove follows a young and self-centered Incan emperor, Kuzco, who is transformed into a llama by his ex-advisor, Yzma. In order for the emperor to change back into a human, he trusts a village leader, Pacha, who escorts him back to the palace.
Development began in 1994, when the film was conceived as a musical epic titled Kingdom of the Sun. Following his directorial debut with The Lion King (1994), Roger Allers recruited English musician Sting to compose several songs for the film. Because of the underwhelming box office performances of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dindal was brought in as co-director to make the film more comedic. Because of poor test screenings, creative differences with Dindal and production falling behind schedule, Allers departed, and the film became a lighthearted comedy instead of a dramatic musical. A documentary, The Sweatbox (2002), details the production troubles that The Emperor's New Groove endured during its six years of development.
The Emperor's New Groove was released to theaters on December 15, 2000. It performed disappointingly at the box office compared to Disney films released in the 1990s, grossing $169.3 million on a $100 million budget. However, the film found larger success when it was released for home media, and became the bestselling DVD of 2001. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised it as one of the best films released during Disney's post-Renaissance era and the most comedic. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "My Funny Friend and Me," performed by Sting, but lost to "Things Have Changed" by Bob Dylan from Wonder Boys. A direct-to-video sequel, Kronk's New Groove, was released in 2005, and an animated spin-off, The Emperor's New School, aired on Disney Channel from 2006 to 2008.
Plot
Kuzco is the young, selfish, and overly-pampered emperor of the Inca Empire who lives the high-life and routinely punishes those who displease him, such as having an elderly man defenestrated for the crime of "throwing off his groove". One day, Kuzco meets with Pacha, a kind peasant and village leader, and tells him that he plans to demolish his hilltop family home to build himself a lavish summer home called "Kuzcotopia". Pacha protests, but is quickly dismissed. That evening, Kuzco's conniving adviser, Yzma, plots to take over as empress by hosting a dinner (her trick of secretly poisoning Kuzco as her revenge for him firing her for stealing his job running orders), but due to a mislabeled vial, her muscular but clumsy and oafish henchman Kronk Pepikrankenitz inadvertently spikes Kuzco's wine with the wrong potion, turning him into a llama. After knocking Kuzco out, Yzma orders Kronk to dispose of him in a river. However, after doing so, Kronk has a crisis of conscience at the last second and saves Kuzco, but misplaces him on a cart belonging to Pacha.
Upon returning home, Pacha does not tell his family about Kuzco's decision. After awakening from the bag on the cart and scaring Pacha, Kuzco blames Pacha for his transformation and orders Pacha to return him to the palace. Pacha agrees, but only if Kuzco agrees to build Kuzcotopia elsewhere. Kuzco refuses the offer and decides to go by himself against Pacha's warnings, but quickly ends up getting chased through the jungle by a pack of black jaguars. Pacha arrives to rescue him, and extends his offer a second time, to which Kuzco seemingly accepts. The two survive many ordeals in the jungle, and Pacha finds that Kuzco has a good side to him underneath his selfishness. Meanwhile, Yzma takes the throne, but is angered to learn from Kronk that Kuzco is still alive, so the two set out to find him.
The next day, the pairs arrive at a jungle diner at the same time, unaware of each other's presence. While Kuzco complains to the cook, Pacha overhears Yzma's plan and attempts to warn Kuzco when he returns, but he doesn't believe Pacha, thinking he is beloved by his people, and reveals that he intended to renege on his promise to spare Pacha's home. However, Kuzco soon overhears Yzma's and Kronk's plot of attempting to kill him and learns that no one in his kingdom misses him due to his selfishness. Feeling guilty and unwanted, Kuzco leaves the diner on his own, planning on living out the rest of his life as a normal llama. Pacha catches up, still willing to help Kuzco return to normal after knowing his life is in danger. Kuzco reconciles with him before they set off to Pacha's house for supplies.
Upon arriving, Yzma is already there, searching for the two. Pacha has his family delay Yzma, giving him and Kuzco a head-start back to the palace, intending to enter Yzma's lab and find a potion to reverse the effects of the llama potion. However, they are ambushed by Yzma and Kronk, who somehow made it back ahead of Kuzco and Pacha. Yzma then orders Kronk to kill the duo. When Kronk hesitates, Yzma insults him, prompting him to betray her, but she drops him down a trapdoor. She then summons the palace guards and claims that Pacha and Kuzco murdered the emperor, forcing them to flee with an armful of vials containing various animal potions (Yzma deliberately knocked them all to the floor so that Kuzco and Pacha could not tell which one is correct), which they use to transform Kuzco during the chase. Pacha also knocks a table of flasks containing other animal potions into the pursuing guards, turning them into various animals. As they are cornered on the ledges of a giant wall structure, they are left with two remaining vials. Yzma and Kuzco struggle over the vials, accidentally crushing one and transforming Yzma into a small kitten. Pacha and Kuzco use teamwork to reach the other vial. Pacha gives Kuzco the vial, and Kuzco, after expressing his gratitude to Pacha, drinks the potion.
Some time later, a restored Kuzco, having reflected on the consequences of his selfishness and made amends, takes Pacha's suggestion of moving Kuzcotopia over to a neighboring and unoccupied hill. Kuzco then joins Pacha and his family at his modest and smaller resort.
Voice cast
- Main article: List of The Emperor's New Groove characters
- David Spade as Emperor Kuzco, the malevolent, narcissistic, and selfish 18-year-old emperor of the Inca Empire who pays no heeds to the needs of others. However, after transforming into a llama, Kuzco begins to realize the error of his ways.
- John Goodman as Pacha, a kind and caring village leader
- Eartha Kitt as Yzma, Kuzco's elderly advisor who seeks Kuzco's throne for herself
- Patrick Warburton as Kronk, Yzma's good-natured but dimwitted muscular henchman
- Wendie Malick as Chicha, Pacha's caring pregnant wife
- Kellyann Kelso and Eli Russell Linnetz as Chaca and Tipo respectively, Pacha and Chicha's two young, rambunctious children
- Bob Bergen as Bucky the Squirrel, Kronk's companion, who hates Yzma, and has an unpleasant encounter with Kuzco
- Tom Jones as the Theme Song Guy, Kuzco's personal theme song conductor
- Patti Deutsch as Matta, a waitress at Mudka's Meat Hut
- John Fiedler as Rudy, a kindly old man who is first thrown out a window by Kuzco's guards, then later befriends the emperor
- Joe Whyte as the Royal Recordkeeper
- Corey Burton, Jack Angel, Danny Mann, Bill Farmer, Phil Proctor, Eddie Korbich, Donald Fullilove, Paul Eiding, Philip L. Clarke, Brian Tochi, and Patrick Pinney as Male Villagers
- Sherry Lynn, Jennifer Darling, Mickie McGowan, and Cathy Cavadini as Female Villagers
- Jess Harnell as the Guard who throws Rudy out the window
- Rodger Bumpass as one of the Guards who got turned into a Cow
- Steve Susskind as an Irate Chef, a former chef at Matta's who quits due to Kuzco and Kronk
- Miriam Flynn as the Piñata Lady
- Frank Welker as Llamas, Jaguars, Fly and Bees
- Jim Cummings and Kath Soucie as Birthday Singers
- Andre Stojka and Robert Clotworthy as Topo and Ipi, two of Pacha's villagers
- Mark Dindal as Cat Yzma
References
External links
- The Emperor's New Groove at the Internet Movie Database
- The Emperor's New Groove at the Internet Movie Database
- TVGuide.com/movies: The Emperor's New Groove
- Teaching The Emperor's New Groove