#299: The Emperor’s New Groove
Release Date: December 15th, 2000
Format: Streaming (Disney+)
Written by: David Reynolds
Directed by: Mark Dindal
3.5 Stars
Minor Disney, sure, but The Emperor’s New Groove is pretty dang funny.
Originally conceived as a more traditional Disney animated musical, New Groove went through development hell for years, so much so that Sting’s wife, Trudie Styler, put together a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary, called The Sweatbox, she had so much juicy footage of nerdy Disney execs butting heads over the creative direction of the film (Sting was hired by Disney to write the film’s music a la Elton John for The Lion King; New Groove was going to be a sweeping epic set in the Incan empire; whatever music Sting wrote got scrapped when director Mark Dindal took the film in a more silly, Looney Tunes-esque direction).
So, beautiful and musical Disney out, silly and comedic Disney in. Might as well go out and get some funny people, Dindal decided. Good call.
Writer David Reynolds was an original staff writer for Late Night Conan O’Brien in the mid-’90s, working alongside a murderer’s row of comedy writers that included Robert Smigel, Bob Odenkirk, and Louis CK. Reynolds’ script brings lots of snark, mischief, and playfulness to New Groove.
For voices, Dindal goes with David Spade (sarcastic, swarmy, funny) as spoiled Emperor Kuzco, John Goodman (warm, soulful, funny) as humble farmer Pacha, Patrick Warburton (dim, simple, funny) as the henchman Kronk, and last, but certainly not least, the legendary Eartha Kitt as villainous Yzma. Is Kitt the best Disney voice actress ever? It’s a tragedy she didn’t do more voice work over the course of her illustrious career.
All of these funny people come together to make a very funny movie. Sure, New Groove doesn’t look great - at times it teeters on looking like a Saturday morning cartoon, not a big budget Disney production - and if you’re looking to be swept away with that signature Disney magic, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
But if you’re looking for a 78 minutes of hijinks with a bunch of funny people at the helm, The Emperor’s New Groove has just what you’re looking for.
