The Emperor's New Groove

2.5/4

Starring (voices): David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick

Rated G

Let's get one thing straight: "The Emperor's New Groove" is not a bad movie.  It has a certain charm and one or two moments that are laugh aloud funny.  But let's not kid ourselves into believing that it is anywhere near the normal mark of Disney.  The story is thin, the animation is subpar, and the screenplay seems to be thrown together just to see what sticks.  It's diverting and amusing, sure.  But coming from the House of Mouse, it's barely acceptable.

Kuzco (Spade) is one pampered Emperor.  Everyone obeys his every whim and no one has a right to complain or criticize his many, many faults.  The entitled brat is so vain that when something he does causes harm, he doesn't care even when faced with the horrible results.  I suppose it's lucky for him and all of his citizens that his advisor Yzma (Kitt) has taken it upon herself to rule in his place.  Not that she's much better, since when someone asks her for food, she says that he should have thought of that before he became a peasant (boy, does that sound familiar...).  Anyway, Kuzco decides to, you know, be an actual ruler and fires Yzma.  The vindictive (ex) advisor vows revenge, and with the help of her dim-witted assistant Kronk (Warburton), she poisons the bratty ruler.  Things go wrong when instead of dying Kuzvo turns into a llama.  Kronk is assigned to dispose of the body, but he's so thick that he screws that up too, and Kuzco ends up in the care of Pacha (Goodman), a peasant who has made a plea to the emperor to save his home (his request was naturally shut down).

Part of the reason the film is so disjointed and uneven is that it is radically different than its initial form.  Originally, it was a grand, sweeping epic called "Kingdom of the Sun," and the story was an Incan version of "The Prince and the Pauper."  The cast included Spade, Kite, Owen Wilson, Carla Gugino and Laura Prepon.  But the film tested so badly that it was overhauled numerous times and ended up becoming a radically different film.  Seen from that perspective, a little leeway is warranted.

David Spade is in top comic form as the self-absorbed ruler.  The actor is a master of sarcasm and he has a number of great lines.  He clearly had a ball with the character.  John Goodman is his reliable self, playing Pacha with a mixture of warmth and humor.  He's the closest the film comes to a traditional Disney character.  Eartha Kitt has some fun as the wacky villainess.  And Patrick Warburton steals scenes as the buffoon.

"The Emperor's New Groove" never commits to one style.  It's self-aware, it has songs, and it has sight gags straight out of the Looney Tunes.  There's no sense of a consistent vision here, which makes it hard to become invested.  Not that the screenplay gives the actors much latitude for character development.  It's too thinly written.  But a more stable tone would have made the film stronger and feel less like one of Disney's animated TV shows.

It's a good way to pass the time.  That's it.

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