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If one views Disney as a sort of empire of children's animation, then it's not much of a stretch to assume that the emperor -- in the wake of the technically awesome but relatively laugh-free Dinosaur -- was in desperate need of a new groove. This feature, Disney's loosest, hippest, and funniest animated work since Hercules, certainly delivers on that in spades. Or rather, David Spade, whose smart-alecky vocal stylings give the young and arrogant emperor Kuzco plenty of snap. John Goodman is the voice of gentle giant Pacha, a peasant whose home is slated for demolition so Kuzco can build his summer palace, Kuzcotopia. The indefatigable Eartha Kitt is the voice of the "scary beyond all reason" Yzma, the most memorable (and funniest) Disney villain since James Woods's Hades. She schemes to kill Kuzco, but her plot backfires when her dense, scene-stealing sidekick Kronk (Patrick Warburton of The Tick) gives the unwitting Kuzco a potion that turns him into a llama instead. Kuzco gets Pacha to accompany him back to the castle to undo Yzma's spell, and they predictably must learn to rely on each other to survive. But getting there is all the fun. The songs by Sting are a bit of a letdown, but they are the only flat notes in this rollicking little gem. Reportedly, this offbeat buddy comedy began life as something more epic and dramatic. Fortunately, funnier heads prevailed. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

A ruler learns how the other half lives -- the animal half, that is -- in this animated comedy-adventure from the Walt Disney Studios. Kuzco (voice of David Spade) is the young emperor of an Inca nation who takes a self-centered joy in the troubles of others. Not surprisingly, Kuzco's attitudes have earned the enmity of many of his subjects, including Yzma (voice of Eartha Kitt), a sorceress who wants to seize power away from the emperor after he relieved her of her royal duties, declaring she was too old and unattractive to do the job. Yzma and her musclebound assistant Kronk (voice of Patrick Warburton) hatch a plan to poison Kuzco and take the throne, but thanks to a mistake on Kronk's part, Kuzco isn't killed -- he's instead turned into a talking llama. Kronk can't bring himself to kill the llama, and instead sends the former emperor into the jungle to fend for himself. Kuzco doesn't do too well as a llama until he runs into Pacha (voice of John Goodman), a poor farmer whose property Kuzco once planned to take over for a vacation home. Soft-hearted Pacha agrees to help the emperor-turned-llama find his way back home where, hopefully, another sorcerer can reverse the spell, but once they hit the road, they discover Yzma and Kronk are looking for them, with Yzma determined to finish the assassination she started. Pop star Sting composed several original songs for The Emperor's New Groove, which during its long and troubled production had previously been announced as Kingdom in the Sun and Kingdom of the Sun. Mark Deming

New York Times

On the surface, Disney's newest animated film looks and sounds like a poor second cousin to Dreamworks's far more splendiferous (but dreary) "Road to El Dorado." But once it hits its groove, so to speak, the new movie exhibits a cheeky effervescence and spunk that were conspicuously absent in its glittering dud of a predecessor...."The Emperor's New Groove," directed by Mark Dindal, shrewdly avoids pompous moralizing in favor of zany high jinks and snide, adolescent jokes, which Mr. Spade delivers with a typically smug twerpiness that suits the role just fine. Stephen Holden

Product Details

• UPC: 786936688368
• Source: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Editions: Special Edition
• Time: 1:18:00
• Sales Rank: 10,272

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