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Year:   2000
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Movie:  3/5
DVD:    3/5

The Emperor's New Groove
is one of Disney's better animation films of the last few years. It is the story of Emperor Cuzco (David Spade) who rules an ancient South American empire. He's just turning 18 and he's quite the egotistical self-indulging narcissist. One example is that he is going to forcibly evict Pacha (John Goodman) and his village from their mountain home so that Cuzco can build a summer palace there.

But fate pushes the two unlikely duo together when Cuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-advisor Yzma (Eartha Kitt) and her henchman Kronk (Patrick Warburton). While the evil duo hunts for Cuzco to finish the job, Cuzco has to befriend Pacha and convince him to help him get back to the palace.

There is lots of comedy. The two duos are great and play off each other well. I especially liked Yzma and Kronk. Yzma tries to hard to be evil but is constantly foiled by misfortune and Kronk, who means well but is a bit oblivious and probably too good-hearted to be involved with Yzma.

The DVD has a commentary track with the Disney crew. There are about 10 minutes of behind the scenes and special effects overview. One deleted scene (animated features have few deleted scenes) and two short music videos are also included. There is also a lame game but I guess kids will like it, though the second puzzle is totally random.
What I liked: likeable villains.
What I didn't like: I hard a hard time rooting for the good guys.

Copyright (c) 2004 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: August 15, 2004
Page Last Updated: August 15, 2004