Not a Classic But It's Entertaining

Rating: Null/10 (27 June 2015)

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
*** (out of 4)
Emperor Kuzco is an annoying, mean and self-centered jerk who fires the wrong old lady because she turns around with the help of a brain dead assistant and turns the Emperor into a llama. Soon the llama is in the forest with his only help coming from Pacha, a man was told by the Emperor that his home was going to be destroyed for a new resort.
If you're coming to this Disney movie expecting one of their classics then you're going to walk away disappointed. Disney has built up such a strong reputation and have delivered so many terrific films that whenever they release just a good one, it's hard for that film to really stand out. That's pretty much what happened to THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE because it's a nice little time-killer but at the same time it's certainly not one of the studios best movies.
There are a few issues here but the biggest is that there's just nothing here that really stands out or becomes classics. Everything here is good but nothing is great if you will. I think the weakest aspect is the story itself because it's just a bit too predictable for its own good as you know what's going to end up happening in the end. With that said, the majority of the characters are extremely likable with Pacha (voiced by John Goodman) and Kronk (voiced by Patrick Warburton) really standing out. The evil Yzma makes for a good villain but it's hard to "love to hate her" because the Emperor himself is so annoying and ugly that you really can't hate or dislike the villain for trying to knock him off.
The film, as you'd expect, features some terrific animation and there's no doubt that the music score is a winner too. THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE isn't a masterpiece but as long as you don't go into the film expecting one you should find this to be a decent time-killer.