Terrific comedy!

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2006)

"The Emperor's New Groove" is a bit different to what Disney had accustomed us so far; well, to tell it is a lot different to that, in fact, it could be said that this animated film is closer to the crazy and brilliant minds of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones than to the classic Disney animated features. Long gone are the musical numbers and the fairy tales, gone are the beautiful heroines and the malevolent villains; this little film is a breath of fresh air that takes Disney to the unexplored terrain of satire, parody and irreverent comedy. And the trip is well worth.
The movie is about the young and arrogant Kuzco (David Spade), the Emperor of an Incan nation who enjoys his life of pleasure and comfort without caring too much for his people. Until one night, his second in command, Yzma (Eartha Kitt) betrays him and tries to poison him. Fortunately, the formula only converts Kuzco into a talking llama, however, with him in that form Yzma is able to usurp the power and gets rid of Kuzco. Now, the young Emperor will have to learn to live in a world harsher than what he knew and try to recover his throne.
Well, while the plot outline sounds like another one of Disney's dramatic epic adventures, this movie has indeed a new groove. History says, that the film was actually going to go that way but director Mark Dindal and writers Chris Williams and David Reynolds took the story in a completely new direction, making a feature unlike any of the rest of Disney's classics. The film is packed with a very clever sense of humor that can be understood in many levels; it is not only mere slapstick, it goes beyond and as written above, has more in common with the Warner Bros. animations of Chuck Jones' days. The characters are perfectly well-designed and are definitely the soul of the film.
However, the departure in content does not mean that the rest has changed. Despite all the apparent irreverence, the movie is suitable for kids and the morals and the message are still there, it's just that the package is now more entertaining than before. The animation technique still has Disney's top notch quality and the beautiful Inca-inspired designs give the film a fresh new look. The tone and mood of the story allows the film to explore many things that Disney had never tried and overall is a new modernization to their style.
The cast is amazing and responsible of most of the success of the film. David Spade is brilliant as Kuzco and his domain of the character is total. It's hard to imagine someone else doing the voice. John Goodman plays Pacha, the only man who believes the talking llama is actually Kuzco, and his performance is very good. However, Eartha Kitt as Yzma and Patrick Warburton as her sidekick Kronk steal the show. If Spade and Goodman are brilliant then Kitt and Warburton are simply perfect.
The film is definitely among the funniest films ever done by Disney and it is almost flawless. Even when it uses some pop culture references the film doesn't feel dated or silly thanks to the very subtle way that kind of humor is used. Still, the movie has been attacked for deviating from the classic Disney film and while the criticism has some good points (the film's simplicity for example), it still is a memorable and effective film that delivers lots of laughs and pure entertainment.
"The Emperor's New Groove" may not be a landmark of animation such as "Beauty and the Beast", but personally I think it represents a breath of fresh air for Disney and one of the most funny animated films ever done. While it is understandable that not everyone will catch the film's humor, this personal favorite is a very recommended film. 9/10