Fun, and becoming a classic

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2004)

What makes this fun animated romp stand out is the humor. That may sound redundant, but it's one of the funniest animated films ever. The comedy is just top drawer. The evil protagonist is a hilarious Phyllis Diller type, with a hunky brainless boy toy, and the duo are hysterical. The supremely vain and uncaring emperor Cuzco is wonderful, personifying the phrase "let them eat cake." John Goodman is a great everyman in Pacha, the simple villager who is a tool of forces way beyond his comprehension, and while the assumption that someone like Cuzco could have been de-Grinchified by an adventure like this is a real stretch, it finally doesn't matter. The movie is so much fun that you just go with it, like a roller coaster. My complaint is that everyone speaks as though they are from 20th century Los Angeles. Nowhere do we get the impression that these are people from another time and place. If it weren't for the costumes, we would have no idea when or where it is. Turn your back and listen to the dialogue without watching the screen, and see very dramatically what I mean. I know, "it's just a movie!!", but this sort of thing matters whether we want to admit it or not.