wholesome Disney fun, but inferior to its predecessors

Rating: Null/10 (14 November 2004)

SPOILERS
Ever since "Toy Story" was released in 1995, it has always been foreseeable that Disney would one day abandon it's traditional routes in favour of fully computer generated animation. In 2003 this seemed increasingly likely with "Brother Bear" being put forward as possibly Disney's final traditional feature. Truthfully, this feels like a good thing. With modern animation being pointed more towards the whole family, with jokes for adults as well as children, things have moved a long way since Walt made "Snow White" in 1937.
As history was written, so Disney began it's slow decent towards it's conclusion. Whilst "The Lion King" is sometimes regarded as the finest 2D film Disney ever made, after "Toy Story" a year later, the trail has dried up really. So much so that with the worthy exception of "Hercules" (1997) it seemed that Disney would never produce a decent film again. With 2000's "The Emperor's New Groove" this theory was supported by yet another mediocre effort.
With the voices of David Spade, John Goodman and Eartha Kitt, this story tells of Emperor Kuzco, betrayed by fired adviser Yzma, who is transformed into a Llama and stuck in a jungle with a peasant called Pacha. Teaming up, the two work together as they attempt to fix the Emperor's physical predicament.
In recent times, companies like Dreamworks and Pixar have revolutionised entertainment. As a partner with Pixar, Disney's finest works in recent years have included jokes for the entire family. Films like "Finding Nemo" (2004) have entertained children and parents alike. Whilst these style of films have received better budgets and better writers, 2D films like this one have suffered. Directed almost entirely at children, the films are admittedly fun, but they are hideously inferior compared to some of the true classics. In effect, the magic is just lacking. Disney's finest films are often those which inspire ice shows or have popularity of such a degree that men dress up in suits of the characters years later. Films like "The Lion King" where the story has been relocated to the theatre and everyone identifies some of the characters. that just doesn't ever appear plausible for films like this one.
All in all, "The Emperor's New Groove" is not a bad film. It's your regular, funny Disney film, but it just doesn't really click. It lacks characters like Timon & Pumba ("Lion King"), Hercules ("Hercules") and even Genie ("Aladdin"). The Emperor is fun, but he's far from perfect. Perhaps it's finally time Disney lie down this type of animation down and let it drift into history.