Disney's New Groove? I Hope So!

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2001)

While Disney's feature films are, with a few exceptions, masterpieces, very few of them provoke genuine laughter. The Lion King has a few chuckles in it, and Robin Williams' Genie in Aladdin is nothing short of hilarious, but something always seems held back. Not here. Perhaps Disney is learning a few lessons from the witty and wonderful folks at Pixar.
Everything is here: sight gags, clever dialogue, slapstick, screwball, satire, and lots more. Even when the movie resorts to clicheed plot devices, they are actually pointed out so we can all laugh at them. This movie is something special.
Even the animation is brilliant. Stylish, bright and bombastic, the style reminds one of the similarly flashy but painfully unfunny Hercules. There are some obvious caricatures involved, and the effect is wonderful, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.
The voice cast is wonderful. David Spade joins the long line of entertainers who have had little relevant voice-acting experience, and yet excel, even though few of their other projects are kid-friendly. Others include Eddie Murphy, Demi Moore and Jerry Orbach. John Goodman plays it straight, even heart-felt at times, but still retains a genial charm and never seems too mushy or rigid to be funny. Together, Spade and Goodman have marvelous chemistry and have their personal touches to add to the funny scenes and yet can handle the more dramatic scenes with dignity. This is fine work. Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton are likewise hilarious. Kronk is just one in a long line of "Disney lunks" and yet is one of the few that every member of the audience goes home liking. John Fiedler, a Disney veteran, shows that he still has what it takes, even at 75.
Stereotypes are thrown out the window. (So is an old man, but that's another story.) Kuzko is obviously an orphan who has no intention of taking his responsibilities seriously, and for the longest time seems beyond redemption. Only at the end, do we feel he deserves his happiness and his surrogate family. This is a "poor little rich boy" who doesn't realize it through his self-delusion and immaturity until very late in the movie. Kuzko is not given a pretty girl to pursue and win the hand of. Such corny plot devices have no place here. A further nice touch is that it would be too easy to make Pacha a single father, but his whole family is not only included but empowered.
Little touches mark the loving care placed into the project. The scene where a broken-hearted Kuzko is forced to eat grass like the other llamas reminds us of the Prodigal Son (which, of course, he is). The scene in which Yzma and Kronk attempt to fly across a ravine owes more than just a nod to Chuck Jones.
After the appalling Dinosaur, Disney pulled this out of their storage room and surprised and delighted us all. Let us hope that they use this flavour in the future, and remember what animation is truly all about. Not to be pretentious, but to be enjoyed.