Arguably Disney's Funniest Movie Ever Made

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2018)

This film remains one of Disney's biggest cult films to date, mainly for its fast paced slapstick humor, exaggerated animation, and lovable characters. Yet as celebrated as this movie is, there's also somewhat of a dark side to it, mainly due to its infamous troubled production. It was originally entitled Kingdom of the Sun, and it had an almost completely different narrative in mind. It was supposed to be an Incan retelling of The Prince & the Pauper and it even had a different crew on board, but due to countless of story problems and executive meddling, the original director Roger Allers and many others left the project and it was retooled by Mark Dindal and an almost completely new crew in less than two years. You'd think a movie out of such a nightmarish production would end up mediocre at best, but this particular movie is far from that, as it could make even the most tired person energetic and excited for how zany it is.
Still set in the Incan era, an arrogant young emperor named Kuzco is transformed into a llama by his former advisor Yzma, who also gets rid of him. Upon encountering a village leader named Pacha, Kuzco trusts him to take him back to the palace and change him back into a human. From a narrative standpoint, the story is rather predictable, as it's the typical road trip buddy movie where the two main leads go through many trials and tribulations before trusting each other. However, what makes up for the weak storyline is the humor, characters and even the heart. Considering that Mark Dindal had previously directed Cats Don't Dance, the film pays a huge homage to the original Looney Tunes and the cartoons by Tex Avery. There's lots of fourth wall breaks, slapstick stunts, witty banter, fast-paced visual gags, exaggerated facial expressions, funny line deliveries, and even some jokes that will fly over kid's heads. It's no wonder you still hear people quoting lines like, "demon llama" or "RIIIIIIIIGHT".
In addition, the characters are also enjoyable enough to warrant a watch. While Kuzco does start off rather callous, he does gravitate more towards Pacha and the people below him upon realizing that the world is much more than his arrogant self could have ever imagined. Although even at that, his selfish attitude is so delightfully narcissistic that he's hard not to giggle at, as he's like that kind of self centered dork you just love to hate. As for Pacha, he's the kind hearted and compassionate village man who despite going through Kuzco's ego, still sees the good in him and the tender moments he shares with the young emperor really display a lot of genuine heart, making it impossible to dislike him. However, the true standouts are Yzma and her bumbling assistant Kronk, as they provide the best laughs in the whole film and Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton really bring the two to life with their charisma and contrasting personalities. I won't talk about the rest as they're not as important to the narrative, aside from Pacha's subtly eccentric family, but all of the characters are humorous nonetheless.
Finally, as stated before, the influence on Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry is shown right on screen, especially with the character animation. While not all the characters move in a very dynamic and magnified fashion, the ones that do could make one crack up even with the tiniest of gestures. The character designs even emulate the Disney style to more of a Tex Avery format, especially when it comes to the visual gags that move at a cheetah's pace without feeling overbearing. One particular visual joke when Yzma and Kronk are chasing after Kuzco and Pacha to the palace is so subversive that it's hard to believe such a gag could ever come from the House of Mouse. While the backgrounds are fine but nothing too noteworthy, the effects animation is quite colorful (although not overly saturated) and filled with highly creative lights and shadows that really make them pop on screen. While Aladdin and Hercules may be the two other animated Disney ventures that come closest to matching the tone and style of classic cartoons, I think this film takes the cake and swallows it whole.
Needless to say, The Emperor's New Groove practically re-writes the rules of what Disney animated films should do, mainly by being a highly entertaining slapstick buddy comedy rather than a classic story being adapted into a massive musical. Around this time, the studio would end up having its fair share of hits and misses, but this is one of the hits in terms of the company leading itself into experimental directions. They say animated movies should only aim for more challenging themes and epic scopes, but that doesn't mean we can't have a zany cartoony comedy like this every now and then. It's almost been 20 years since this film came out, and while it's hard to determine whether or not Kingdom of the Sun would have been better or not, at least we got something fresh and unique out of the Disney cannon that will still be beloved for many years to come.