A new direction for Disney

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2001)

Lately, Disney movies have been on a downward path. Personally, I've found the vast majority enjoyable (with the glaring exception of "Pocahontas"), but there is still a marked decrease in quality between, say, "Beauty and the Beast" and "Tarzan". You could see the movies falling into the same old rut over and over and over again.
However, "Emperor's New Groove" changed all that. Instead of a contrived love story, there's a buddy comedy featuring the hilarious duo of David Spade and John Goodman. Instead of sappy morals (particularly the sappy morals of being yourself and of finding inner beauty), we get hilarious one-liners and laugh-out-loud situations. And instead of the cute comic sidekick, we get doe-eyed characters (particularly the children and the squirrel) with a significant bite. Needless to say, this one had me in stitches.
One part of "Emperor" as well as the new Disney trend in general that somewhat saddens me, though, is the move away from the musical format. I know I'm somewhat part of a minority, but I've always loved the songs from Disney movies, even if they do seem intrusive. (Actually, I never thought of them as intrusive, really, but I know many people think that.) Disney hasn't put out an honest to goodness musical in quite a while. Although I do agree that not all Disney movies should be musicals, I also hope that they decide not to abandon the format entirely. Disney movies have recently been pretty much the only place for musicals on the big screen, so I would hope that they would continue to give us the great musical moments we've come to expect.
But enough of my editorial. "Emperor's New Groove" is one of my favorite Disney movies ever and has surpassed "Aladdin" as the funniest Disney movie in my mind. So sit back, relax, and forget anything else Disney's ever done. This, I hope, is a sample of the future.