The Emperor’s New Groove – Emperor Kuzco (2000)

Directed by: Mark Dindal | 75 minutes | comedy, animation, family, adventure, fantasy | Original voice cast: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick, Kellyan Kelso, Stephen J. Anderson, Eli Russell Linnetz, Bob Bergen, Tom Jones, Patti Deutsch, John Fiedler, Joe Whyte

‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ or in Dutch ‘Keizer Kuzco’ is number 39 in the list of Disney classics. The film was released in Dutch cinemas in the summer of 2001, where it had to compete against a film from that other animation studio, ‘Shrek’.

Emperor Kuzco (David Spade) is a spoiled child who is used to always getting his way. Just eighteen years old and he’s manipulating like he’s been doing nothing else his whole life (and of course it is). He’s basically not bad, he just needs quite a few life lessons, and of course he gets them in this movie. Who is bad is his hideous advisor Yzma, a fun role of Eartha Kitt (whose voice you would recognize out of thousands). Yzma is out to take over Kuzco’s power, and is going to die for it – almost. The dirty work can be done by her sidekick Kronk. Kronk is a boom of a guy, ignorant and sometimes he has a problem with his conscience. The scenes in which the devil in him argues with his good conscience are hilarious. Kronk is voiced by Patrick Warburton, an actor who has many roles on his resume, both as a voice actor and in movies or TV series. Kronk steals every scene he appears in, so it’s not surprising that Disney did see some bread in a sequel to this movie, starring Kronk.

An important theme in ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’ is of course friendship. During the film, Emperor Kuzco befriends Pacha, a farmer, whose village he wants to bulldoze to establish a summer residence. Despite this terrible prospect, Pacha continues to help Kuzco, even after being tricked a few times by Kuzco. The, at times wonderfully sarcastic, interaction between these two characters is very nicely worked out, the dialogues are of a high humorous level. Pacha is voiced by John Goodman. Goodman is well cast for this role, it seems that Pacha is based on him.

Not only are the dialogues very strong in the film, the drawings themselves are also very beautiful. The facial expressions of the various characters are often enough to make the audience burst out laughing. What is also striking is that the film does not take itself seriously, the viewer is regularly sidetracked by pointing out certain things, such as when Kuzco shows that the story is not about Pacha, but about him, by his comrade. scratch out of the picture with a red felt-tip pen.

A unique experience, this Disney film. One to keep in your DVD player regularly, you’ll enjoy it every time!