The Emperor’s New Groove Review

Emperor's New  Groove, The
A mythical mountain kingdom. After firing his power-crazed advisor Yzma, arrogant emperor Kuzco is turned, by Yzma'a devious potion, into a Llama. Stranded in the jungle, Kuzco is forced to hook up with good-natured peseant Pacha and the pair form an uneasy alliance as they speed to foil Yzma's plan to take over the throne.

by Emma Cochrane |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jan 2000

Running Time:

78 minutes

Certificate:

U

Original Title:

Emperor’s New Groove, The

Both Disney and DreamWorks hit on the idea of doing an animated buddy movie at the same time, and both plumped on South America for the setting. But while DreamWorks stuck with the more traditional human pairing for The Road To El Dorado, Disney decided to team man and llama.

It's certainly welcome relief from the usual soppy romances, and Spade (as the self-obsessed emperor-turned-mountain mammal) and Goodman (as the kindly villager trying to keep his homeland) give good value as the key pairing. The animation is superb and the gags come thick and fast, but somehow this doesnít have the heart of previous Disney classics.

An attractive, generally enjoyable concoction, but never really hits its comedic or emotional targets full on. Fun but quickly forgettable.
Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us