I have always had a soft spot for cartoons. Dating back when I was a kid, I would watch Darkwing Duck and Ducktales all the time. I would also spend hours in front of Nickelodeon. Remember Ren and Stimpy? Those were the days. Flash forward ten years and now we have studios releasing computer generated "cartoons". Big budget and big special effects are all we see now. Look at Titan AE. Here was a movie that attempted to hit it big, but failed. Why? Because people still want a good story and that is just what Disney has done with The Emperor's New Groove. What makes this movie even a bigger surprise is that it completely ignores the Disney formula. Disney has always offered repeated variations on tried-and-true formulas. With The Emperor's New Groove there isn't any romantic subplot, only one song, no pop culture references, no sidekick, and the list goes on. After the gorgeous but empty Dinosaur this summer, Disney went back with the basics and concentrated on the storytelling. This makes it a really enjoyable movie for everyone.
Set in a mystical kingdom in a world resembling Peru, the story follows an egocentric and self-centered Emperor (Spade). He ends up being turned into a llama by his advisor (part-time sorceress) who really wanted to kill him. He is befriended by a peasant who helps him to regain his throne.
"This story is about Me! ... I was a really nice guy and they ruined me for no reason" The Emperor narrates his own story. Through his narration, we see him transform from a pain in the a$$ emperor to a decent person. In the beginning, the emperor was the star of the movie, so he wanted to be the focus of the movie. For example, the emperor stopped the cartoon to refocus the plot on him. The emperor will not learn to overcome his selfishness without putting up a fight. This makes some hilarious moments.
I have to give some credit to David Spade. I never thought he was a good actor or even a funny comedian. But as a sarcastic, egocentric emperor, he was perfect. Spade's whinny voice vibrated through his character. Spade is the true star in this movie, because he brought his character into an entire new level.
The heart of the film lies in the relationship between the Emperor and the peasant. Though they were enemies at first, they learned through some daring rescues and some comic relief to learn from each other. The moral of the story is nothing that we've seen before: selfishness is bad. But, The Emperor's New Groove added some extra twist and turns to keep this movie very clever and thank God Disney avoided adding any sentimental speeches. There isn't any preaching, but by the end of the movie, everyone understands the moral. The cartoon's accomplishment lies in its emphasis on character development and storyline, rather than the appearance of the animation itself.
The script is just so much fun. It is wacky and it contains enough oddities to keep the plot moving at a great pace. The Emperor's New Groove contains soldiers changing into animals, someone teaching squirrel language, cross-dressing, etc. Trust me, it makes sense. Go see the movie and you'll see one of the most original Disney movie.
This film originally followed the typical Disney formula. It had a romantic subplot, a wacky sidekick, more talking animals and 6 songs by Sting. It was just like all the other animated feature that Disney has released in the past. Surprisingly, in result of Disney's lack of faith in this movie, they scrapped all of Sting's songs, the romantic subplot, etc. The result is a very original Disney comedy that may not be a classic but is sure as hell entertaining.
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